Mel & Tim - Starting All Over Again 1972

Mel & Tim were a classic Chicago soul vocal duo, recording in Muscle Shoals in the deep South for Stax and making records that fit comfortably next to those made in Philadelphia. It may sound incongruous, but their 1972 album, Starting All Over Again -- released on CD with four bonus tracks -- is a wonderful record that blends the sweet production of Philly with tight southern rhythms and Windy City harmony. And that's not even mentioning an impeccable set of songs; many written or co-written by Phillip Mitchell, along with sharp covers of soul classics like "Wrap It Up" and "I'm Your Puppet." The title track is a stone masterpiece -- an epic tale of a couple trying to repair their love -- but the rest of the album isn't far behind. In fact, it ranks as one of the finest soul albums of the early '70s. AMG.

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Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Young Brigham 1968

Folksinger Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a fascinating and eccentric figure, and Young Brigham from 1968 finds him in his element. The arrangements are busier than on his previous recordings, but they never get in the way of his off-the-cuff style. His vocals are perhaps more eccentric here than usual, delivering out of the ordinary versions of If I Were a Carpenter and Tennessee Stud. The difference between Elliott's versions and those of your average folksinger is that he sounds as though he's having a good time. This renders over-familiar material, like the above-mentioned songs, fresh. There are great versions of Danville Girl and Don't Think Twice, It's Alright, and a nice original titled, 912 Greens. Elliott usually stuck to singing other people's songs and held onto his folk roots even when singer-songwriters began to take over the ‘60s folk scene. Even the Rolling Stone's Connection, comes across as country-folk, not rock-and-roll. Elliott also includes a couple of Woody Guthrie songs to let everyone know where his roots lay. Richie Unterberger's liner notes do a great job of placing this album in context. It would be the first of two albums Elliott would record for Reprise in an unsuccessful attempt to bring him to a larger audience. Larger audience or not, the music stands for itself. Young Brigham is a nice snapshot of Elliott in the late ‘60s and shows him leaving the confines of a large studio with his folk heritage intact. AMG.

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Lou Reed - Sally Can't Dance 1974

On the live album Rock N Roll Animal, Lou Reed showed he'd learned how to give his audience what they wanted, and do it well. Sally Can't Dance, on the other hand, was the polar opposite, a remarkably cynical album that pandered to the lowest common denominator of the market that had boughtTransformer and Rock N Roll Animal, and didn't even do it with much flair. Reed's performances here are limited to vocals, except for some sloppy acoustic guitar on one track (this from the man who helped reinvent electric guitar with the Velvet Underground), and the sodden, overblown arrangements sink most of these tunes before they get past the first chorus; much of the time, Reedsounds like an afterthought on his own album. And while Reed's best songwriting ranks with the best rock of his generation, Sally Can't Dance is cluttered with throwaways that reach for the boho decadence of Transformer and come up empty (with special recognition going to the bizarre and truly puzzling "Animal Language"). Side two does offer two worthwhile songs: "Kill Your Sons," a powerful and deeply personal remembrance of Reed's bouts with shock treatment and brutal psychotherapy, which he would revisit in a much stronger performance on 1984's Live in Italy, and "Billy," a witty and surprisingly poignant remembrance of an old friend and how their paths in life diverged. But otherwise,Sally Can't Dance has the distinction of being the worst studio album of Reed's career; Metal Machine Music may have been a lot more annoying, but at least he was trying on that one. AMG.

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Man Made - Man Made 1971

Group coming from Canada, formed in Montreal in the late 60s. The group Man Made has launched a unique and rare album in 1971 and soon fell into obscurity, unfortunately almost nothing is known today about it.
The self-titled album has only 6 tracks, with main emphasis on the first track, also titled Man Made, with almost 20 minutes and occupying the entire A side of the LP, with progressive, psychedelic and experimental passages with great organ, synth, guitar, flute, horn and beautiful vocal harmonies. As for the other songs, all are short and not very original, geared more to the psychedelic '60s rock and some ballads.  Although inconsistent, I recommend this gem for fans of progressive and psychedelic rock of the era.

