T. Rex - The Slider 1972

Buoyed by two U.K. number-one singles in "Telegram Sam" and "Metal Guru," The Slider became T. Rex's most popular record on both sides of the Atlantic, despite the fact that it produced no hits in the U.S. The Slider essentially replicates all the virtues of Electric Warrior, crammed with effortless hooks and trashy fun. All of Bolan's signatures are here -- mystical folk-tinged ballads, overt sexual come-ons crooned over sleazy, bopping boogies, loopy nonsense poetry, and a mastery of the three-minute pop song form. The main difference is that the trippy mix of Electric Warrior is replaced by a fuller, more immediate-sounding production. Bolan's guitar has a harder bite, the backing choruses are more up-front, and the arrangements are thicker-sounding, even introducing a string section on some cuts (both ballads and rockers). Even with the beefier production, T. Rex still doesn't sound nearly as heavy as many of the bands it influenced (and even a few of its glam contemporaries), but that's partly intentional -- Bolan's love of a good groove takes precedence over fast tempos or high-volume crunch. Lyrically, Bolan's flair for the sublimely ridiculous is fully intact, but he has way too much style for The Slider to sound truly stupid, especially given the playful, knowing wink in his delivery. It's nearly impossible not to get caught up in the irresistible rush of melodies and cheery good times. Even if it treads largely the same ground as Electric Warrior, The Slider is flawlessly executed, and every bit the classic that its predecessor is. AMG.

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McCully Workshop - Genesis 1971

McCully Workshop is arguably one of South Africa's finest pop and prog-rock bands. They started way back in the '60s, dominated the South African airwaves in the '70s, continued through the '80s and '90s, and in the 21st century are still going strong.

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Fresh Start - What America Needs 1974

Interesting funk rock/soul group of the early 1970s that released only 1 album in 1974 but would later become Fresh and release three more albums. Give it a listen.

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The Alice Island Band - Splendid Isolation 1974

Released in 1974. "Originally pressed in a limited run of 1000 numbered copies in December 1974 The Alice Island Band is one of the rarest UK folk private pressings, having sold in auction for over 600 pounds. Little would school friends Keith Hughes, Tim Phillips, and Roger Moore imagine that when they formed The Conqueroos blues band back and subsequent projects like Cinderella's Party Songbook from 1967. By 1974, Keith, Tim, and Roger were ready for something special, and the arrival of Cinny -- the 'Princess' from the principality of Wales -- completed the line-up for the next LP. They became The Alice Island Band and recorded Splendid Isolation -- Tim, Keith, and Cinny played, and Roger produced and recorded the 14 songs, some of which had been conceived in 1968. For those into the UK folk and psych scenes who love the homemade recordings of Peter Howell and John Ferdinando's projects (Tomorrow Come Someday, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Agincourt, Ithaca...), the bare, raw sound of Comus or those impossibly rare folk albums cut through the Deroy Sound Services -- but also for lovers of well-crafted songs with male & female vocals and mostly acoustic performances. Done in close cooperation with Keith and Roger who have been very kind to provide original masters, information, and photos for the gatefold insert which also includes the original lyrics."

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Brinsley Schwarz - Despite It All 1970

Brinsley Schwarz was hit hard by the terrible performance of their debut, so they rented a communal house and concentrated on becoming a real, organic band. They also recorded a second album swiftly, releasing Despite It All by the end of 1970. As soon as the folksy, fiddle-driven "Country Girl" amiably ambles out of the gates, the difference between the two records is apparent. They tried this kind of rootsy country rock before, but it sounded awkward. Here, it rings true, not just because the songwriting is stronger, but because the band knows what they're doing, adding real grit and passion to the performances. Despite It All benefits from this looser playing, and for a while, it sounds like the group accomplished everything it wanted to do, since the first three songs are all early Nick Lowe masterpieces - "Country Girl," the fine ballad "The Slow One" and the flat-out terrific "Funk Angel," which is the first real flowering of his gifts as a pop tunesmith and sly humorist. After this, the record doesn't go off the rails, but it slowly loses its momentum, deteriorating to pleasant aping of CSN and Band plus the prog-inflected jams that were the bane of their debut. Some of this works - "Love Song" is a sweet tune, "Ebury Down" has a campfire charm - but when it ends with the drawn-out "Old Jarrow" (which does boast the timeless question "why don't you financially back her?" in its refrain) it's clear that the group is still in the process of finding of its voice. Their stumbles are brought into perspective by those three wonderful songs that begin the album, which not only make the record, but prove that the group does indeed have greatness in them. AMG.

