Live Wire - Pick It Up 1979

Live Wire was a London pub rock band led by guitarist/vocalist Mike Edwards and featuring bassist Jeremy Meek, drummer German Gonzales, and guitarist Chris Cutler. Following the group's 1979 AM debut, Pick It Up (which resembles Kilburn and the High Roads, or early Dire Straits without the flashy guitar work), Cutler was replaced by ex-Advertising guitarist/producer Simon Boswell, whose production skills lent the group a more polished, commercial sound. This lineup recorded 1980's No Fright and 1981's Changes Made before disbanding.

listen here or here

Timothy Leary - You Can Be Anyone This Time Around 1970

"The musical equivalent of a full-blown LSD trip," according to the liner notes. If that's what you're looking for, you should opt for something a lot more clichéd and conventional, like Sgt. Pepper's, Piper at the Gates of Dawn, or Electric Ladyland. Long a scarce collector's item, this features three extended "raps" by Dr. Leary over collage-like backing tracks of music (including brief samples of the Beatles and Pink Floyd), percussion, and electronics. The raps, which were guaranteed to make parents recoil in horror at the time, sound quaintly dated and silly today, rife with self-conscious mantras and revelatory declarations of breakthroughs into different planes of consciousness and celebrations of the wonders of drug use. This timepiece owes much of its collectibility to "Live and Let Live," which features an unspectacular jam in the background by an all-star band of Jimi Hendrix (on bass), Stephen Stills, John Sebastian, and Buddy Miles. AMG.

listen here or here

Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon 1973

By condensing the sonic explorations of Meddle to actual songs and adding a lush, immaculate production to their trippiest instrumental sections, Pink Floyd inadvertently designed their commercial breakthrough with Dark Side of the Moon. The primary revelation of Dark Side of the Moon is what a little focus does for the band. Roger Waters wrote a series of songs about mundane, everyday details which aren't that impressive by themselves, but when given the sonic backdrop of Floyd's slow, atmospheric soundscapes and carefully placed sound effects, they achieve an emotional resonance. But what gives the album true power is the subtly textured music, which evolves from ponderous, neo-psychedelic art rock to jazz fusion and blues rock before turning back to psychedelia. It's dense with detail but leisurely paced, creating its own dark, haunting world. Pink Floyd may have better albums than Dark Side of the Moon, but no other record defines them quite as well as this one. AMG.
 

listen here or here

Richard Betts - Highway Call 1974

After the runaway success of the Allman Brothers' classic Brothers and Sisters LP -- an album on which Dickey Betts virtually architected the open loping country sound with his newly found singing voice and easy, slimmed-down guitar style -- the guitarist decided to try his hand at a solo album. Highway Call is, in essence, the second chapter in Betts finding his own voice as not only a singer but also as a songwriter as well. At a brief half-hour in length, Highway Call is nonetheless an emotionally powerful slice of small country life offered with a vast emotional landscape. The tone is nostalgic in that each of the songs here reflects memory and the yearning for a simpler, less cluttered life lived in the open spaces, away from the chaotic roil of rock stardom and all of its trappings. The title track reflects an acceptance of Betts' life as an itinerant musician, destined to play out his hand on the road. There isn't a hint of regret in the ringing, slippery guitars, and harmony vocals, but there is a sense that life could have been different. In "Let Nature Sing," Betts calls forth the spirits of America, from its rock and crags, its lakes and panoramic vistas, and from the ghosts of the people who've traipsed through Betts' life, leaving an emotional and indelible impression upon him. Each song here, such as "Rain," with its sideways pedal steel, "Long Time Gone," with its runaway slide, or even the aforementioned "Let Nature Sing," with its glorious dobro and fiddle (courtesy of Vassar Clements) underscoring Betts' lead and the ringing pedal steel of Jon Hughey is a testament to the pastoral in American life. And for Betts, the rambler, gambler, and hard-living guitar man, there is no contradiction. All of his cards are on the table in "Hand Picked," a nearly 15-minute country swing romp through Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, the Allmans, and bluegrass, Betts creates the ultimate road instrumental. The listener can hear Clements and Betts roaring down the two-lane blacktop on the back of a flatbed truck, ripping this one out with easy abandon. Highway Call stands as the artist's finest solo moment, one that holds his true voice easily expressing itself far from the madding blues wail of the Allmans, deep in the center of a Georgia holler with the sun beating down on the peach trees or on the incessant babble of a backwoods creek calling his listeners to the mystery inherent in simple living and in playing honest, heartfelt music. AMG.