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Janis Joplin - Pearl 1971

Janis Joplin's second masterpiece (after Cheap Thrills), Pearl was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out. Thanks also to a more consistent set of songs, the results are magnificent -- given room to breathe, Joplin's trademark rasp conveys an aching, desperate passion on funked-up, bluesy rockers, ballads both dramatic and tender, and her signature song, the posthumous number one hit "Me and Bobby McGee." The unfinished "Buried Alive in the Blues" features no Joplin vocals -- she was scheduled to record them on the day after she was found dead. Its incompleteness mirrors Joplin's career; Pearl's power leaves the listener to wonder what elseJoplin could have accomplished, but few artists could ask for a better final statement. AMG.

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Amazing Blondel - Evensong 1970

The trio's first fully realized album is a self-consciously archaic work built around medieval balladry and madrigals, and performed on period instruments. The group doesn't sound entirely at ease working in this style, but the crisp, folk-like feel and the timbre and singing have great charm. [The 1996 Edsel CD reissue contained new notes by the original group members, and was very finely remastered.] AMG.

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JuJu - A Message From Mozambique 1973

Juju is about ritual and rhythm and spirituality and joy. Plunky & Oneness of Juju is the name of a rhythm & blues-African-jazz-funk band from Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. The group, originally known as Juju, was founded in San Francisco in 1971 and has continued to evolve for over 30 years, performing and recording with changes in personnel and under different group names, but always led by J. Plunky Branch.
The basic chronology has been as follows: the group was originally called Juju (1971-74), then Oneness of Juju (1975-81); then Plunky & Oneness of Juju (1982-88); and most recently Plunky & Oneness (1988 - present).
The original group, Juju, was composed of musicians who had been the music ensemble for a ritual/theatrical production entitled "The Resurrection of the Dead", written by San Francisco playwright, Marvin X. The six musicians had been chosen because of their previous musical experiences and their Afrocentric orientation to music and culture. In the play, each night there was ritualistic music, historical commemorative songs, improvisational music testimonials, and an actual naming ceremony in which members of the cast would receive new names. The musicians for this production were an important and driving component. When the theatrical production completed its run and the cast was disbanded, the musicians decided to continue their musical explorations and pursuits together. They formed a group and Juju was born.

Saxophonist, J. Plunky Branch from Richmond, Virginia and bassist, Ken Shabala (Kent Parker), from Brooklyn, New York, had met at Columbia University in New York where they attended college. There Plunky formed an R&B group called The Soul Syndicate and Kent Parker was its lead singer. From 1966 - 68 they played colleges and clubs in and around New York, setting and breaking attendance records at The Cheetah Night club in Manhattan and sharing the campus spotlight with another group from Columbia, Sha Na Na.
After college Plunky migrated to San Francisco and Kent followed. In 1969 they met vibraphonist, Lon Moshe (Ron Martin) from Chicago and joined an African avante-garde group called Ndikho and the Natives, led by South African pianist/percussionist, Ndikho Xaba. The group recorded one L.P. "Ndikho and the Natives".
Plunky, Ken Shabala and Lon joined the other original members of Juju: percussionist, Michael "Babatunde" Lea from Englewood, New Jersey; and two musicians from San Francisco: pianist, Al-Hammel Rasul (Tony Grayson) and percussionist, Jalongo Ngoma (Dennis Stewart).
These musicians had come from separate and distinct musical backgrounds. Plunky had been raised on southern rhythm & blues and gospel music and had studied jazz and classical music in school. Bassist, Ken Shabala was a R&B vocalist, jazz enthusiast and radio deejay in New York. Lon Moshe had been a part of the Chicago avante-garde jazz scene. Al-Hammel Rasul was a self-taught pianist who performed in his church and with various jazz and soul groups in San Francisco. Babatunde and Jalongo had long studied African, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian drums and chants and percussion.
As Juju, these young Black musicians dedicated themselves to using their music as a vehicle for raising political, spiritual and cultural consciousness. They practiced and rehearsed everyday for hours and hours and eventually developed a highly energetic, ritualistic, African, avante garde music based on rhythm, energy, improvisation, traditional chants and creative jazz. Juju performed in clubs, festivals and at political gatherings in the San Francisco Bay area, working with such notables as John Handy, Santana, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, Bill Summers, and others. The group recorded an album in 1972, Juju - A Message From Mozambique, which was released in 1973 on the Strata-East Records label.

