David Kubinec's Mainhorse Airline - The Geneva Tapes 1969-70

It has always been said that the origins of the Patrick Moraz debut recording group “Mainhorse” are not well documented. Now, with the discovery after 37 years of ‘The Geneva Tapes’ all that has changed.

These tapes provide a unique insight into how the band was formed and what its original aims and personnel were. In the late summer of 1969, Moraz and his friend, bass player and cellist Jean Ristori came over to England in search of an English rock drummer and singer. After putting an advertisement in Melody Maker they hired a rehearsal room in Shepherds Bush, London for 2 days.

On the first day they auditioned drummers and chose a then unknown 17 year old Bryson Graham. The 2nd day was spent listening to singers and finally the choice was reduced to 2. The singer from that great band “If” and cult rock figure David Kubinec aka ‘Kubie’ from pop-psych band “The World of Oz”. Finding it impossible to decide between them, they were given an exam in which they both had to write lyrics for ‘Pale Sky’ in 10 minutes but Kubinec raced through it in 3 or 4 and they can be heard here in their entirety for the 1st time. And so Kubie was chosen.

These 4 guys then flew over to Switzerland and joined up with Auguste De Antoni the renowned French jazz guitarist and Swiss jazz drummer Arnold who were part of The Patrick Moraz Quartet which had already played to great acclaim at The Montreux Jazz Festival, forming a 6 piece group with 2 drummers with differing styles which Moraz named “Integral Aim”.

An innovative project of free jazz, rock, psychedelia and classical fusion (which filled the gap between the Underground and Progressive-Rock and which would have taken the world of music by storm) was over, but it makes the recent emergence of these original tapes all the more exciting. This album is a must for any fan of what became known as Prog- Rock, laying down as it did one of the foundation stones for that genre and yet these particular recordings have never been heard before.

A truly fabulous and unexpected find that shines a light into the dark corners of late-sixties and early-seventies experimental music. Moraz went on to play with Refugee, Yes and The Moody Blues, recording several albums of his own when he left them after fifteen years. David Kubinec, a wonderful songwriter in his own right, recorded solo material and also albums with The Rats and John Cale of Velvet Underground. Bryson Graham teamed up with Gary Wright, Spooky Tooth and The Paul Kossoff Band and was with Paul when he died on the flight returning from the United States.

He rejoined Kubie in David Kubinec's Excess in 1978 to promote the A&M album "Some Things Never Change" with Chris Spedding, Ollie Halsall and John Cale. In 1979, Kubinec went to the former Yugoslavia to watch his only child Emily growing up, and he joined "Stijene" a rock band which enjoyed great national success before the Balkan Wars. After the war, it was rumoured that he had been killed in a crossfire between the Serbs and Croats. This has never been confirmed, but it's certain that he hasn't released a record since. pointblankplay.

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Charles Tolliver - The Ringer 1969

This is the Charles Tolliver record to get, although it may be hard to find. The masterful trumpeter, in a quartet with pianist Stanley Cowell, bassist Steve Novosel, and drummer Jimmy Hopps, plays five of his strongest compositions. Highlights include the powerful "On the Nile," "The Ringer," and "Spur," but each of the numbers has its memorable moments. Tolliver is heard at the peak of his creative powers; it is strange that he never received the fame and recognition that he deserved. AMG.

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Amalgam - Pray for Peace 1969

British saxophonist Trevor Watts was well established in the free improvisation world as a member of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble -- formed with trombonist Paul Rutherford and drummer John Stevens in 1965 -- when he decided to establish another band that would focus more directly on his compositions. Thus, Watts founded Amalgam in 1967, a group also including Rutherford as well as bassist Barry Guy. In contrast to the SME's characteristic post-Challenge collective improvisational approach,Amalgam's music was more melodic and pulse-driven, initially based on acoustic free jazz-style expression with thematic material composed byWatts.

