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I don't hear it very often that a band is compared to Van Der Graaf Generator. In the bio, Rumple Stiltzken Comune (I'll call them RSC from now on...) are described as a combination of VDGG and PFM. It took a while before I knew this description is accurate in some degree at least. But before I was at that point, I was enchanted by the music of this album. Yes, a beautiful album.What part of VDGG is in their music, is the sound. I can't describe it very well, but it's the way the organ sounds, or some of the melodies or changes therein. If the singer sings very high, it is remotely reminiscent of Hammill's voice. But for the better part, RSC are less heavy, less melancholic. They sound happier. And that's where PFM comes in. The band played a lot of gigs with those Italians, and like the bio says, the band's music is more like Italian Seventies' prog. Where VDGG could be very agressive, RSC are more mysterious. VDGG could sound like you're in Dante's Inferno, RSC make you feel like you're listening to Alice In Wonderland. But please note that you don't have to like VDGG to like this. Let not this comparison scare you away.In the faster movements, the music also reminds me of American bands Lift and Pentwater. Complex, but not too complex, and still very melodic.That's the objective part. I couldn't think of any other ways to describe the music, and hope it's enough to make you curious to listen to this wonderful album. I like it very much, because it's not too complex, very melodic, and moody, dark, mysterious. Sad at times, and a bit melancholic at times.Then there's the production. The letter I received tells me this is the first Black Rills Records re-issue that has been remixed. I don't have the original LP, so I can't compare, but I do know that this is a very good production, easily comparable to the better productions from the Seventies. And the album is definitely worth it! I hope I have made you curious to listen to this album. Especially those who know my musical preferences from my previous reviews, and think we share musical interest, this is highly recommended stuff! It is among the best records in my collection. (Jerry van Kooten)Tracks : Flipping (7:19Wrong From The Beginning (8:17)To Be Or Not To Be (8:21)The Closed Boy (9:57)Link : @Ripped by : evermorebluesArtwork Included
Stone the Crows, fronted by the absolutely dynamite Maggie Bell (remember the female voice in Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story"?), were a band that never scored an audience in America, though they should have. They were a relatively established act in England, where their heavy brand of psychedelic blues-rock went over big in clubs and with crowds. These nine cuts on the Strange Fruit label represent Stone the Crows doing what they did best -- playing live (albeit in a radio studio). Les Harvey was a monster guitarist who had heard Jimi Hendrix and took in his sense of feeling and time in digging into the blues and rock, rather than trying just to ape his method. The 13-minute version of Bob Dylan's "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" is a testament to that. There is also a fantastic workout of Bell's "Freedom Road" here. James Dewar, who left later to become the Robin Trower Band's vocalist, is represented here by two of his originals, "Friend" and "Raining in Your Heart." This first volume of these recordings is indispensable to anyone looking at the hard rocking British heavy blues of the late '60s and early '70s. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music GuideTracks : 1. Raining in You Heart2. Touch of Your Love Hang3. Freedom Road4. Hollis Brown5. Raining in Your Heart6. Friend7. Mad Dogs &Englishmen8. Love 749. Things Are Getting BetterLink : @Ripped by : evermorebluesArtwork Included
"Eve of Destruction" was so present on the airwaves at its height in 1965 that as it ended play on one station, it would start up on another, a dominating hit single which charted higher than any protest song written by Bob Dylan, the man whose own "Masters of War" must have inspired P.F. Sloan's classic protest song. Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" came close, stalling under the upper reaches of the Top 40 two weeks before McGuire grabbed the brass ring. McGuire even cut "Master's of War," appearing on his 1994 One Way Records Anthology album and evidence of the typecasting which decimated what should have been a huge radio presence beyond this title track and first and only hit. Five years before Ricky Nelson would chart with Dylan's "She Belongs to Me," McGuire makes it the first of two Dylan covers, throwing the similarities right in the listener's face. A Steve Barri/P.F. Sloan title, "You Never Had It So Good," follows that, and the theme and model becomes a bit redundant. Sure, people had commercialized the songs of Bob Zimmerman, but not to the extent where the man behind Carole King's eventual solo success, Lou Adler, along with the Grass Roots' initial production team of Sloan and Barri, would take a former New Christy Minstrel and turn him into a radio-friendly copy of the world-famous protest singer. Engineer Bones Howe, P.F. Sloan, Barri, and McGuire redesign the traditional "Sloop John B," a version that is much different from the Beach Boys', and it's a wise move which backslides and is eradicated as they go after Dylan's "Baby Blue," truly branding the innovative soul that is Barry McGuire. At least his reading of Sylvia Fricker's "You Were on My Mind" is original enough, though McGuire can't hit the notes the We Five's Beverly Bivens easily reached. The pulsating cover of the Ian & Sylvia tune doesn't come close to the We Five's arrangement and majesty which charted simultaneous with "Eve of Destruction," but it works so much better than the "imitation Bob" which permeates this package. The Beach Boys took the traditional "Sloop John B" Top Three in 1966, but McGuire did it first, and he also pre-dated Gladys Knight with a version of the standard "Try to Remember" ten years before she brought the title to popular radio. It is these three notable other covers which succeeded for Barry McGuire and indicated his potential. The man has tons of talent, as witnessed on his Christian albums like Lighten Up, and the dark sounds of his classic moment in the sun and gravelly voice (which probably influenced Alex Chilton) deserved much more success.