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Osage Tribe - Arrow Head 1972

One of the earliest prog bands from Italy and a matrix of producing musicians for other bands, Genova-based Osage Tribe included a young Franco Battiato in the original 1971 line-up, who left the band after only one single on Bla-Bla label.The remaining trio of singer/multi-instrumentalist Marco Zoccheddu (who had quit earlier from Nuova Idea), bassist Bob Callero and drummer Nunzio "Cucciolo" Favia recorded the band's sole release ''Arrow Head'' in 1972.
Despite having an English title, the album is sung in Italian with the opening 10-min. ''Hajenhanhowa'' being an obcure number of Psych/Proggish Hard Rock with light Folk tendencies, opening with a soft piano/harmonica introduction and revealing a monster sound at the second part with good guitar leads.The eponymous track is another freak Hard Rock track with very complex guitar work, reminding a bit of Museo Rosenbach harder moments, but with somewhat dull vocals.''Cerchio di Luce'' is an interesting piece with nice multi-vocal choirs, plenty of breaks and a middle section filled with a jazzy appreciation on bass/guitar/piano interplays.The only weak moment seems to be the sterile drumming.Another 10-min adventure, ''Soffici Bianchi Veli'' opens with some frenetic guitar-driven instrumental section before getting in an overstretched and less interesting Jazz/Blues mood until the end with the bass work of Callero being the bright spot.''Orizzonti Senza Fine'' is another Psych/Hard/Prog inspiration, having a powerful rhythm section, the guitars come and go, alternating from smooth to hard qualities, while vocals are decent this time.

The Vinyl Magic CD reissue features the pair of tracks from the Battiato era's single, when Osage Tribe had quite a different sound.''Un falco nel cielo'' is actually a Pop/Rock track with some African-inspiration on the vocal parts and ''Prehistoric sound'' is an Engilsh version of it, rather pointless, fully commercial and uninspiring music.

The brief history of Osage Tribe ended not long after this album.Zoccheddu and Callero formed Duello Madre and the remaining Cucciolo recruited ex-Capsicum Red singer/guitarist Red Canzian and bassist Giampiero Marchiani, but Cucciolo was called to fullfill his army obligations shortly after.He was replaced by Helza Poppin's and later Uno's drummer Enzo Vallicelli, but again Canzian left for I Pooh and Osage Tribe disbanded for good.Original drummer Nunzio "Cucciolo" Favia later played with The Trip, while Callero was a stable member of Il Volo.

A great album for all fans of guitar-based Hard Prog but I can see also fans of the early-70's Proto-Prog movement appreciating this release.

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Culpeper's Orchard - Going For a Song 1972

Having achieved great success as a live band debuted in 1971. The record, whose title is merely synonymous with the band's name, presents a mixture of progressive psychedelic rock, folk and country, where the vocal harmonies in the quiet numbers reminiscent of Crosby , Stills, Nash & Young. Already on the next release Second Sight 1972 was Barker replaced with the ever-seeking Ken Gudman the drums without changing soundscape significantly. Satisfied Mind is possibly a rather traditional country song, but it was an unusually popular sing-along number, including on the first Roskilde festivals. A few months after they released their third album, Going for a Song, where Niels Vangkilde, guitar, Niels Tuxen, steel guitar and Tom McEwan, drums had replaced Henriksen and Gudman. In 1976 they changed their name to Culpeper and toured extensively, but released only one LP ('All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go') under that name.