However, AMM guitarist Keith Rowe would replace Kuhne in the next quartet lineup of Amalgam between 1978 and 1980. Watts later described this period -- documented by 1979's four-LP live box set Wipe Out on the Impetus label and that year's single-disc Over the Rainbow on Watts' Arc imprint -- as one of the group's most creative, particularly given the bandmembers' ability to find commonality of expression given their individual backgrounds in such diverse areas as free jazz, creative improvisation, blues, rock, funk, soul, and abstract sound art. Over the Rainbow would prove to be the final album from Amalgam, as Watts would disband the group after 13 years and move into the next phase of his career as a bandleader with the various Moiré Music ensembles -- including both Genockey andMcKenzie at various times -- beginning in the mid-'80s and continuing to the beginning of the new millennium. The aforementioned Amalgam albums originally released between 1969 and 1979 have all been reissued on CD in the 21st century by the FMR Records label.The following year's Another Time LP, released by the Vinyl Records label, signified the beginning of a new phase for Amalgam, as the group settled into a format of saxophone, electric guitar, electric bass, and drums, withWatts the only holdover from Amalgam's previous incarnations. On board were Welsh rock bassist Pete Cowling, guitarist Steve Hayton, and diverse Irish drummer Liam Genockey, who would remain in the Watts orbit for a number of years to come. On Another Time the group played an often high-energy form of electric jazz, bordering on jazz-rock but with a generally freer approach. This thread continued with 1977's Samanna, also released by Vinyl Records, which saw the electric Amalgam expand from a quartet to a quintet with the addition of a second electric bassist, the Scotland-born Colin McKenzie, like Genockey a musician who would perform and record with Watts on numerous future occasions. Electric guitar also remained prominent, with Steve Hayton replaced by newcomer Dave Cole. Samanna is noteworthy for its unique meld of Ornette Coleman & Prime Time-style free funk with the African-inspired circular rhythms explored by Watts' subsequent Moiré Music ensembles. Also released in 1977, the album Mad saw the band return to a quartet format with Watts, McKenzie, Genockey, and -- in a departure for the band during this period -- Willem Kuhne on electric piano rather than a guitarist.Amalgam proved to be an ever-changing entity from the start, and in fact, Rutherford was gone from the lineup by the time the group entered West London's Advision Studios in May 1969 to record debut disc Prayer for Peace, released that year on Transatlantic Records. Prayer for Peace was a saxophone trio set, withWatts' powerful alto cutting loose over the intuitive rhythm section of drummer Stevens and bassist Jeff Clyne (with Guy serving as bassist -- demonstrating his considerable arco skills -- on the elegiac title track).Innovation, released by Tangent Records in 1975, features some serious grooving by the Amalgam ensemble, this version featuring Watts andStevens joined by pianist Keith Tippett, bassists Lindsay L. Cooper andKent Carter, and Terry Quaye on congas (interestingly, Watts composed only one of the album’s five tracks, with the remainder composed by Stevens). AMG.

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Al Stewart - Love Chronicles 1969

Al Stewart's second album is most renowned for the 18-minute title track, an autobiographical recount of different love affairs with guitar by Jimmy Page. That track was also quite controversial for its day in its use of the word "f*cking" at one point in the lyrics, though that's not typical of the tone of the composition. It's actually not the best of the six songs on the record, which saw Stewart wisely discard the orchestration of his debut in favor of fairly straight-ahead folk-rock backing. "Ballad of Mary Foster" is Stewart's best early song, as a two-part suite neatly divided between brusque cynical commentary on a bourgeois English family and the introspective musings of the ravaged wife. That second part bears considerable similarity in melody and tempo, incidentally, to sections of the far more famous Stewart song "Roads to Moscow." The rest of the album has additional solid vignettes in the standard gentle yet detached Stewartmold, the best of them being "Life and Life Only," which exploits his knack for insistent, repetitive minor-keyed hooks AMG.

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Deep Purple - Concerto for Group and Orchestra 1969

This 2012 reissue is an expanded version of Deep Purple's 1969 live album Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which finds Purple's Mk II lineup (Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice) performing at London's Royal Albert Hall with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Arnold. The music has been newly mixed in both stereo and surround versions, and several parts of the show that were missing from the original release are now included (however, a three-minute drum solo has been inexplicably edited out of "Third Movement"). AMG.

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James Cotton - Taking Care Of Business 1971

At his high-energy, 1970s peak as a bandleader, James Cotton was a bouncing, sweaty, whirling dervish of a bluesman, roaring his vocals and all but sucking the reeds right out of his defenseless little harmonicas with his prodigious lung power. Due to throat problems, Cotton's vocals are no longer what they used to be, but he remains a masterful instrumentalist. Cotton had some gargantuan shoes to fill when he stepped into Little Walter's slot asMuddy Waters' harp ace in 1954, but for the next dozen years, the young Mississippian filled the integral role beside Chicago's blues king with power and precision. Of course, Cotton had been preparing for such a career move for a long time, having learned how to wail on harp from none other than Sonny Boy Williamson himself.

Cotton was only a child when he first heard Williamson's fabled radio broadcasts for King Biscuit Time over KFFA out of Helena, Arkansas. So sure was Cotton of his future that he ended up moving into Williamson's home at age nine, soaking up the intricacies of blues harpdom from one of its reigning masters. Six years later, Cotton was ready to unleash a sound of his own.

Gigging with area notables Joe Willie Wilkins and Willie Nix, Cotton built a sterling reputation around West Memphis, following in his mentor's footsteps by landing his own radio show in 1952 over KWEM. Sam Phillips, whose Sun label was still a fledgling operation, invited Cotton to record for him, and two singles commenced: "Straighten Up Baby" in 1953 and "Cotton Crop Blues" the next year. Legend has it Cotton played drums instead of harp on the first platter.

When Waters rolled through Memphis minus his latest harpist (Junior Wells), Cotton hired on with the legend and went to Chicago. Unfortunately for the youngster, Chess Records insisted on using Little Walter on the great majority of Waters' waxings until 1958, when Cotton blew behind Waters on "She's Nineteen Years Old" and "Close to You." AtCotton's suggestion, Waters had added an Ann Cole tune called "Got My Mojo Working" to his repertoire. Walterplayed on Muddy Waters' first studio crack at it, but that's Cotton wailing on the definitive 1960 reading (cut live at the Newport Jazz Festival).