Fred Cole’s mid-70s album is as uncompromising as anything he’s done. His vocal style is especially strident on these hard rock songs, which don’t have the garage-style feel of Dead Moon or the occasional subtleties of Lollipop Shoppe. The first song is a bunch of raunchy double-entendres. Pretty twisted. There’s a kind of saminess as this album moves along, probably due to uninspired songwriting. Still, this is worth hearing. It’s unique and wild. The cover is handmade to the extreme.Tracks : BulletsBorn YesterdayThe Same Old SongFace Of Stone Ballbustin' Woman Scars Rollin' And Tumblin' Worry Kills A Woman Let It FreezeBehind The Door Racing For A Dollar Link : @Ripped By : evermorebluesArtwork Included
Standing in the shadow of bands like Floyd or Procol and emerging in the late sixties hippie underground scene heavily inspired by Indian culture this wonderful band has been all too often overlooked and underestimated. But in some way they had been far ahead their times in what they were doing and might be considered highly influential for what would be known many years after as world or new age music (as Chris Welch, busy for MM in those days pointed out in his liner notes for the CD re-release). In fact those guys had been brought together by an announcement in Melody Maker magazine and lead vocals of Australian born Phil Jones (aka Shiva Shankar) as well as the delightful flute play of Ronald Rothfield (aka Raja Ram) should become characteristic for their sound. The line-up had been completed by Alan Mostert on lead guitar, Dave Codling (aka Maha Dev) on rhythm guitar, Sambhu Babaji playing bass and Jeremy “Jake” Milton on drums. Soon after their foundation the band signed to Island Records later better known for hosting bands like Jethro Tull for example. Picking up eastern influences in the music of the “Fav Four” inspired by Harrison’s India trips and reinforcing the general fashionable trend of late sixties psychedelic bands they created a kind of perfect “quintessence” of western pop/rock/jazz and Indian raga music. Though they’ve been mainly attracted by Hinduisms also spiritual influences by Buddhism and Christianity can be found in their songs. During their heyday they managed to fill places like the Royal Albert Hall with their splendid concerts and they also played at the prestigious Montreaux Jazz Festival.The balance between east and west in their music used to be shifted more in favour of western influences making it quite approachable for people being not that much familiar with Indian classical spiritual music. This applies even stronger in the case of their remarkable debut from 1969 here in review. In fact there’s only one traditional chant on here with track no. 5 titled not so imaginatively as such. The opener "Giants" presents a nice blend of song-based Indian flavoured psychedelic pop and some more jam-oriented elements and one can easily imagine that this song might have inspired contemporary bands like Ozric Tentacles as well as some more commercially directed one like Cornershop, Kula Shaker and so on. In “Manco Capac” Raja Ram’s shiny flute play comes into action and this track offers in particular a great bluesy break by Alan Mostert. “Body” comes closer to hard rock territory in terms of the guitar sound but nicely balanced by Shiva’s vocals and Raja Ram’s flute as well as some occasional keyboards (which were usually only sparsely present in their music). One can imagine a mix of Cream and Tull here. Revealing stronger eastern touches "Gange Mai" is a more playful and highly rhythmic track getting into a type of repetitive, hypnotising mood especially due to the vocals and the flute. But there’s as well a lot of rock to be found here. “Chant” has droning sitar tunes and combines a “Hare Krishna” routine with an old English carol making up to a wonderful unification of eastern and western spiritual culture. In "Pearl and Bird" Shiva presents his strongest vocal performance on this record revealing an extraordinary range of his voice. "Notting Hill Gate" which had been released as well as a single quite reminds to what Jade Warrior did on their first two albums one or two years after with the difference of sitar added here. The original edition had been concluded by the ambitious track "Midnight Mode" starting with some chanting followed by an extended flute solo and some guitar jamming. It finally fades out with