Big Brother & The Holding Company - Big Brother & The Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin 1967

The debut, self-titled album from Big Brother & the Holding Company is an evolving paradigm, ten tracks initially issued on Mainstream Records, a label that would have success in 1968 with "Journey to the Center of the Mind" by Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes. Unfortunately for Janis Joplin and Big Brother & the Holding Company, the respectable performances and all of the material on this disc are undercut by a weak production that sounds rushed. Recorded on December 12, 13, and 14 of 1966, it's quite telling that perhaps the best two songs from the sessions, Peter Albin's tribal-sounding "Coo Coo," and Janis Joplin's fiery "The Last Time," were only available on a 45 rpm and played as treats on FM radio "rare tape" nights. Those two songs have an intensity and drama missing from laid-back album cuts like "Easy Rider" and "Intruder." Big Brother's strength sans Janis was their ability to experiment and rely heavily on ideas to make up for their lack of musical prowess. Sad to say, there is little of that experimentation here. Even a potential science fiction Peter Albin composition, "Light Is Faster Than Sound," comes off like an audition tape instead of the hit it could have been had it the cosmic explosion of a "Journey to the Center of the Mind." The album does contain interesting studies of future classics, like Moondog's "All Is Loneliness" (the street poet eventually signing with Columbia himself), and Joplin's creative arrangement of "Down on Me," making it more of an entertaining textbook than a deep musical experience. It was the lack of product from superstar Janis Joplin that kept putting an emphasis on this release with little else available to satisfy rabid fans who couldn't get enough of Janis. Columbia picked up the album and re-issued it in its original form, then reissued it again with "The Last Time" and "Coo Coo" added. AMG.

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Luis Gasca - For Those Who Chant 1972

Some people call this one the forgotten Santana album, after all, more than half of the classic Santana lineup is here, as well as Stanley Clarke on bass. It's 1972, fusion is becoming the next sound in jazz, and everyone is digging Bitches Brew and these new sounds on the scene: Incessant melodic lines over mystical vamps,  with a classy afro-latin rock sound holding down the groove for a very long time. 
 

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Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left 1969

It's little wonder why Drake felt frustrated at the lack of commercial success his music initially gathered, considering the help he had on his debut record. Besides fine production from Joe Boyd and assistance from folks like Fairport Convention's Richard Thompson and his unrelated bass counterpart from Pentangle, Danny Thompson, Drake also recruited school friend Robert Kirby to create most of the just-right string and wind arrangements. His own performance itself steered a careful balance between too-easy accessibility and maudlin self-reflection, combining the best of both worlds while avoiding the pitfalls on either side. The result was a fantastic debut appearance, and if the cult of Drake consistently reads more into his work than is perhaps deserved, Five Leaves Left is still a most successful effort. Having grown out of the amiable but derivative styles captured on the long-circulating series of bootleg home recordings, Drake imbues his tunes with just enough drama -- world-weariness in the vocals, carefully paced playing, and more -- to make it all work. His lyrics capture subtle poetry of emotion, as on the pastoral semi-fantasia of "The Thoughts of Mary Jane," which his soft, articulate singing brings even more to the full. Sometimes he projects a little more clearly, as on the astonishing voice-and-strings combination "Way to Blue," while elsewhere he's not so clear, suggesting rather than outlining the mood. Understatement is the key to his songs and performances' general success, which makes the combination of his vocals and Rocky Dzidzornu's congas on "Three Hours" and the lovely "'Cello Song," to name two instances, so effective. Danny Thompson is the most regular side performer on the album, his bass work providing subtle heft while never standing in the way of the song -- kudos well deserved for Boyd's production as well. AMG.

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Spheroe - Spheroe 1975

Despite having a stable career for almost the whole 70's decade, Spheroe remained widely unknown to the public for a long time. This french band was formed in 1972 and consisted of Patrick Garel on drums/percussion, Gerard Maimone on keys, Rido Bayonne on bass, and Micheal Perez on guitars. Spheroe had good live activity but had to wait until 1977 for its first official release. The self-titled LP was originally released on Cobra, later to be presented in CD format by Musea Records. Obviously influenced by Return To Forever and to a lesser extent Brand X, the band delivers highly-energetic jazz/fusion rock with tight performances and impressive musicianship. The pieces associate fever, nervosity, and sometimes serenity but always musicality. Spheroe is into delicate, smooth, contrasted, and impressionist music, based on melodic and harmonic research. Especially keyboardist Gerard Maimone had to be a great Chick Corea fan, his electric piano work is very solid and professional, but he also delivers strong doses of Moog solos. Apart from the typical groovy and filled with interplays parts of the album, there is also lots of space for Michael Perez to show his talent with nice solos and decent melodies, while in some moments the music gets really dark with obscure guitar chords and massive ''in your head'' synths, creating a haunting atmosphere. This is a quite good release from a lesser-known band with both enjoyable and well-arranged jazz/rock music, fine interplays, and always an intensive delivery. Recommended, especially to the fans of the genre. Progarchives.