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The Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance 1970

The Moody Blues' first real attempt at a harder rock sound still has some psychedelic elements, but they're achieved with an overall leaner studio sound. The group was trying to take stock of itself at this time and came up with some surprisingly strong, lean numbers (Michael Pinder's Mellotron is surprisingly restrained until the final number, "The Balance"), which also embraced politics for the first time ("Question" seemed to display the dislocation that a lot of younger listeners were feeling during Vietnam). The surprisingly jagged opening track, "Question," recorded several months earlier, became a popular concert number as well as a number two (or number one, depending upon whose chart one looks at) single. Graeme Edge's "Don't You Feel Small" and Justin Hayward's "It's Up to You" both had a great beat, but the real highlight here is John Lodge's "Tortoise and the Hare," a fast-paced number that the band used to rip through in concert with some searing guitar solos by Hayward. Ray Thomas' "And the Tide Rushes In" (written in the wake of a fight with his wife) is one of the prettiest psychedelic songs ever written, a sweetly languid piece with some gorgeous shimmering instrumental effects. The 1997 remastered edition brings out the guitar sound with amazing force and clarity, and the notes tell a lot about the turmoil the band was starting to feel after three years of whirlwind success. The only loss is the absence of the lyrics included in earlier editions. AMG.

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Impacto Cinco - Lágrimas Azuis 1975

It was 1975, when the Rio Grande do Norte group Impacto Cinco, known as a dance band, ended up in the studios of the CBS record company to record the LP Lágrimas Azuis. At that time, the fifth had no idea that it was making strong marks in the history of Brazilian music, as the album is currently one of the 10 most coveted in Brazilian rock, mentioned on specialized websites and in international auctions.

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Bubble Puppy - A Gathering Of Promises 1969

Recording for International Artists Records, the crazed Texas label that brought the world such acid-damaged visionaries as the 13th Floor Elevators, the Red Krayola, Lost & Found, and Electric Rubayyat, the Bubble Puppy seemed by comparison to be a beacon of semi sanity -- a rather typical psychedelic band of the period who seemed more interested in having a good time and cranking up the amps than in reimagining the size and shape of the inner cosmos. But that's not to say they weren't a good psychedelic band -- the band's best-known tune, "Hot Smoke and Sassafras," was a charging guitar-heavy rocker that deservedly became a hit single, and its flip side, "Loney," was nearly as good. Truth to tell, those two songs are the most interesting tracks on the Bubble Puppy's first album, A Gathering of Promises, but the rest of the material is certainly more than just filler -- softer tunes such as "It's Safe to Say" and the title cut show off the band's surprisingly strong harmonies and folk-rock influences, while the interlocking guitars of Todd Potter and Rod Prince drive "Beginning," "Hurry Sundown," and the epic "I've Got to Reach You." The Bubble Puppy could write and play like seasoned pros, and with the exception of "I've Got to Reach You" they had the sense to wrap up their tunes in three or four minutes so that this album actually manages to end before it wears out its welcome. It's not exactly a work of life-changing genius, but "A Gathering of Promises" is still a noticeably stronger and better-crafted album than most bands of their time and place were turning out, and if it had enjoyed wider distribution (and another song or two as good as the single) who knows where they could have ended up. [The 2004 reissue tacks on monophonic single mixes of "Hot Smoke and Sassafras," "Lonely," "Hurry Sundown," and "Beginning," as well as four songs from non-LP singles; the mono mixes certainly boast a lot more punch than the often eccentric stereo versions, and "Thinkin' About Thinkin'" is a thoroughly enjoyable slice of hook-heavy guitar mauling that should have made the cut for the LP.] AMG.

