Mythos - Mythos 1972

Krautrock Prog band, formed 1969 in Berlin, Germany. Always at the core of the band, through many line-up changes, was the multi-instrumental talent Stephan Kaske, who also was the lead singer. Mythos was always largely instrumental, rooted in the acid rock and cosmic sounds of Pink Floyd and Hawkwind, but with a wider sound palette.

The early albums are more cosmic Krautrock, whereas the mid/late 70's incarnation was heavier electronic rock, after which the band fell apart becoming the project of Stephan Kaske alone, doing electro-pop, and later soundtracks and library music.

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Carlos Santana & Buddy Miles - Live! 1972

From December 1971 to April 1972, Carlos Santana and several other members of Santana toured with drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles, a former member of the Electric Flag and Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys. The resulting live album contained both Santana hits ("Evil Ways") and Buddy Miles hits ("Changes"), plus a 25-minute, side-long jam titled "Free Form Funkafide Filth." It was not, perhaps, the live album Santana fans had been waiting for, but at this point in its career, the band could do no wrong. The album went into the Top Ten and sold a million copies. AMG.

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Experience - Experience 1970

Experience is a prog/rock french band, a shortlived project by members of Martin Circus and Triangle. Don't miss it. 

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Péloquin Sauvageau - Laissez-nous Vous Embrasser Où Vous Avez Mal 1972

Launched in 1972, "Laissez-nous vous embrasser oú vous avez mal" is one of the most original record ever made in Quebec. Though avant-garde, it still managed to garner radio support and wide public attention thanks to the trance-like track "Monsieur L'Indien".

The "Us" in Let us kiss you where it hurts is Claude Péloquin, a controversial poet, and Jean Sauvageau, an electronic music pioneer. Together after memorable trips and artistic happenings throughout the 60s, they came up with this eccentric avant-garde masterpiece. With topics ranging from revolution (Monsieur Emiliano) to exploitation (Monsieur L'Indien), vasectomy (Sterilization), or even scatology (Mama Vagina), the record exploded onto the local scene during the dark ages of Quebec Pop Music (something very similar to what's happening now).

Claude Péloquin, the vocalist, can be heard laughing, screaming, and babbling into the mike as he "cracks open a brew" overtop a cocktail of explosive and highly original electronic music. A wall of sound shifting from the synthetic psychedelic ambiance, doped out a choir to fucked up western.

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Windchase - Symphinity 1977

Windchase is an Australian symphonic/progressive rock band, that was formed in 1976 in the vein of Yes and Camel. 

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Terence Boylan - Alias Boona 1969

Terence Boylan is an American singer/songwriter. Brought up in Buffalo, New York, Terence Boylan first appeared on local radio in the late 1950s performing a song he had written at the age of 11. While still in his mid-teens, in the early 1960s, he performed in Greenwich Village and, following a chance meeting with Bob Dylan, was encouraged to pursue a solo music career in upstate New York. He attended Bard College in New York, and with his older brother John formed a band, the Ginger Men. By 1967, they had both signed with Verve Records, for whom they then recorded an experimental concept album, Playback, issued in the name of the Appletree Theatre.

After John Boylan moved to California, Terence stayed in New York, returned to college, and played with classmates Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. With them, he cut a solo LP, Alias Boona in 1969, the title referring to his nickname. He then moved to California, working again with his brother. After a few years, he was signed to Asylum Records and recorded his self-titled second album in 1977. Like his previous record, this was well-received by critics but was never more than a cult success. However, Boylan did enjoy some success as a songwriter when Iain Matthews turned his song "Shake It" into a top-five hit.

Following a third album, Suzy, Boylan has principally involved himself with songwriting and soundtrack work, and his own record label and publishing company, Spinnaker Records.