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Patti Smith Group - Easter 1978

Patti Smith came back from the year-and-a-half break caused by her fall from a stage in January 1977 without having resolved the art-versus-commerce argument that had marred her second album, Radio Ethiopia. In fact, that argument was in some ways the theme of her third. Easter, produced by Bruce Springsteen associate Jimmy Iovine, was Smith's most commercial-sounding effort yet and, due to the inclusion of Springsteen's "Because the Night" (with Smith's revised lyrics), a Top Ten hit, it became her biggest seller, staying in the charts more than five months and getting into the Top 20 LPs. But Smith hadn't so much sold out as she had learned to use her poetic gifts within an album rock context. Certainly, a song that proclaimed, "Love is an angel disguised as lust/Here in our bed until the morning comes," was pushing the limits of pop radio, and on "Babelogue," Smith returned to her days of declaiming poetry on New York's Lower East Side. That rant (significantly ending, "I have not sold my soul to God") led into the provocative "Rock n Roll Nigger," a charged rocker with a chorus that went, "Outside of society/Is where I want to be." Smith made the theme from the '60s British rock movie Privilege her own and even got into the U.K. charts with it. And on songs like "25th Floor," Iovine, Smith, and her group were able to accommodate both the urge to rock out and the need to expound. So, Easter turned out to be the best compromise Smith achieved between her artistic and commercial aspirations. AMG.

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Proyecto A - Proyecto A + Proyecto B (1971 & 1974)

An interesting rare prog group formed in Spain in 1971. Here are their 2 albums from 1971 and 1974. Worth listening. 

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Lucky Thompson - I Offer You 1973

After he stopped teaching in 1974, Lucky Thompson permanently dropped out of music. On what would be his final album, Thompson (along with keyboardist Cedar Walton, bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Louis Hayes) performs five mostly straight-ahead originals, "The Moment of Truth," and the standard "Cherokee." Thompson, switching between tenor and soprano, was still very much in his musical prime at the time of this LP but apparently soon became sick of the whole music business, a major loss to jazz. He plays quite well throughout the set. AMG.

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White Light - Parable 1974

Scottish Christian rock album. Deeply spiritual psychedelia from the Caledonian quartet with divine aspiration and heavy riff to praise the Lord.

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Pablo Moses - Revolutionary Dream 1975

Under the guidance of producer Geoffrey Chung, Pablo Moses made his recorded debut in 1975 with "I Man a Grasshopper": an autobiographical herb tale cut at Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark studio. Featuring Chung himself on clavinet, his brother Mikey and the In Crowd's Michael Murray on rhythm and lead guitar, Clive Hunt on bass, and Robby Lyn on piano, the song provided Hunt's Sound Track label with a hit single. Moses followed up with a small batch of reality gems like "Blood Money," "We Should Be in Angola," and "One People," further boosting the singer's profile, both in Jamaica and the U.K. Revolutionary Dream, Moses' debut full-length released in 1976, brought most of those early singles together with eight additional mid-'70s productions. Throughout, the singer maintains a peaceful disposition, expounding thoughtfully upon cultural and reality subjects over the slow tempos established by drummer Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace. The music is characterized by a refined cool, and Geoffrey Chung isn't afraid to tilt the sound toward a rock influence with a guitar solo or two (note Murray's leads on "I Man a Grasshopper"). Underneath the polished productions, however, Revolutionary Dream presents Moses as a roots singer in the tradition of Yabby You, Sylford Walker, and Burning Spear, and that's a hardly bad company to be in. A stunning debut, and Moses' finest album-length outing. AMG.