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Brian Short - Anything For A Laugh

Brian Short (1948 – 2014) was an English singer who emerged as the frontman of Black Cat Bones. His solo album, Anything for a Laugh, appeared in 1971 on Transatlantic Records. The 12-song album features 11 originals, including “Blue Tuesday,” “Don’t You Need Me Anymore,” “Emily,” “Wishing Well” and “Winter Comes.” Also included is a cover of the Randy Newman composition “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today.” The album was produced by Mike Finesilver (Love Sculpture, Kingdom Come, Ross, Gonzalez, J.A.L.N. Band). He later wrote songs for Jeff Beck and Hummingbird.

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Parish Hall - Parish Hall (1970

Parish Hall was a power trio from the California Bay Area. The band consisted of Gary Wagner (guitar, piano, vocals), John Haden (bass), and Steve Adams (drums). Specializing in a hard rock/blues rock sound, their album was originally released near the end of 1970 on a small local California record label. Reminiscent of the sound of another popular trio of the day, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Parish Hall had begun to gain the recognition of some European collectors by the late 1990s, and originals have fetched high prices in collector's markets. All songs on this album are originals written by Wagner and hold up well when compared to other hard rock acts. The album has been reissued by Akarma with the original artwork and digitally remastered sound. AMG.

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Aynsley Dunbar - Blue Whale 1970

Rock journeyman Aynsley Dunbar has proven himself one of the finest drummers in the business for over twenty years, whether as a member of several bands or as a session musician. Dunbar began his career on the British blues-rock scene, playing with Champion Jack Dupree and Eddie Boyd before becoming the drummer for John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1967; he was influenced by jazz and the Who's Keith Moon as well. During this time, Dunbar also played on Jeff Beck's seminal Truth sessions, and also met Frank Zappa in Belgium; when Zappa broke up the first edition of the Mothers of Invention, he invited Dunbar to join his new band. Dunbar first appeared with Zappa as a guitarist on Uncle Meat, but soon assumed drum chores in the Flo and Eddie version of the Mothers, appearing on such albums as Chunga's Revenge, Fillmore East: June 1971, and 200 Motels, and playing music that gave him a chance to show off his jazzier chops. In the meantime, Dunbar also formed a blues-rock band called the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, which featured guitarist/vocalist John Moorshead, bassist Alex Dmochowski, and organist Victor Brox. The group released several albums from 1969-1970, including a self-titled effort, Doctor Dunbar's Prescription, and To Mum From Aynsley and the Boys. When Flo and Eddie jumped ship in 1972 after a deranged fan pushed Zappa from the stage, confining him to a wheelchair, Dunbar joined their backing band for a short while, although he would also return to work with Zappa on studio projects like Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo, and Apostrophe', as well as continuing his periodic studio work for other artists. He briefly formed an association with David Bowie around 1973-74 for the albums Pin-Ups and Diamond Dogs, but in 1975, Dunbar decided to join a new jazz-rock fusion group called Journey. He remained with the band up through 1978's Infinity, departing as Journey brought in vocalist Steve Perry and shifted their sound towards arena-rock. Dunbar next joined Jefferson Starship in 1978, staying put through 1982's Winds of Change. He resurfaced several years later with Whitesnake and played drums on the band's 1987 commercial breakthrough. However, Dunbar was again gone by the next Whitesnake album; he has since returned to the blues rock he started his career with, working with such artists as Pat Travers. AMG.

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Carson - Blown 1972

Carson was an Australian blues rock and boogie rock band, formed in January 1970 in Melbourne as Carson County Band. They had a top 30 hit single on the Go-Set National Top 40 with "Boogie" in September 1972. The group released their debut studio album, Blown, in November on EMI and Harvest Records, which peaked at No. 14 on the Go-Set Top 20 Albums. Their performance at the second Sunbury Pop Festival in late January 1973 was issued as a live album, On the Air, in April but the group had already disbanded.

Member, John Capek had left by mid 1970 and relocated to North America by 1973 where he worked as a composer (often with Marc Jordan), record producer, and keyboardist in Toronto, Canada, and Los Angeles, United States. After Carson disbanded, Broderick Smith formed the country rock band The Dingoes in 1973 and had a successful solo career.