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Blue Magic - 13 Blue Magic Lane 1975

The third Blue Magic LP continues to subtly refine and expand the group's approach. While their gossamer harmonies remain squarely at the forefront, 13 Blue Magic Lane features more pronounced club grooves than on their previous records, bowing to the inexorable shift from classic Philly soul to disco. Arranged by Norman Harris and Ron Kersey, several songs feature electronic textures that add surprisingly complementary muscle to Blue Magic's delicate vocals. In fact, despite the presence of sumptuous ballads like "Chasing Rainbows" and "Loneliest House on the Block," up-tempo fare like "We're on the Right Track" is even better. The times would later pass Blue Magic by, but for this glorious album, they were not only in lockstep with the prevailing attitudes but further ahead of the curve than any of their contemporaries. AMG.

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The Byrds - Untitled 1970

Among the later Byrds albums, Untitled was always the one to own, even if you weren't a huge fan. Issued back in 1970 as a two-priced-as-one LP, Untitled was one of the few modest commercial successes for the latter-day group. "Eight Miles High" is the high point, a 15-minute jam that showcases this band's prowess. The studio sides aren't to be overlooked, however -- the group by this time was modifying its established sound into more of a '70s mode, and the influence of new members Gene Parsons and Skip Battin was showing up, pushing aside the familiar timbre of Roger McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker in favor of a leaner country-rock orientation. On some of this material (especially the Parsons-Battin "Yesterday's Train" and Battin's "Well Come Back Home"), they sound more like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The only song on the album to get heard by people other than serious Byrds fanatics was McGuinn's "Chestnut Mare," but "Truck Stop Girl," "All the Things," the group's version of Leadbelly's "Take a Whiff on Me," and, especially, "Just a Season" (maybe the prettiest song McGuinn has ever written) also hold up very well. Other numbers, like the environmental ode "Hungry Planet," are more of an acquired taste. AMG.

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The Bleu Forest - A Thousand Trees Deep 1968

USA produced such a vast variety of garage bands, that were highly influenced by major known bands of the time like Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix & The Experience, and The Grateful Dead. Every little town in the US has been over-flooded with teenagers full of enthusiasm and ideas reflecting the electrifying times when everything suddenly seemed to be possible. One of the better local bands, that came and went with the '60s fading into plastic '70s was Ventura County’s Bleu Forest. So far only a handful of people heard these 1968 unreleased recordings, which were hidden in Caviness's (only surviving member) basement, and let me say this: What we have here is a lost psych-garage classic. A crossover between the groovy melodies of Moby Grape mixed with Steppenwolf heaviness. 

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The Monkees - More of the Monkees 1967

The Monkees second album More of the Monkees lived up to its title. It was more successful commercially, spending an amazing 70 weeks on the Billboard charts and ultimately becoming the 12th biggest selling album of all time. It had more producers and writers involved since big-shots like Carole King and Gerry Goffin, Jeff Barry and Neil Sedaka, as well as up-and-comers like Neil Diamond all grabbed for a piece of the pie after Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, the men who made the debut album such a smash, were elbowed out by music supervisor Don Kirshner. The album also has more fantastic songs than the debut. Tracks like "I'm a Believer," "She," "Mary, Mary," " (I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone," "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," "Your Auntie Grizelda," and "Sometime in the Morning" are on just about every Monkees hits collection and, apart from the novelty "Grizelda," they are among the best pop/rock heard in the '60s or any decade since. The band themselves still had relatively little involvement in the recording process, apart from providing the vocals along with Mike Nesmith's writing and producing of two tracks (the hair-raising rocker "Mary, Mary" and the folk-rock gem "The Kind of Girl I Could Love"). In fact, they were on tour when the album was released and had to go to the record shop and buy copies for themselves. As with the first album though, it really doesn't matter who was involved when the finished product is this great. Listen to Micky Dolenz and the studio musicians rip through "Stepping Stone" or smolder through "She," listen to the powerful grooves of "Mary, Mary" or the heartfelt playing and singing on "Sometime in the Morning" and dare to say the Monkees weren't a real band. They were! The tracks on More of the Monkees (with the exception of the aforementioned "Your Auntie Grizelda " and the sickly sweet "The Day We Fell in Love," which regrettably introduces the smarmy side of Davy Jones) stand up to the work of any other pop band operating in 1967. Real or fabricated, the Monkees rate with any pop band of their era, and More of the Monkees solidifies that position. AMG.