listen here or here

Hawkwind - Doremi Fasol Latido 1972

Doremi may not be Hawkwind's most renowned album, but it carries the same type of prog rock spaciness as their first two releases. Even though the keyboard playing is trimmed down just a tad, the introduction of Ian Kilmister, otherwise known as Lemmy of Motörhead fame, makes up for it. With Lemmy's hard-lined guitar playing and Del Dettmar's synthesizer stabs, tracks like "Space Is Deep" and "The Watcher" are infused with elaborate instrumental meanderings in perfect Hawkwind fashion. The longer tracks, both "Brainstorm" and "Time We Left This World Today," find Lemmy settling into the band's extraordinary milieu, but it ended up being the album's strongest cuts. There's a harder feel to the songs all the way through, with the guitar and drums coming to the forefront ahead of DikMik's "generators" and "hot electronics." Doremi is the inaugural album for drummer Simon King, and with guitarist Dave Anderson and percussion man Terry Ollis now departed, Hawkwind still manages to muster up a firm intergalactic space-metal atmosphere, but with a more rugged thrust. AMG.

listen here or here

The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - The Great Conspiracy 1968

The Great Conspiracy, the second long-player from the Los Angeles-based Peanut Butter Conspiracy, was much more a reflection of their live sound than their debut effort, the pop-driven Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading (1967). Around 1964, the quintet was literally born from the Ashes (another burgeoning L.A. rock combo whose personnel featured soon-to-be Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden). After solidifying their lineup, they inked a deal with Columbia Records, which assigned staff producer Gary Usher to work with them. His well-meaning but over-the-top production style diffused the band, which came off sounding more like the Mamas & the Papas than the Jefferson Airplane or It's a Beautiful Day -- both of whom also sported female lead singers. However, by the time of this release the Conspiracy were sonically asserting themselves with a decidedly hipper approach. This is especially evident on the stretched-out and psychedelic "Too Many Do" and the deliciously trippy "Ecstasy" -- which sports frenzied and wiry fretwork similar to that of Quicksilver Messenger Service string man John Cipollina. Equally inspired are "Lonely Leaf" and the somewhat paranoid and darkly guilded "Time Is After You." These contrast with the somewhat ersatz hippie fodder "Turn on a Friend (To the Good Life)," the 38-second throwaway "Invasion of the Poppy People," or the simply wretched "Captain Sandwich." [In 2000 the Collectables reissued label coupled both The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading and The Great Conspiracy on a single CD. Also included were the 45-rpm sides "I'm a Fool" and "It's So Hard" as well as the previously unissued track "Peter Pan."] AMG.