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Jack Ashford - Hotel Sheet 1977

Label owner, producer, singer, songwriter, and arranger who also plays tambourine, percussion, and vibraphone. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 18th May 1944. Member of Marvin Gaye's touring band before becoming a member of Motown's The Funk Brothers. Founded the production companies Pied Piper Productions and Just Productions, Inc.! Founded the record company Ashford Records Inc. and the Detroit labels Ashford, Giant Records, Sepia Records, Triple 'B' Records, and Awake Records.

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Édition Spéciale - Allée des tilleuls 1976

Edition Spéciale's first LP is a mixed bag of strong talent and wrong decisions. The group has yet to take a resolute fusion route and feature Ann Ballester's voice prominently -- here she is mostly heard in the background. Typical for 1976, the music borrows from French progressive rock and the jazz-rock derived from both the Mahavishnu Orchestra (guitarist Mimi Lorenzini obviously emulates John McLaughlin) and Canterbury groups (in the time signature changes and keyboard work). There are excellent instrumental passages, but the lyrics have no originality and some melodies are really aggravating, particularly in the songs "Rock N' Roll" and "Marie Qui Te Maries!," which both evoke the weaker tracks on Sloche's first LP (J'ai un Oeil). But "Tomorrow Mourning" et "Un Coup Je Te Vois" contains good moments and promises of better ones to come -- it will happen on the group's next two LPs, Aliquante and Horizon Digital. The title track, the only all-instrumental piece, is an accomplished jazz-rock composition that salvages the album. It also includes an excellent Rickenbacker bass solo from Josquin Turenne Des Prés. The album first came out on United Artists in 1976 and attracted good attention in the French press. Musea reissued it in March 2003, adding three bonus tracks. These are three alternate versions of album tracks taken from a demo recorded earlier that year. "Marie Qui Te Maries!" has a completely different set of lyrics. AMG.

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Eric Ghost - Secret Sauce 1975

Obscure psychedelic jazz flutist Eric Ghost is known, if at all, for two privately pressed albums from the mid-1970s on the tiny Canadian label Gramophone: Ghost Plays For Mr. S. in 1974 and the cult classic Secret Sauce the following year. Both were fetching substantial sums at auction, though the latter was reissued in 2022 by Jazz Room Records.

Little is known about Ghost. His birth name was Richard Barth Sanders. He was also a close, longtime friend of jazz flute icon Jeremy Steig. His recordings are intense, funky, accessible, and wildly creative; Ghost took chances with tone, timbre, and effects and was a master of complex phrasing and harmonic invention.

We know that Ghost served in the U.S. Army during the early 1960s. His hitch took him to Morocco and Tangier, in particular, where he enjoyed the country's then-relaxed attitudes toward foreigners inside a steadfast Muslim culture. While in Morocco, he met many American and European travelers and expats, among them author Paul Bowles and artists Francis Bacon and Brion Gysin. After his discharge and return to North America, he embraced the emerging counterculture. We also know that in 1968, Ghost began manufacturing LSD in a trailer near Wappingers Falls, New York. He is credited with inventing blotter acid by developing and creating the machine that would administer pre-measured doses of LSD in a five- by the 20-drop matrix on a strip of blotter paper. The machine automatically cut the paper after every 100 doses. The blotter was called a "five-by-twenty" and wrapped in Kodak packaging for distribution across the country. Ghost produced roughly a million doses a month for several years.

We also know that he and Steig played together often and that the latter encouraged him to record. Ghost Plays For Mr. S. was issued in 1974. The title reference was not after Steig but rather a convict "...imprisoned for what today's society has defined as a felony." Reportedly, Ghost also met, associated with, and played with Rahsaan Roland Kirk during his final years, more than likely through a mutual friend and fellow flutist Dave Valentin.

The set consisted of two five-part suites titled Darkening of the Light and Deliverance.

His second album, Secret Sauce, was recorded in Vancouver in March 1975. A very different outing, it was composed of six extended jazz/psych compositions played by a studio band consisting of upright bassist Lincoln Goines (Bob Mintzer), electric bassist Tom Hazlitt (Paul Horn), Canadian session drummer/percussionist Jim McGilvray (Skywalk, Metallica, the Cult), and pianist Bob Murphy (Joani Taylor, Michael Buble).

In 1977, Ghost was arrested and convicted of unlawfully manufacturing LSD and sentenced to prison for seven years. He was released in 1984 and dropped out of sight. In 2022, London's Jazz Room Records, run by DJ Paul Murphy licensed Secret Sauce. The reissue marked the first time the recording included the proper track sequence. AMG.