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Terence - An Eye For An Ear 1969

Solo album from a Canadian musician released in 1969, with psychedelic, rock, and blues sounds mixed. Don't miss it, worth listening to.

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Virus - Thoughts 1971

Between their first album, Revelation, and this follow-up, most of Virus split to form the band Weed. Thoughts, recorded only six months after the debut, shows a radically different group with only two original members. The tracks are much shorter and song-oriented, as the group trades in space rock for a more conventional blues-rock sound. There is still some nice work here, some great psychedelic guitar and keyboard workouts, especially on the dark track "King Heroin," which opens the disc. "Mankind, Where Do You Go?" is even better, as the cut sports a jazz-funk riff and gloomy chorus vocals. Elga Blask sings on much of the rest of the album in an unfeminine voice quite similar to Inga Rumpf's, though not quite as powerful. Instrumentally the group sticks close to the sound of Frumpy, Rumpf's band in the early '70s who featured similar psychedelic guitar and organ work. Unfortunately, there are none of the long, wild jam-outs of Frumpy's best material, though "My Strand-Eyed Girl" has some interesting percussions. Most of this record is quite good, it's just that Virus' debut raised the bar too high and this record pales in comparison. AMG.

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Seatrain - Seatrain 1970

Produced by George Martin and recorded in England, Seatrain found all the parts with which to construct a great album of East Coast rock and country soul. With Peter Rowan added to the group as guitarist and lead vocalist, Seatrain managed to even get a Top 40 hit with the tune "13 Questions." But the good music doesn't stop there; each track is worth listening to. AMG.

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John Cale - Paris 1919 (1973)

One of John Cale's very finest solo efforts, Paris 1919 is also among his most accessible records, one which grows in depth and resonance with each successive listen. A consciously literary work -- the songs even bear titles like "Child's Christmas in Wales," "Macbeth," and "Graham Greene" -- Paris 1919 is close in spirit to a collection of short stories; the songs are richly poetic, enigmatic period pieces strongly evocative of their time and place. Chris Thomas' production is appropriately lush and sweeping, with many tracks set to orchestral accompaniment; indeed, there's little here to suggest either Cale's noisy, abrasive past or the chaos about to resurface in his subsequent work -- for better or worse, his music never achieved a similar beauty again. AMG.

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Dirk Hamilton - You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right 1976

After moving to Los Angeles from Stockton, CA, Dirk Hamilton attracted the attention of Steely Dan producer Gary Katz, who in turn helped him sign a deal with ABC Records. The result, the Katz-produced You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right, is quirky if occasionally misguided work, with moments of brilliance. Katz brought in a host of session pros, including Chuck Rainey, Elliott Randall, and Jeff Porcaro -- all of whom had previously worked with him on various Steely Dan projects -- to flesh out Hamilton's idiosyncratic, acoustic-based tunes. And while these great players are perfect for Steely Dan's sophisticated pop/rock, they don't really do much for the material here. Hamilton sounds loose and playful throughout, while the backing seems somewhat flat and lifeless. Still, what makes You Can Sing truly worthwhile, and distinguishes it from the other singer/songwriter recordings bombarding the industry at the time, is masterful songwriting like the terrific "She Don't Squash Bugs," the detailed melancholy of "Wasn't That One Night Good," and the opening track, "The Sweet Forever." It would take Hamilton a couple of years to find the perfect setting for his songs but, nonetheless, his sharp wit, keen insight, and unique style are evident throughout You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right. AMG.

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Blerta - This Is The Life 1975

Blerta ("Bruno Lawrence's Electric Revelation and Travelling Apparition"), was a New Zealand musical and theatrical cooperative active in the 1970s. It was the idea of Bruno Lawrence to arrange a group of musicians, actors, and friends, who would travel around New Zealand on a tour to get away from the pressure of the music and movie scene. He organized the traveling group, and in October 1971, they departed on their tour. The group traveled around New Zealand in a very distinctive red bus, concluding in January 1973 at the first large outdoor music festival in New Zealand, The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival[1] before heading up the eastern seaboard of Australia and performing at the 1973 Aquarius Festival at the Northern Rivers NSW hippie town of Nimbin.