listen here or here

Miles Davis - In A Silent Way 1969

Listening to Miles Davis' originally released version of In a Silent Way in light of the complete sessions released by Sony in 2001 (Columbia Legacy 65362) reveals just how strategic and dramatic a studio construction it was. If one listens to Joe Zawinul's original version of "In a Silent Way," it comes across as almost a folk song with a very pronounced melody. The version Miles Davis and Teo Macero assembled from the recording session in July of 1968 is anything but. There is no melody, not even a melodic frame. There are only vamps and solos, grooves layered on top of other grooves spiraling toward space but ending in silence. But even these don't begin until almost ten minutes into the piece. It's Miles and McLaughlin, sparely breathing and wending their way through a series of seemingly disconnected phrases until the groove monster kicks in. The solos are extended, digging deep into the heart of the ethereal groove, which was dark, smoky, and ashen. McLaughlin and Hancock are particularly brilliant, but Corea's solo on the Fender Rhodes is one of his most articulate and spiraling on the instrument ever. The A-side of the album, "Shhh/Peaceful," is even more so. With Tony Williams shimmering away on the cymbals in double time, Miles comes out slippery and slowly, playing over the top of the vamp, playing ostinato and moving off into more mysterious territory a moment at a time. With Zawinul's organ in the background offering the occasional swell of darkness and dimension, Miles could continue indefinitely. But McLaughlin is hovering, easing in, moving up against the organ and the trills by Hancock and Corea; Wayne Shorter hesitantly winds in and out of the mix on his soprano, filling space until it's his turn to solo. But John McLaughlin, playing solos and fills throughout (the piece is like one long dreamy solo for the guitarist), is what gives it its open quality, like a piece of music with no borders as he turns in and through the commingling keyboards as Holland paces everything along. When the first round of solos ends, Zawinul and McLaughlin, and Williams usher it back in with painterly decoration and illumination from Corea and Hancock. Miles picks up on another riff created by Corea and slips in to bring back the ostinato "theme" of the work. He plays glissando right near the very end, which is the only place where the band swells and the tune moves above a whisper before Zawinul's organ fades it into silence. This disc holds up and perhaps is even stronger because of the issue of the complete sessions. It is, along with Jack Johnson and Bitches Brew, a signature Miles Davis session from the electric era. AMG.

listen here or here

Dom - Edge of Time 1971

Dom a prog rock band from Dusseldorf, Germany formed in 1969 and released just one privately pressed LP in 1972. Not much info about it but give it a chance and listen it's worth it.

listen here or here

Clifford T. Ward - Escalator 1975

b. Clifford Thomas Ward, 10 February 1946, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England, d. 18 December 2001, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. Ward typified the early 70s bedsitter singer-songwriter with a series of albums that were at best delightful and at worst mawkish. Ward left grammar school before A-levels to work as a clerk, but by 1962 was fronting local beat group Cliff Ward and the Cruisers. The group changed their name to Martin Raynor and the Secrets and made their recording debut for EMI Records in 1965, before recording several more tracks as the Secrets for CBS Records.

In 1967 Ward enrolled at Worcester teacher training college to study English and divinity, after which he taught at Bromsgrove high school. His debut album appeared on disc jockey John Peel’s brave-but-doomed Dandelion Records label in 1972. His second album and his first release for Charisma Records, Home Thoughts, proved to be his finest work and gave him wider recognition. Ward constructed each song as a complete story sometimes with great success. The beautiful ‘Gaye’ became a UK Top 10 hit but surprisingly the stronger ‘Home Thoughts From Abroad’ and the infectious and lyrically excellent ‘Wherewithal’ failed to chart. Mantle Pieces and Escalator contained a similar recipe of more harmless tales like the minor hit ‘Scullery’ with affecting lyrics like; ‘You’re my picture by Picasso, you’d brighten up any gallery. Ward’s refusal to tour and promote his songs did not help endear the singer to his record company, however, and he switched to the Phonogram Records label for 1975’s No More Rock ‘N’ Roll.

In later years although still recording the occasional album and still reluctant to perform live, Ward received kudos as a songwriter with his material being recorded by artists such as Cliff Richard, Art Garfunkel, and Justin Hayward. He was struck down with multiple sclerosis in 1987 and his health rapidly deteriorated. He managed to record 1991’s vinyl-only album Laugh It Off, and friends and colleagues pieced together two more albums of new songs, out-takes, and demos to give the ailing Ward some financial assistance. He finally succumbed to pneumonia in December 2001. AMG.

