Skin Alley - Skin Alley 1969

It takes just one listen to Skin Alley's eponymous 1970 debut album to explain the band's popularity in Britain's underground college and club scenes. Here was a group who refused to play by the rules, a band whose diverse musical influences were given free rein, but who beautifully stitched together their eclectic stylings into a sound quite uniquely their own. Like most British acts of the day, Skin Alley were beholden to the blues, and the band paid off part of the debt with the barrelling "(Going Down The) Highway." But as passages in that song made just as clear, the group were equally enthralled by jazz, a style that would be explored more intimately on the atmospheric stunner of a track "All Alone." That conjured up smoky torch clubs, while jazz of a more exhilarating mode is given its due on the equally excellent "Marsha," which slips gaily in and out of R&B as well. The set opener, "Living in Sin" is a breezy piece of British R&B, but given an intriguing twist of the Middle East. It had all the makings of a single, but instead it was the more downbeat "Tell Me" that was chosen, albeit not in its original portentous album form, but in a jazzed-up version, which is included on this reissue, along with it's B-side "Better Be Blind." But Alley's influences didn't end in America, they were also inspired by their own musical heritage, as the medieval tinged "Country Aire" illustrates. Folk is pulled into the modern pop world on the equally single worthy "Night Time," then enters the arenas with the ballad-cum-haunting show-stopper "Mother, Please Help Your Child." All told Skin Alley was a stunning debut, with excellent production by ex-Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor, but, amazingly, better was yet to come. AMG,

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Master's Apprentices - Masterpiece 1970

The Masters Apprentices had changed a lot in both personnel and style by the time they issued their second LP, two and a half years after their first. It's a respectable but oddly schizophrenic effort, finding them searching for an identity with competent forays into hard rock, early progressive rock, and poppy folk-rock, with orchestral instrumental links between many of the tracks adding to the confusion (as there's no concept driving the LP). "A Dog, a Siren and Memories" ranks as the most accurate Simon & Garfunkel imitation ever. [Some reissues also include their self-titled first album.] AMG.
 

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October Country - October Country 1968

October Country's self-titled album -- long out-of-print -- is today revered and highly prized by collectors who have managed to find a copy. It certainly deserves to be reissued on CD. Other soft rock and sunshine pop/soft rock obscurities -- including those by the Millennium, Sagittarius, and Eternity's Children, to name just a few -- are just now becoming available again on CD, so why not October Country? This 1968 album is one of the better examples of songwriter/producer/musician Michael Lloyd's overall influence and impact on the West Coast-based genre. Lloyd -- who was certainly influenced by important albums like the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, and various psych-pop sounds of the Brit-pop invasion, even harmony vocal groups like the Bee Gees -- always seemed to find interesting ways to incorporate various sophisticated instrumentation (organ, horns, harpsichord, and string arrangements) into his productions. During this particular group's first recording sessions, Lloyd began transforming this We Five-ish folk-rock group into a formidable group (he also played the various instruments himself -- because the group wasn't that proficient on their own). There are numerous highlights here, including the title track (later recorded by the Smoke, the U.S. band who was another Lloyd "Sidewalk" production), "Cowboys and Indians," and "My Girlfriend Is a Witch." AMG.

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The Human Expression - Love At Psychedelic Velocity 1966

The Human Expression were a band from suburban Los Angeles whose music lurked somewhere in between garage rock and psychedelia. They're celebrated by garage rock fans for their second single, 1967's "Optical Sound" b/w "Calm Me Down" -- the loopy A-side was a celebration of inner space that appeared on the Nuggets box set, but the flip was a tough, sneering rocker, and the Human Expression clearly knew how to work both sides of the formula. The group also had something like a brush with fame when Scott Seely, owner of Accent Records, introduced them to a songwriter who had a pair of tunes he believed had potential; the writer was Mars Bonfire, and while the Human Expression ended up recording "Sweet Child of Nothingness," they turned down his other song, "Born to Be Wild," and Steppenwolf made the proto-biker anthem a hit a year later. During their 1965 to 1968 lifetime, the Human Expression released three singles, and Love at Psychedelic Velocity combines the six sides they cut for Accent as well as some unreleased tunes, demos, and early recordings by Jim Quarles, the group's lead singer. Judging from what's here, the Human Expression were certainly better than the average band on the California rock scene at the time; Quarles and guitarist Jim Foster were imaginative songwriters with a clever, slightly bent approach, and Foster's guitar style was an interesting mixture of traditional folk-rock jangle, tough fuzzy leads, and a willingness to play with reverb tanks and pickup switches to come up with unusual sounds. But Love at Psychedelic Velocity also tries to make an album out of a band that didn't have an album's worth of recordings; "Calm Me Down" is a great tune, but not so great that this album needs three versions of it, and the demo of "Every Night" doesn't reveal much except that the group's early recordings were done in a really crummy-sounding studio. And while Quarles' pre-Human Expression tapes are interesting, they also capture a teenage kid working out ideas that he'd handle with greater skill later on. For garage/psych fanatics who wonder if there's more where "Optical Sound" comes from, Love at Psychedelic Velocity offers up all there is, but even though the bits and pieces are worth hearing, this never plays like any sort of proper album, and an EP of the singles might have been more satisfying. AMG.