By 1966, Cotton was primed to make it on his own. Waxings for Vanguard, Prestige, and Loma preceded his official full-length album debut for Verve Records in 1967. His own unit then included fleet-fingered guitarist Luther Tuckerand hard-hitting drummer Sam Lay. Throwing a touch of soul into his eponymous debut set, Cotton ventured into the burgeoning blues-rock field as he remained with Verve through the end of the decade.

In 1974, Cotton signed with Buddah and released 100% Cotton, one of his most relentless LPs, with Matt "Guitar" Murphy sizzling on backup. A decade later, Alligator issued another stand-out Cotton LP, High Compression, which was split evenly between traditional-style Chicago blues and funkier, horn-driven material. Harp Attack!, a 1990 summit meeting on Alligator, pairedCotton with three exalted peers: Wells, Carey Bell, and comparative newcomer Billy Branch. Antone's Records was responsible for a pair of gems: a live 1988 set reuniting the harpist with Murphy and Tucker, and a stellar 1991 studio project, Mighty Long Time. Cotton moved into the 21st century as one of the last surviving originators of the Chicago blues sound, and never slowed his pace a bit, releasing a series of fine albums, includingFire Down Under the Hill (2000) and Baby, Don't You Tear My Clothes (2004), both for Telarc Records, and Giant(2010) and Cotton Mouth Man (2013), both on Alligator Records. AMG.

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Mystery Trend - So Glad I Found You (1967-1968)

The Mystery Trend have been more a legend than a band since their dissolution, although some lo-fi unreleased tapes have made the rounds on the collectors' circuit. This 21-song compilation finally presents their legacy properly, including all of their 1966-67 Trident studio recordings, as well as some demos and even a solo demo apiece by Ron Nagle and guitarist Bob Cuff. Although some of the tunes are run-of-the-mill period rock, more often they're intriguing oddball art-pop-rock with a dash of psychedelia. "Words You Whisper" and "Ten Empty Cups" have a wistful, keyboard-grounded air that will seduce any Zombies fan, while the similar but poppier "There It Happened Again" is something like L.A. sunshine pop played with guts and imagination. Other cuts give you more of the weirdness you'd expect from a mid-1960s San Francisco band, as in the anxious melody, dread-infused words, and constant stops and starts of "Mercy Killing"; the lovely, lilting jazzy instrumental "Mambo for Marion"; and the ominous but tuneful "What If I" and "Lose Some Dreams" (which are like a darker Zombies). It's too bad that more of the pre-Trident demos that have been heard by collectors on unreleased tapes were not included, as some of them are quite up to par with the Trident sessions in the quality of the songwriting (if not fidelity), although a couple of them do appear on the CD. AMG.

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Leigh Stevens - Red Weather 1969

Red Weather was the first solo project from the lead guitarist of Blue Cheer. Originally released on the Phillips/Mercury label in 1969, the album immediately became a favorite on the underground music scene and established Stevens as a solo act. The music on Red Weather was dramatically different than that of Blue Cheer, with a well structured psychedelic sound like Quicksilver or the Grateful Dead rather than the sledgehammer hard rock sound of his former band. Recorded in England at the Trident Studios with the help of Nicky Hopkins on keyboards, drummer Mick Waller from the Jeff Beck Group, and Kevin Westlake from Blossom Toes, the album was hailed as a masterpiece by many British rock fans but was equally dismissed by Blue Cheer fans. The album contained eight songs that highlighted Stevens songwriting ability rather than his guitar prowess. After nearly 30 years the album was rereleased complete with the original psychedelic artwork cover. AMG.

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Fairport Convention - Unhalfbricking 1969

Unhalfbricking was, if only in retrospect, a transitional album for the young Fairport Convention, in which the group shed its closest ties to its American folk-rock influences and started to edge toward a more traditional British folk-slanted sound. That shift wouldn't be definitive until their next album, Liege & Lief. But the strongest link to the American folk-rock harmony approach left with the departure of Ian Matthews, who left shortly after the sessions forUnhalfbricking began. The mixture of obscure American folk-rock songs, original material, and traditional interpretations that had fallen into place with What We Did on Our Holidays earlier in the year was actually still intact, if not as balanced. Sandy Denny's two compositions, her famous "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" and the far less celebrated but magnetically brooding "Autopsy," were among the record's highlights. So too were the goofball French Cajun cover of Bob Dylan's "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (here retitled "Si Tu Dois Partir," and a British hit) and the magnificent reading of Dylan's "Percy's Song," though the bash through Dylan's "Million Dollar Bash" was less effective. Richard Thompson's pair of songs, however, were less memorable. The clear signpost to the future was their 11-minute take on the traditional song "A Sailor's Life," with guest fiddle by Dave Swarbrick, soon to join Fairporthimself and make his own strong contribution toward reshaping the band's sound. AMG.

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