listen here or here

Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak 1976

Thin Lizzy found their trademark twin-guitar sound on 1975's Fighting, but it was on its 1976 successor, Jailbreak, where the band truly took flight. Unlike the leap between Night Life and Fighting, there is not a great distance between Jailbreak and its predecessor. If anything, the album was more of a culmination of everything that came before, as Phil Lynott hit a peak as a songwriter just as guitarists Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson pioneered an intertwined, dual-lead guitar interplay that was one of the most distinctive sounds of '70s rock, and one of the most influential. Lynott no longer let Gorham and Robertson contribute individual songs -- they co-wrote, but had no individual credits -- which helps tighten up the album, giving it a cohesive personality, namely Lynott's rough rebel with a heart of a poet. Lynott loves turning the commonplace into legend -- or bringing myth into the modern world, as he does on "Cowboy Song" or, to a lesser extent, "Romeo and the Lonely Girl" -- and this myth-making is married to an exceptional eye for details; when the boys are back in town, they don't just come back to a local bar, they're down at Dino's, picking up girls and driving the old men crazy. This gives his lovingly florid songs, crammed with specifics and overflowing with life, a universality that's hammered home by the vicious, primal, and precise attack of the band. Thin Lizzy is tough as rhino skin and as brutal as bandits, but it's leavened by Lynott's light touch as a singer, which is almost seductive in its croon. This gives Jailbreak a dimension of richness that sustains, but there's such kinetic energy to the band that it still sounds immediate no matter how many times it's played. Either one would make it a classic, but both qualities in one record make it a truly exceptional album. AMG.

listen here or here

Pink Floyd - Obscured By Clouds 1972

Obscured by Clouds is the soundtrack to the Barbet Schroeder film La Vallée, and it plays that way. Of course, it's possible to make the argument that Pink Floyd's music of the early '70s usually played as mood music, similar to film music, but it had structure and a progression. Here, the instrumentals float pleasantly, filled with interesting textures, yet they never seem to have much of a purpose. Often, they seem quite tied to their time, either in their spaciness or in the pastoral folkiness, two qualities that are better brought out on the full-fledged songs interspersed throughout the record. Typified by "Burning Bridges" and "Wot's...uh the Deal," these songs explore some of the same musical ground as those on Atom Heart Mother and Meddle, yet they are more concise and have a stronger structure. But the real noteworthy numbers are the surprisingly heavy blues-rocker "The Gold It's in The...," which, as good as it is, is trumped by the stately, ominous "Childhood's End" and the jaunty pop tune "Free Four," two songs whose obsessions with life, death, and the past clearly point toward Dark Side of the Moon. ("Childhood's End" also suggests Dark Side in its tone and arrangement.) As startlingly advanced as these last two songs are, they're not enough to push the rest of Obscured by Clouds past seeming just like a soundtrack, yet these tunes, blended with the sensibility of Meddle, suggest what Pink Floyd was about to develop into. AMG.

listen here or here

Eric Clapton - Eric Clapton 1970

Eric Clapton's eponymous solo debut was recorded after he completed a tour with Delaney & Bonnie. Clapton used the core of the duo's backing band and co-wrote the majority of the songs with Delaney Bramlett -- accordingly, Eric Clapton sounds more laid-back and straightforward than any of the guitarist's previous recordings. There are still elements of blues and rock & roll, but they're hidden beneath layers of gospel, R&B, country, and pop flourishes. And the pop element of the record is the strongest of the album's many elements -- "Blues Power" isn't a blues song and only "Let It Rain," the album's closer, features extended solos. Throughout the album, Clapton turns out concise solos that de-emphasize his status as a guitar god, even when they display astonishing musicality and technique. That is both a good and a bad thing -- it's encouraging to hear him grow and become a more fully rounded musician, but too often the album needs the spark that some long guitar solos would have given it. In short, it needs a little more of Clapton's personality. AMG.