some continous heavy drone. That one together with “Chant” is certainly the least accessible track on here. The CD re-issue contains as bonus the single version of "Notting Hill Gate" and its B-side “Move Into The Light” sounding very commercially though and not really worth mentioning.Though probably being not really an essential one in Prog “In Blissful Company” should be considered an excellent debut of an usually forgotten band that combined religious and spiritual influences with psychedelic and early progressive rock music in a highly appealing (at least for me) and approachable manner. Certainly this kind of music will not appeal to everybody – rock fans might find it to esoteric and for puristic followers of raga prog it will probably sound too poppy. Nevertheless I think this band (especially their first two albums) should not be dismissed by anyone who doesn’t mind some eastern flavour in his Prog.(Dieter Fischer) Tracks : 1. Giants (4:37) 2. Manco Capac (5:17) 3. Body (3:34) 4. Gange Mai (4:00) 5. Chant (3:02) 6. Pearl and Bird (3:57) 7. Notting Hill Gate (4:38) 8. Midnight Mode (9:15) 9. Notting Hill Gate (2:31) 10. Move into the Light (3:26) Link : @Ripped by : evermorebluesArtwork Included
2001 compilation for UK act featuring prog-rock veteran Bill MacCormick. Contains the evidence of Random Hold's musical progress, from an early Rhodes/Ferguson collaboration, through the various demos recorded by the Ainley/Leach five-piece and ending with the last demos recorded prior to the band's last journey to the USA.- Water
- With People
- Verona Holls
- Precarious Timbers
- The Balad
- Big Star
- The Blind
- Second Nature
- Cause And Effect
- Camouflage
- All In Your Head
- In The Beginning
- Wallpaper Song
- Today Is As Good As Any Other
- The Flag
- Passive Camera
- Montgomery Clift
Link : @No artwork
Straight out of the Roxy / Eno / Manzanera / Gabriel school of progressive pop-rock, i.e. quirky yet polished and professional. Featured David Rhodes (Gabriel) on guitar and Bill McCormack (Manzanera, Quiet Sun) on bass. Produced by Peter Hammill (Van Der Graaf Generator), and his influence is felt.Random Hold is a person and a group, the person being Ian McCormick, the band composed of many of his mates from Phil Manzanera's 801, aside from Manzanera himself. Not surprisingly, the music is not unlike some of the artistes for whom Manzanera played over the years: Eno, early Roxy Music, et al. The band's first release was a self-titled EP in 1979, followed the next year by a full-length album The View From Here, produced by Peter Hammill. His influence can be heard in McCormick's overdramatic vocals, also perhaps influenced in part by Eno. There is some excellent synth playing here, and bits of good guitarwork. Best track is probably "With People Out Of Love," which builds slowly to a vicious climax. Etceteraville is a compilation of tracks from View and the EP. -- Mike Ohman Tracks : MeatThe BalladAvalancheFilm MusicMontgomery CliftLink : @Low res covers inside
Potemkine managed to blend in a very good way the basis of Zeuhl music with its prominent bass role and a lighthearted spirit of fusion with some 20th century contemporary music. They this deviate from the norm of “mainstream” Zeuhl, but they manage to deliver an original sound, making them unique in this scene. Potemkine was formed by three brothers from Toulouse – Charles (guitars, piano, vocals), Philippe (drums and percussions, piano) and Michel (piano, vocals) Goubin. They had taken other musicians to fill in the positions of bass, violin and some drumming and percussions parts. They released their first album Foetus in 1975. This album was more influenced by Magma, though it contained the fusion leniency. In 1977 Triton was released and it featured a more clear inclination towards a fusion sound, but the Zeuhl characteristics are still there (in the bass part, theatrical piano playing and the occasional chanting vocals) and also the chamber music sound that would later appear in RIO originators bands such as Univers Zero. This approach reached its peak in Nicolas II released in 1978 which also marks their last album. You can get both Triton and Nicolas II on CD from SOLEIL ZEUHL. Tracks : 1. Tango Panache (6:18)2. Raspoutine (5:56)3. Theme Pour Un Swing Imaginaire (5:37)4. Air De Famille (3:19)5. Ode De Mars (5:23)6. Aux Images (2:41)7. Amphitheatre Magique (6:45)Bonus tracks:8. Laure (4:32)9. Foetus (6:18)10. Hymne (2:00)11. Ballade (6:17)12. Cycles (2:17)13. Nuit Sur Le Golan (2:19)14. Cedille (5:56)Link : @Raspoutine Fixed @Artwork Included