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Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius 1976

It's impossible to hear Jaco Pastorious' debut album today as it sounded when it was first released in 1976. The opening track -- his transcription for fretless electric bass of the bebop standard "Donna Lee" -- was a manifesto of virtuosity; the next track, the funk-soul celebration "Come On, Come Over" was a poke in the eye to jazz snobs and a love letter to the R&B greats of the previous decade (two of whom, Sam & Dave, sing on that track); "Continuum" was a spacey, chorus-drenched look forward to the years he was about to spend playing with Weather Report. The program continues like that for three-quarters of an hour, each track heading off in a different direction -- each one a masterpiece that would have been a proud achievement for any musician. What made Jaco so exceptional was that he was responsible for all of them, and this was his debut album. Beyond his phenomenal bass technique and his surprisingly mature compositional chops (he was 24 when this album was released), there was the breathtaking audacity of his arrangements: "Okonkole Y Trompa" is scored for electric bass, French horn, and percussion, and "Speak Like a Child," which Pastorious composed in collaboration with pianist Herbie Hancock, features a string arrangement by Pastorious that merits serious attention in its own right. For a man with this sort of kaleidoscopic creativity to remain sane was perhaps too much to ask; his gradual descent into madness and eventual tragic death is now a familiar story, one which makes the bright promise of this glorious debut album all the more bittersweet. (This remastered reissue adds two tracks to the original program: alternate takes of "(Used to Be a) Cha Cha" and "6/4 Jam"). AMG.

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Pat Cool - Daybreak 1973

A Dutch prog rock band that released just one album, similar to several hammond-driven bands from the 70s with no guitar. Worths listening.

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The New Birth - It's Been A Long Time 1973

Formed by Tony Churchill and music-industry veteran Harvey Fuqua, New Birth was originally named the Nite-Liters. As the Nite-Liters, they enjoyed chart action with three R&B hits: "K-Jee," "Afro-Strut," and "Pull Together." Of the three, "K-Jee" was the most successful, peaking at number 17 during a 13-week run.

The roots of the band lie with Leslie and Melvin Wilson, who were gospel singers living in Muskegon, MI. After moving on to Detroit in the late '60s, their interest remained centered in the gospel. Melvin Wilson eventually met the Nite-Liters, who at the time were backing Motown artists, and expressed the possibility that he and his brother Leslie could perform with them. As fate would have it, the two brothers became acquainted with former Marvelette Anne Bogan, who introduced them to Fuqua. He had three groups under his tutelage: Love Peace & Happiness (of which Leslie and Melvin became members), the Nite-Liters, and New Birth. All but two members of New Birth had left the group around this time, leaving just Londee Loren and Bobby Downs. The three groups toured, backed each other up, and ultimately merged into one, with New Birth as the name of the new group.

Leslie, with his feisty vocals, and Melvin, with his more serene appeal, emerged as the primary lead singer. New Birth's first release was the R&B Top Ten single "I Can Understand It." Led by Leslie Wilson's intense vocals and reminiscent of Bobby Womack, the single zoomed up the charts, peaking at number four after only 12 weeks. In January of 1974, they released "It's Been a Long Time," one of their celebrated hits and another Top Ten entry. That single was followed by the classic, soulful ballad "Wildflower." During this time, the group was living in California, which presented problems; from egotism associated with the lights of Tinseltown to group-management problems, the band's best interests began to suffer. Consequently, New Birth terminated its affiliation with their founder and producer Fuqua, manager Jerry Weintraub, and RCA Records. In mid-1975 they signed with Buddah Records and immediately recorded their first and only number R&B one, "Dream Merchant." They recorded just one album for Buddah, however, before signing with Warner Bros. and later Ariola. In 1977, Leslie and Melvin Wilson left the group, and by 1979 the rest of the group had disbanded. However, in 1994, Leslie and Melvin re-formed the group and began performing at venues around the nation. AMG.

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Turner Brothers - Act 1 (1972)

Turner Bros. came out from Anderson, Indianapolis, playing an interesting soul/funk sound. Not much info about it, give it a try. 

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Weidorje - Weidorje 1978

Weidorje is a progressive rock/fusion/Zeuhl band from France, that was formed in 1976. The band split up around 1979. This supergroup of the late 1970s took its name from a track on Magma - Üdü Ẁüdü which involved Bernard Paganotti and Patrick Gauthier. The rest of the band involved some of the busiest session talents on the Paris scene at the time.