listen here or here

Wolfgang Dauner's Et Cetera - Et Cetera 1971

An intriguing composer and ambitious pianist, German musician Wolfgang Dauner has combined jazz, rock, electronic music, and elements of opera and theater in creating broad-based, ranging works. While at times these compositions may seem too far-reaching, Dauner's best work shows the links between idioms and genres and offers provocative musical and cultural concepts. He studied trumpet, piano, and composition at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, then joined Joki Freund's sextet in the early '60s. Dauner appeared at several German festivals, then made his recording debut heading a trio in 1964. It was one of the first European free jazz recording sessions. Dauner led Radio Jazz Group Stuttgart and wrote compositions for them in 1969. He formed the jazz-rock band Et Cetera in 1970, then, with Hans Koller, co-led the Free Sound & Super Brass Big Band. He helped organize the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble in 1975, and began featuring theater, opera, and dance segments along with his performances in '70s and '80s concerts. Dauner's composed music for films, radio, and television broadcasts, and a children's opera. He's recorded for Mood, Columbia, MPS, and ECM, among others, and he has a number of sessions available on CD. AMG.

listen here or here

Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood 1977

Far and away the prettiest record Jethro Tull released at least since Thick as a Brick and a special treat for anyone with a fondness for the group's more folk-oriented material. Ian Anderson had moved to the countryside sometime earlier, and it showed in his choice of the source material. The band's aggressive rock interplay and Anderson's fascination with early British folk melodies produce a particularly appealing collection of songs -- the seriousness with which the group took this effort can be discerned by the album's unofficial "full" title on the original LP: "Jethro Tull With Kitchen Prose, Gutter Rhymes, and Divers Songs from the Wood." The group's sound was never more carefully balanced between acoustic folk and hard rock -- the result is an album that sounds a great deal like the work of Tull's Chrysalis Records labelmates Steeleye Span (though Nigel Pegrum never attacked his cymbals -- or his entire drum kit -- with Barriemore Barlow's ferocity). The harmonizing on "Songs From the Wood" fulfills the promise shown in some of the singing on Thick as a Brick, and the delicacy of much of the rest, including "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" (where the group plays full out, but with wonderful elegance), "Hunting Girl," and "Velvet Green," set a new standard for the group's sound. "Pibroch (Cap in Hand)," which is dominated by Martin Barre's electric guitar -- in a stunning array of overlapping flourishes at full volume -- is the only concession to the group's usual hard rock rave-ups, and even it has some lovely singing to counterbalance the bulk of the song. AMG.

listen here or here

Fanny - Fanny 1970

Fanny are beloved because they didn't fit any distinct mold. They were the first all-female rock band to be signed to a major label, inking a deal with Reprise in 1970. All-female bands existed prior to Fanny -- and not just girl groups in R&B, either; there were garage rockers -- but this quartet wasn't a throwback to the three-chord primitives that popped up after the British Invasion. No, Fanny were a self-contained rock band, the kind that seized the expansion of psychedelia to write and record their own songs. Thing was, they weren't really psychedelic, and although they could rock, they weren't heavy rockers, nor did they push at the boundaries of what constituted pop and rock. Quite the contrary, actually: they belonged to the mainstream, which is why Richard Perry -- who then-recently had success with Tiny Tim and produced Ringo Starr and would soon helm smash albums by Barbra Streisand and Harry Nilsson -- was chosen to produce their debut. He could emphasize their bright, tuneful qualities without sacrificing their backbone, and that's precisely what he does on Fanny, giving them some serious punch without ever suggesting serious rebellion. Fanny were slightly ahead of their time, not in the sense they could have run with the Runaways, but in that after a few years, this kind of rocking pop could have eased onto the radio alongside "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)," as Looking Glass was another band that walked the line between boogie and pop. Fanny also recall a bit of Badfinger here, both in how they power through power chords and how they settle into sweetness, and that versatility is pretty appealing, while their division of songwriting duties is impressive, with guitarist June Millington and her sister Jean writing the hardest-rocking numbers and keyboardist Nickey Barclay penning the lighter, weirder moments (exception being the nifty "Changing Horses," which hits as hard as a Millington song). As good as these originals are -- and they are good, they're all solid songs -- Fanny's nimble cover of Cream's "Badge" may explain their music best of all: they cut away the mystery of the original, straightening it out but giving it a looser, almost funky backbeat and never forgetting to jam. The album is somewhat tied to its times, but appealing for its unapologetic celebration of everything paisley, bell-bottomed, and post-hippie. AMG.

listen here or here