On some obscure releases of the early '70s, Majority One wrote and recorded material in the manner of some of the more foppish late-'60s British psychedelic pop, though the style had been out of fashion for a couple of years or so. The group evolved out of the U.K. band the Majority, who issued eight singles on Decca between 1965 and 1968 without reaching the British charts. After a lot of personnel turnover and a spell backing British singer Barry Ryan, the group moved to France and issued one final single as the Majority, "Charlotte Rose," though this was only released in some European territories. In 1970, still based in France, they changed their name to Majority One, issuing a few singles in 1970 and 1971 and a self-titled album in 1971, though the latter only came out in France and Holland at the time. With some similarities to the more lightweight efforts of the late-'60s Beatles, Bee Gees, and Moody Blues, Majority One's efforts passed unnoticed in their homeland, though their 1971 single "Because I Love" made the Top 20 in Holland, also becoming a hit in Italy and Brazil. Majority One also released some tracks under the names Black Label and Rocky Cabbage, but disbanded in the summer of 1971. Much of the material issued by Majority One, including some of the tracks released under the names the Majority, Black Label, and Rocky Cabbage, was assembled for the 2006 CD compilation Rainbow Rockin' Chair: The Definitive Collection 1969-1971. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music GuideTracks : Glass Image Hard Days NightCigarette, a Cup of TeaDepths of My MindFeedbackFriday ManGet Back HomeI Don't MInd The RainI Nearly DiedI See Her EverywhereLooks Like RainLove Came TodayRainbow Rocking ChairReverationRoger La FriteWait By The FireLink : @
For an album created by a revolving group of friends from three separate bands, Shadrack Chameleon is quite a cohesive little surprise. Steve Fox is the only constant on each of the eight songs on the album, and, in a way, could be considered Shadrack Chameleon since his guitar, bass, songwriting, and vocal talents come to the forefront. Fox's thinnish vocals can be an acquired taste, but he is a strong, instinctive writer. A Jimmy Page influence (almost inevitable during the period) is discernible in the interesting, mystical chords and changes on the album. The band is certainly not a Zeppelin soundalike, though, because the changes that Fox and sometime-partner Randy Berka conceived are countered by a gentle acoustic feel and a languid rather than dynamic pulse. The band can employ a beautiful, stomping country-rock style, as on the opening cut "I Wonder Why," with its ensemble vocal hook (reminiscent of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Lucky Man") and organ, or it can be a heavier progressive rock outfit, as on "Long Road to Ole' Miss" and "Granite Feast." Mostly, though, Shadrack Chameleon might be termed progressive folk, and songs like "That's the Way It's Gotta Be" and "Don't Let It Get You Down" reveal strummed chording that comes out sounding almost claustrophobic and is a good match for each song's subject matter. The members of Shadrack didn't lack ambition, either; "Chameleon (I Love You)" is an epic ballad with seemingly two songs combined into one, while the album ends on the spare acoustic-to-electric drone of "Beyond Eternity." The album ultimately passes by in an almost lazy haze and is occasionally accomplished, but too often Shadrack Chameleon sounds, if not uninspired, uninterested or flat.Tracks : 1. I Wonder Why - (bonus track)2. Chameleon (I Love You)3. Granite Feast4. Don't Let It Get You Down5. It Was Me - (bonus track)6. Long Road to Ole' Miss.7. That's the Way It's Gotta Be8. Beyond EternityLink : @Ripped by : evermorebluesArtwork Included
I don't hear it very often that a band is compared to Van Der Graaf Generator. In the bio, Rumple Stiltzken Comune (I'll call them RSC from now on...) are described as a combination of VDGG and PFM. It took a while before I knew this description is accurate in some degree at least. But before I was at that point, I was enchanted by the music of this album. Yes, a beautiful album.
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