Weidorje was indeed very Magma styled, yet it also blended in elements of systemic music, and brass (an element long ago dropped in early Magma) giving it a distinctive sound of its own.

Although Weidorje existed for a few years they only completed one album. Sessions for a second album exist but were never completed. A few live recordings also exist, of which two tracks feature as bonuses on the CD reissue of their album.

Virtually everyone involved in Weidorje went on to other projects and/or released solo albums shortly after Weidorje's demise.

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Southwest F.O.B. - Smell Of Incense 1968

Late-sixties Dallas band Southwest F.O.B. are mostly remembered for "Smell of Incense," a pop-psychedelic tune with an ethereal organ that was a big regional hit in the South, and a small national one. The group was more aligned with the "soft rock" or sunshine pop sounds typical of many late-sixties pop-psychedelic southern Californian acts than the tough Texas garage style. Multi-part vocal harmonies characterized many of their arrangements, and their occasional use of horns added a mild dash of soul. Although "Smell of Incense" was a pop-slanted cover of a song by L.A. psychedelic group the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, most of their material was original, penned by Dan Seals and John Ford Colley [sic], who went on to land some big soft-rock hits in the 1970s as England Dan and John Ford Coley. Their brand of psychedelia was way tougher than what they'd make in the 1970s, but certainly on the same side. After making one album and a few singles, Seals and Colley left the group to form a duo, leaving the remaining members to carry on for about a year before disbanding. AMG.

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James Brown - Say It Live And Loud - Live In Dallas 1968

According to Alan Leeds -- tour director of the James Brown show in the late '60s -- by 1968 Brown was honored with the distinction of selling one million concert tickets during his various appearances at the famed Appollo Theatre and at several cities in the USA. Dallas was one of these places. As always it was a blast. Enjoy it.

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Chute Libre - Chute Libre 1977

A French jazz band that released two fusion records with pronounced funk sounds. They were a kind of a supergroup, with four members previously in Moravagine, flutist Denis Barbier, keyboardist Olivier Huntman, saxophonist Pierre-Jean Gidon and the drummer Mino Cinelu, the latter also being a much-traveled session musician and in bands as diverse as Gong and Weather Report.

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DeGarmo & Key - Straight On 1979

Eddie De Garmo & Dana Key are Memphis-reared guitar rockers who started with the Globe band in early 1972. Later they gave it up to create the Christian rock group called the Christian Band, changing the name to DeGarmo & Key later in the decade. They were influenced by ZZ Top, Jimi Hendrix, ELP, and others. AMG.

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Parliament - Up For The Down Stroke 1974

Kicking off with one of prime funk's purest distillations -- the outrageously great title track, with a perfect party chorus line and uncredited horns (presumably the Horny Horns were involved somehow) adding to the monster beat and bass -- Up for the Down Stroke finds Parliament in rude good health. As was more or less the case through the '70s, Parliament took a slightly more listener-friendly turn here than they did as Funkadelic, but often it's a difference by degrees. Just listening to some of Bernie Worrell's insane keyboard parts or Bootsy Collins' bass work here is enough to wake the dead. As always, Worrell in particular can suddenly surprise with his delicacy -- the soft, understated flow of "I Just Got Back" may have lyrics that could be sung by Jon Anderson, at least at points, but the piano lines have subtle, dreamy grace, the antithesis of Rick Wakeman's masturbations. For that matter, Peter Chase's whistles are downright delightful, goofy, and sweet all at once. Slightly more oddball is "All Your Goodies Are Gone," which has a bit more upfront bite and some downright strange lyrics, delivered with a stoned, breathless tone and backed by unearthly choir arrangements. Eddie Hazel is still listed as present and contributing, though unfortunately not for long after, with Ron Bykowski, Gary Shider, and William Nelson also chipping in as needed. Hazel co-writes two of the songs; it's a pity "The Goose" runs out of steam toward the midpoint of its nine minutes, but it makes for pleasant background music if not Parliament at its unfettered best. In the meantime, Clinton and various familiar voices like Fuzzy Haskins and Grady Thomas keep the weird wiggliness of the lyrics flowing. In a nod to the group's past, "(I Wanna) Testify," here simply called "Testify," gets a 1974-era work over. AMG.

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