The group lived in a commune for many years. Three families, including Bruno Lawrence's and Geoff Murphy's, lived together. The group came to the attention of those in the New Zealand film industry and were at times employed to create work for TVNZ. The group was labeled as hippies during this time and was looked down upon by some in the industry despite the quality and nature of their work.

Throughout the years that Blerta traveled the lineup changed, over time members included Lawrence, Fane Flaws, Beaver, Geoff Murphy, Tony Barry, Mick Liber as well as many others, of which some had previously worked with Bruno in bands and others joined along the way. The original lineup was Bruno Lawrence, Corben Simpson, Kemp Turirangi, Geoff Murphy, Alan Moon, Tony Littlejohn, Beaver, Eric Foley, and Chris Seresin. The great adventure and experience of Blerta finished in 1975 when the troupe went out on one last tour. 

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Nine Days' Wonder - Nine Days' Wonder 1971

German underground rock band of the 1970's hailing from Mannheim. Eccentric and unique vocalist Walter Seyffer had fronted numerous bands during the 1960s. He claims to have established Nine Days Wonder in 1966, then known as The Graves, which gradually transformed into Nine Days Wonder proper in February 1970. Walter got together an unlikely collection of musicians from Germany, Austria, Ireland, and England, to create a diverse rock fusion encompassing all forms of Krautrock and showing distinct Frank Zappa and British progressive rock influences.

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Bob Weir - Heaven Help The Fool 1978

Issued half a decade after his first solo LP, Ace (1972), Heaven Help the Fool is the antithesis of Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir's debut effort. Although initially dismissed by critics and Deadheads alike as a slick, soulless, L.A.-sounding disc, the passage of time has somewhat mitigated that assessment -- but not by very much. One of the primary factors in the decidedly over-produced and at times uncomfortable-sounding approach can be directly attributed to the absence of his Grateful Dead bandmates. This is in direct contrast to Ace -- which was, in reality, a full-blown Dead album in disguise. Another common thread is producer Keith Olsen. As he had done with the Dead's Terrapin Station (1977) long player the previous year, Olsen obscures some uniformly interesting melodies with disco-laden arrangements, the most blatant offenders being "Wrong Way Feelin'" and a reworking of Marvin Gaye's "I'll Be Doggone." They're abused with synthesizer-drenched rhythms and disposable, generic backing vocals. Even the array of studio talent -- which includes Waddy Wachtel (guitar), David Foster (keyboards), fellow Bay Area Sons of Champlin-founder Bill Champlin (keyboards), Mike Porcaro (bass), Tom Scott (woodwinds), and former Elton John bandmembers Nigel Olsson (drums) and Dee Murray (bass) -- is unable to salvage a majority of the material on Heaven Help the Fool. However, it is Weir's uniformly strong original compositions -- penned with longtime lyrical collaborator John Barlow -- and well-conceived choice of cover tunes that suffer the most. Those wishing to hear infinitely more tolerable interpretations of tracks such as "Bombs Away," "This Time Forever," "Shade of Grey," and Lowell George's "Easy to Slip" should seek out Weir/Wasserman Live (1998). Likewise, the more industrious enthusiast might even wish to locate the Grateful Dead's very occasional live versions of "Heaven Help the Fool" and "Salt Lake City." AMG.

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Hollins Ferry - Hollins Ferry 1977

Not much info about this power pop band from Baltimore, Maryland who released one album in 1977 on Port City Records before splitting up. 