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Hate - Hate Kills 1970

Without a doubt, Hate (with their only LP) is one of the most underrated UK progressive bands from the early 70’s! This dark, sinister, and sometimes psychedelic music resembled a combination of early Procol Harum/Atomic Rooster-like Hammond organ sounds; tasty guitar leads, and emotional, Spooky Tooth-like vocals. The session was engineered by Tom Allom who 10 years later gained fame by producing albums for Judas Priest and Def Leppard. Carefully remastered Hate Kills LP is simply a lost, progressive gem!

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Bronco - Ace of Sunlight 1971

Formed in August 1969 by Jess Roden following his split from The Alan Bown Set, Bronco was signed to Island Records and released two albums 'Country Home' and 'Ace of Sunlight'. Roden left the band mid 1972 to start a solo career, guitarist Robbie Blunt soon followed, the remaining members drafted in Paul Lockey on vocals (who both Kevyn Gammond and Pete Robinson knew from various incarnations of The Band of Joy) and Dan Fone on guitar, they released one last album this time with Polydor records 'Smoking Mixture'. Bronco's bass player John Pasternak died of a heart attack in September 1986. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant fronted a tribute event for Pasternak in December of that year. Two Bronco tracks are featured on Island Records compilation albums: "Love" appears on Bumpers released in 1970 and "Sudden Street" appears on El Pea (1971).
More recently the Bronco track 'Time Slips Away' has been included on the Island Records compilation 'Meet On The Ledge', released as part of Island's 50th anniversary in 2009.

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Greezy Wheels - Juz Loves Dem Ol' 1975

Greezy Wheels is an Austin, Texas-based progressive country band formed in the 1970s. They played more frequently at the Armadillo World Headquarters than any other band in the history of the venues. They are regarded as the Armadillo house band and are elected members of the Austin Music Hall Of Fame.

Greezy Wheels' music is a raucous blend of rock, funk, R&B, alt-country, and Ozarks. In their early days, they were the only band with a female fiddler, Sweet Mary Hattersley. Sweet Mary consistently brought the crowd to a screaming frenzy state with her version of the "Orange Blossom Special." The music of Greezy Wheels reflected the cultural dichotomy of Austin in the 1970s — a unique place where hippies had roots deep in the heart of Texas. Greezy Wheels opened Willie Nelson's first-ever Armadillo World Headquarters show, putting him in front of the hippies who then adopted him and have been his fans ever since. They have shared the stage with (literally) too many greats to name. 

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Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs 1969

Departing from the Steve Miller Band after a two-album stint, Boz Scaggs found himself on his own but not without support. Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner, his friend, helped him sign with Atlantic Records and the label had him set up shop in Muscle Shoals, recording his debut album with that legendary set of studio musicians, known for their down-and-dirty backing work for Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett, among many other Southern soul legends. The Muscle Shoals rhythm section, occasionally augmented by guitarist Duane Allman, gives this music genuine grit, but this isn't necessarily a straight-up blue-eyed soul record, even if the opening "I'm Easy" and "I'll Be Long Gone" are certainly as deeply soulful as anything cut at Muscle Shoals. Even at this early stage Scaggs wasn't content to stay in one place, and he crafted a kind of Americana fantasia here, also dabbling in country and blues along with the soul and R&B that grounds this record. Suppose the country shuffle "Now You're Gone" sounds just slightly a shade bit too vaudeville for its own good. In that case, it only stands out because the rest of the record is pitch-perfect, from the Jimmie Rodgers cover "Waiting for a Train" and the folky "Look What I Got!" to the extended 11-minute blues workout "Loan Me a Dime," which functions as much as a showcase for a blazing Duane Allman as it does for Boz. But even with that show-stealing turn, and even with the Muscle Shoals musicians giving this album its muscle and part of its soul, this album is still thoroughly a showcase for Boz Scaggs' musical vision, which even at this stage is wide and deep. It would grow smoother and more assured over the years, but the slight bit of raggedness suits the funky, down-home performances and helps make this a great debut and an enduring blue-eyed soul masterpiece. AMG.