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Shocking Blue - Beat With Us 1968

Here the first record from Shocking Blue, formed in 1967 by former Motions guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen, the Dutch quartet Shocking Blue originally had a lineup of VanLeeuwen on guitar, lead vocalist Fred DeWilde, bass player Klaasje Van der Wal, and drummer Cornelius Van der Beek, and the initial configuration of the band had a minor homeland hit with “Lucy Brown Is Back in Town” a year later in 1968. Things really got moving, though, when DeWilde was replaced by sultry singer Mariska Veres, whose sexy presence and solid singing brought the band a second Netherlands hit, “Send Me a Postcard,” and then a huge international smash with “Venus” in 1970 after the group had signed to Jerry Ross' Colossus Records imprint. Although Shocking Blue's albums (1968’s Shocking Blue, 1969’s At Home, 1970’s Scorpio’s Dance, 1971’s 3rd Album, 1972’s Inkpot, 1972’s Attila, 1973’s Dream on Dreamer, and 1974’s Good Times) featured progressive rock elements and inventive arrangements thanks to VanLeeuwen's writing and production skills, the band was essentially marketed as a pop singles unit, and while they scored several subsequent hits in their homeland, none of the group’s releases approached the massive saturation success of “Venus.”Veres left Shocking Blue in 1974 to pursue a solo career, and while there have been various reunions and different touring incarnations of the band over the years (including a version fronted by Veres in the '90s), its creative history ended then. VanLeeuwen later re-surfaced in the folk/jazz group Galaxy-Lin, while his most famous composition, “Venus,” continued to see play on oldies stations. Veres died of cancer in 2006 at the age of 59. AMG.

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Sandy Denny & The Strawbs - Sandy Denny & The Strawbs 1968

Sandy Denny was only with the Strawbs for a short period of time, but she was around long enough to make some very memorable contributions to the band. An expressive jewel of a folk singer with a rich, angelic voice, the pre-Fairport Convention Denny is clearly the main attraction on this CD. In contrast to the progressive-rock and art-rock elements the band would later embrace, these sides are acoustic-oriented and unmistakably British-sounding folk-pop. Gems like "Tell Me What You See In Me," "Nothing Else Will Do" and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" not only illustrate how superb and moving a singer Denny was, they also demonstrate how prolific a composer Dave Cousins was. One can only speculate as to what direction the Strawbs would have taken had Denny stayed, but what we know with certainty is that her short-lived association with Cousins was lucrative and valuable. AMG.

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Socrates Drank The Conium - On The Wings 1973

On The Wings was a 1973 album released by Socrates Drank The Conium. It features a heavier sound than the previous records, reminiscent of that of 70s bands such as Led Zeppelin and progressive Black Sabbath. They did not lose their blues roots, however, as evidenced by such tracks as "This Is The Rats".

For the recording of this album, Socrates Drank The Conium recruited a second guitarist in addition to Yannis Spathas. His name was Gus Doukakis.

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Rustix - Come On People 1970

Rustix were Chuck Brucato (vocals), Ron Collins (bass), David Colon (drums), Bob D’Andrea (guitar), Vinnie Strenk (Hammond B3), and Al Galich (lead vocals). The band formed in 1967, and signed to Rare Earth Records, a Motown Records subsidiary named after the band Rare Earth. Prior to signing with Rare Earth, the group had been a popular attraction in upstate New York, opening for Jimi Hendrix and Soft Machine at one point.

Among their singles were “Can’t You Hear the Music Play” and “Free Again”, both from the album Bedlam, released in 1969. Bedlam peaked at #200 on the Billboard 200. A sophomore effort, Come On People, followed in 1970; both of the group’s first two records were produced by R. Dean Taylor. A third album was recorded in 1972 but never released, and the group disbanded later that year.

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Sally Eaton - Farewell American Tour 1970

Sally Eaton is a Wiccan High Priestess, liturgist, singer and actress, whose credits include creating and playing the role of Jeanie in the stage production of the hit Broadway musical Hair, and, as a member of Doric Wilson's professional theater company TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence), acting in the Doric Wilson plays Now She Dances! and Street Theater.

In the mid-1970s she migrated to the San Francisco Bay Area, becoming a third degree Priestess in New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn and was heavily involved in the West Coast Craft Tradition and the California revival of the Ordo Templi Orientis.

She contributed to many of the early ADF rituals and published material, and to the music and lyrics of the songs on the album, Avalon is Rising! Her eclectic magical background ranges from Golden Dawn and O.T.O. material to Wiccan and Druidic styles, and she has presented lectures, rituals and performances at Neo-Pagan events. Eaton remains a professional singer, best known for her rendition of the song "Air" in the hit Broadway musical Hair, and sings the blues professionally.

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