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Marc Brierley - Hello 1969

Marc Brierley's second album boasted considerably more color in the arrangements than his 1968 debut Welcome to the Citadel had. Perhaps the production input of Ashley Kozak, who had been Donovan's manager, helped move Brierley in the more melodic, accessible direction that characterized Donovan's brand of folk-rock. (For that matter, sidemen Harold McNair, on flute, and Tony Carr, on percussion, had played on some of Donovan's fine 1960s recordings.) Brierley's not a "Sunshine Superman," though, and while it marks an improvement from its predecessor, Hello is still pretty tame, unmemorably effusive period late-'60s British folk-pop/rock. The mood ranges from light bonhomie with a vaudevillian speckle ("Sunny Weather"), earnest flowery orchestrated folk-pop ("Lady of the Light" and "When Martha Comes"), and jazzy bossa nova ("Lookin' Around the Room") to more melancholy and acoustic material, the title track recalling both Donovan and Al Stewart. The net effect, however, is to remind you just how much better Donovan's records were, though this is superficially similar in some respects. AMG.

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Sandy Harless - Songs 1973

From a young age, Sandy Harless harbored the tender soul that he’d later put on display with his 1973 LP Songs. At five, he raised an abandoned baby skunk, and later bred exotic fish and sold them to local pet shops. Growing up in Ravenswood, West Virgina, a teenaged Harless turned the sale of one spindly African butterfly fish into a Dan Armstrong Ampeg bass guitar in clear acrylic. As a student at Ohio University in Athens, Harless booked twelve sessions over three weeks of 1973 at Chillicothe’s Appalachia Sound Recording Studio. Set to tape were an assemblage of performances by a group of longtime friends and classmates—identified on the LP jacket as simply Mark, Elise, Phil, and Chauncey—each of whom scheduled overdub sessions around final exams. Pedal steel guitarist, Jon David Call—founding member of Columbus, Ohio country-rock outfit, Pure Prairie League—happened to be in the studio the day Harless dropped by to book his session. On hiatus from the League following their 1972 RCA debut, Call agreed to sit in on the session for Songs.

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William Truckaway - Breakaway 1971

After leaving the Sopwith Camel singer/songwriter William Truckaway recorded one of the great lost singles of the early '70s, "Bluegreens." It is an insanely catchy ditty built around a chunky synthesizer and simple hippy-dippy sentiments with a multi-tracked Truckaway and the Stovall Sisters providing some truly blissed-out vocals. It was enough of a hit that Taco Bell used it for an ad campaign and it got Truckaway an album deal with Reprise. Breakaway, which contains "Bluegreens," was released in 1971 and it is a wonderfully sweet and mellow album from a guy who sings like he could charm the leaves off the trees in the summertime. The album has a relaxed and easygoing sound with plenty of gentle strumming and tender vocalizing but also inventive arrangements (synths, sitars, congas, flutes, strings, backing vocals) that give his thoughts about getting out of the city ("Hard," "Cold City Life"), going slow ("I Go Slow"), finding Jesus ("Leave It There") and love lost ("Where's My Baby") and found ("Way to My Heart," "Be the One") -- an extra punch that many of his contemporaries lacked. You could compare Truckaway without much of a stretch to John Sebastian, since the Sopwith Camel and the Lovin' Spoonful shared a sound and a producer (Erik Jacobsen, who also fulfills those duties with Truckaway here). Breakaway isn't a lost classic by any means but it is a satisfying and interesting listen that deserves to be reissued outside of Japan. AMG.