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Gravy Train - Gravy Train 1970

Jethro Tull and Comus had a baby, and they named it Gravy Train. That's not strictly accurate, of course, but as the band's eponymous debut opens with the fluid changes of "The New One," it's not too far of a reach, either. Richly harmonic, daringly jam-laden, and peppered with guitar roars that simply defy comparison, Gravy Train is the sound of the British underground at its most joyously liberated peak -- a time when a bunch of apparent freaks could simply go into a major recording studio and let rip. Except Gravy Train's concept of "letting rip" has more in common with a symphony orchestra than the Edgar Broughton Band. Without, of course, the orchestra. But there's a moment in the midst of "Think of Life" that cannot help but put one in mind of later Deep Purple, as the flute and guitar battle for supremacy, while the blues workout "Coast Road" is as breathtaking as any of that genre's better-feted exponents. If Gravy Train has any faults whatsoever, the fascination with peculiar vocal effects can grow a little wearing, especially as frontman Norman Barrett already appears to have a fabulous range of his own -- "Dedication to Sid," in particular, glories in such trickery, although the heartbeat bassline that runs through the number is so hypnotic that it's easy to forget everything else that's going on. In fact, Gravy Train is littered with moments like that, an album of so many surprises that even when you think you know it, you can still find something else you'd never noticed. And it all adds up to a genuine minor classic. AMG.

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Bold - Bold 1969

ABC released plenty of psychedelic LPs in the late '60s that were weird, awkward mixtures of West Coast psychedelia, heavy rock, blues, pop, and more, often burdened by subpar songwriting and performers who seemed ill at ease or inexperienced in the studios. The sole Bold album fits into that niche, but if it's any recommendation or consolation, as such records go, it's certainly one of the better ones. Actually it's not bad, and a little lighter and less ponderous than most such efforts, though the lack of outstanding original material or mega-personality limits its appeal to psychedelic collectors. In addition to the trendy psychedelic-age ingredients listed earlier, Bold also added some quasi-classical organ once in a while, particularly on the opening instrumental, "Lullaby Opus Four"; "Free Fogue" even sounds like new-age music. They're also good vocal harmonizers, which lends otherwise generic late-'60s psychedelic hard rockers like "Friendly Smile" a nice buoyancy. And a bent for folk-rock asserts itself once in a while, in the wistful "Changing Seasons," the Buffalo Springfield-flavored "Child of Love" and "Words Don't Make It," and the pretty nice, stretched-out cover of Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." The entire album is included on the Misty Lane CD reissue Lullaby Opus Four, which also adds both sides of the two more garage-oriented singles they recorded prior to the album for Cameo and Dynovoice, as well as both sides of the mid-'60s single by the Esquires, the group that evolved into Bold. AMG.

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Catapilla - Catapilla 1971

The debut album by one of the most dramatic and certainly the most visionary of all the British prog bands saddled with the epithet jazz-rock opens with little care for any of that. Taking a deep draught from the King Crimson/Van Der Graaf Generator book of sonic brutality, the opening "Naked Death" is a hard-riffing, thunderous clatter of apocalyptic imagery which -- if Crimson hadn't already dropped the same bomb with "21st Century Schizoid Man" -- might have proved as lethal as the weaponry it discusses. The same taste for Armageddon permeates the remainder of the album. Some spectacular moments drift through the carnage; Robert Calvert's sax and Graham Wilson's guitar might be most comfortable in full bludgeoning mode, but they can show restraint as well. Unfortunately, vocalist Anna Meek is allowed no such luxury, coming across in places like an extremely bad-tempered Sonja Kristina and in others like a dehumanized version of Lydia Lunch. But if the first three tracks, clocking in at 15, four, and six minutes, respectively, leave you feeling battered, bruised, and maybe not inclined to walk this way again, 24 minutes of the closing "Embryonic Fusion" place Catapilla firmly back on course. A solid, sax-driven suite, of course, it has its share of death, doom, and destruction-type lyrics and enough moments of spine-chilling chaos to remind you that Van Der Graaf's similarly side-long "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" was fresh on the racks as this album came together. Unfortunately, such comparisons -- though valid -- are also unhelpful. No matter how influenced one band might be by another, it takes a lot more than a Xerox mind to pull off a piece of music this long this successfully. The fact is, Catapilla not only completes the marathon, they also leave you wondering how 24 minutes passed so quickly. AMG.

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