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Sky - Sailor's Delight 1971

The second album by the Knack's Doug Fieger was produced by Jimmy Miller with Andy Johns, eight years before producer Mike Chapman would unleash "My Sharona" on the world. Fieger's "Don't Want Nobody" has all the elements that Miller put into his Stones hits and Traffic classic album cuts -- piano and flute supplement the folk guitar and vocal, giving the singer an enviable platform. The album is a solid representation of Fieger's song compositions and pre-Knack efforts; "Let It Lie Low" is a nice bit of pop/rock that foretells what was to come, a happy-go-lucky drumbeat by Robby Stawinski exploding when the Rolling Stones' horn section of Bobby Keys and Jim Price kicks in. Young Fieger's letter to producer Miller not only landed him the two albums on RCA, it enabled the group to get the great players here, like guitarist John Uribe and the Stones' pianist Ian Stewart, continuing the tradition of the stellar guests who showed up for Sky's first album. "Taking the Long Way Home" definitely sounds like an American version of Traffic, with conga drums that help the transition from this song to the piano ballad "Come Back." Again, the Stones' horns come in to add a touch of class, creating a nice bed for the powerful song-title chorus to emphasize Feiger's slinky vocal. This track is outstanding, and should have been a staple on 1971 FM radio. Miller was quite busy in the early '70s with Locomotiv GT, the Savage Rose, the Rolling Stones, Delaney & Bonnie, George Harrison, and Ginger Baker's Air Force, among others. Sailor's Delight, with its beautiful red sunrise/sunset cover, is a lost gem from the major producer at the peak of his powers as well as from his discovery Fieger, who went on to create the hit of the summer of 1979, "My Sharona." Inside these grooves are melodies and performances that verify Miller's genius; "Tooly" has an island feel while John Coury's "Sing for Me" comes off like the serious side of Tommy James. "Sing for Me," "Come Back," and "Low Down" from this disc would be perfect Sky contributions for the inevitable Jimmy Miller production box set. As entertaining as it is historical, Sailor's Delight is creative work from the master producer and the musicians he believed in enough to sign. How many "name" producers on a hot streak would gamble on an unknown singer, with validation coming years later as the singer went on to worldwide fame? AMG.
 

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Elizeth Cardoso & Zimbo Trio - Balançam Na Sucata 1969

Elizete Cardoso, the singer whose album Chega de Saudade launched the bossa nova, was also the first popular singer to interpret Villa-Lobos at the Municipal Theaters of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and was considered by Almirante the best interpreter of Noel Rosa. Adored by Edith Piaf ("C'est merveilleuse! C'est merveilleuse!"), paid homage by Cartola (who wrote especially for her his famous samba-canção "Acontece"), and a most cherished artist by the Brazilian audiences, she was also known as "the Divina" (an alias given to her by Haroldo Costa and popularized by Vinicius de Moraes in his liner notes to Chega de Saudade).

Her ample tessitura, capable of exploring faithfully both low and high registers, and her highly personal interpretation, full of a melancholy that witnessed the essence of an artist who experienced deep sadness in her life (along with all the rewards that success can bring), conveyed an unforgettable poetic density. In her almost 70 years of artistic activities, she performed a wide palette of genres, but her preference was for the samba. Here with Zimbo Trio with whom she toured extensively all around the world. AMG.

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Brian Byrne - Brian Byrne 1973

This little-known and tough-to-find folk gem remains one of the best-kept secrets of Ireland. Much of the repertoire is traditional, however, it keeps the listener's attention though the whole set, possibly because it doesn't sound as expected. It is more modern and sometimes close to chamber-folk music. Brian's voice is something but what makes this album truly special is all the little - nonetheless essential - unexpected touches, the best example of that being the Moog: a bewitching, heartwarming sound.

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10cc - 10cc 1973

Displaying a command of pop styles and satire, 10cc showed that they are a force to be reckoned with on their first album. Hooks abound, harmonies shine, and instrumentation is dazzling without being overdone. Though charges of "self-consciously clever" could be leveled at the group, their command of witty, Anglo-styled pop is so impressive that even those criticisms must be weighed against the mastery of styles. All four members sing lead and are talented songwriters, and this leads to a wide variety of styles that add to their vision. Featuring their number one U.K. hit "Rubber Bullets," 10cc wade through ten selections of satire and parody. One of the best is "Johnny Don't Do It," a parody of all the "death discs" of the late '50s and early '60s (the misunderstood "bad but really good" guy who is killed in a wreck). More contemporary and bitingly sarcastic is "Headline Hustler," a commentary on the ravenous, scandal-hungry media. Medical facilities and the treatment afforded there is given ripe 10cc commentary in "The Hospital Song." ("And when I go, I'll die of plaster casting love.") Whether doing loving parodies of the music they grew up with or satirizing contemporary issues, 10cc show themselves to be top-level purveyors of pop on their debut recording. Some might criticize the group for being too self-satisfied with their own intelligence, but there is no denying the true craftsmanship and humor on their 1973 debut. AMG.

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