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The Second Coming - The Second Coming 1970

Originally hailed from Chicago moved to San Francisco and released one album and a couple of singles. With the recent glut of groups using a brass section, it's good to hear one that has potential to top all the ones currently in existence.

The Second Coming, is a nine piece homegrown group played with finesse not often seen in rock groups during its recent stay here. Music is tight when its need to be and fee when the songs call for it. Leader is Buddy Stephens who is vocalist and doubles on drums and trumpet. His voice is powerful and was well sjhowcased as the group did several numbers from its Mercury records LP. Les King is a standout on drums, as he pushed, shoved and drove the band through the songs, never allowing a letup.

The horn section was punchy, with Bob Penny on guitar, Ernie Seil on bass, Tom Palmer  on bass, and Dave Miller on organ, each leading the right amount of support.

The Strong soloing talent of the group was showcased during "Ain't It Funky", a 20 minute piece that was all too short. Put simply the group is a dynamite. by George Knemeyer, October 10, 1970. Thanks to therockasteria.

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Blackfeather - At The Mountains Of Madness 1971

Blackfeather was an Australian band founded in 1970 and led for most of its ten-year existence by singer Neale Johns. It began as a progressive rock unit, which can be heard on Mountains of Madness (1971), but later moved toward a simpler rock & roll style, resulting in the Australian #1 hit "Boppin' the Blues" and the 1974 Live album. The group's personnel was fluid in the second half of the '70s, especially after Johns moved to the U.K. to form Fingerprint. AMG.

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V.A. - Christiania 1976

An interesting compilation with several folk, psychedelic and rock danish groups and artists. It's worth listening. Give it a try. listen here

Graeme Edge Band - Kick Off Your Muddy Boots 1975

A solo album from a drummer is rarely cause to celebrate, for invariably it arrives stillborn. But Kick Off Your Muddy Boots is a solo set from Moody Blues' skin basher Graeme Edge in name only, and instead is really a showcase for the Gurvitz brothers, or more precisely singer/guitarist Adrian. Edge contributed only three songs to his set; the dreamy "Lost in Space," the introspective "Have You Ever Wondered," and dramatic "Somethin' We'd Like to Say," providing very tentative links to the Blues' own sound. The rest of the album, composed by Adrian Gurvitz, goes very much its own way. The fabulously funky instrumental "The Tunnel" flies furthest from the mothership, while a guesting Ginger Baker edges Edge into the shadows on the Chicago blues spectacular "Gew Janna Woman," the set's apotheosis. "My Life's Not Wasted" is nearly as epic, meandering from funk to blues, soul to orchestral overkill in one fell swoop. Swinging from the C&W-tinged rocker "Shotgun" to the sunny California-styled "Bareback Rider," Muddy Boots treads into as many musical pastures as possible, with the bonus "We Like to Do It" (the band's 1974 single) tossing ragtime into the mix. Keyboardist Mickey Gallagher provides excellent work throughout, his lovely soundscapes and delicate melody lines providing a perfect foil to Gurvitz's soaring leads and hefty riffs. The rhythm section is strong of course, but in the end, this is Gurvitz and Gallagher's show from start to finish, and what a show it is. AMG,

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Marc Brierley - Welcome To The Citadel 1968

Although Marc Brierley had released an EP on Transatlantic in 1966, 1968's Welcome to the Citadel was the British folkie's first album. It was an accomplished yet rather bland work, built around Brierley's singing, songwriting, and acoustic guitar. But it was also pushed a little toward folk-rock and pop by the use of electric bass and drums (by Tony Reeves and Mike Travis, who'd just been touring with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers), as well as some cello, trumpet, and violins. It's on the mild and twee side of British folk-rock; Brierley's slight vocals and drifting compositional sense fall in the realm of other minor British singer/songwriters of the genre like Keith Christmas. Observational sketches like "Matchbox Men" and the title track have an attractive but forgettable baroque-folk flavor; other numbers like "Take Me for a Ride on Your Aeroplane" seem a little like forced attempts at getting an electric Bert Jansch-type sound; and more acoustic-based numbers mine the dreamy folk-pop espoused by numerous British troubadours from Donovan on down. It's a varied album, but you could get roughly similar stuff elsewhere by performers of far greater distinction. The entire album has been reissued on the Brierley compilation Autograph of Time, which also includes his second album (^1969's Hello), his 1966 EP, and couple of non-LP singles. AMG.

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Contraction - Contraction 1972

Self-titled debut album by Quebec's maistream progressive band Contraction. The album quickly became one of the hottest selling francophone albums in the province. The label sent the band back to the studios to record slightly altered arrangements with English vocals, gave the songs English titles, and released that version of the album the same year. Largely keyboards/piano-based light bluesy rock, that drew equal inspiration from local folk music and British and American progressive rock, with some jazz and soft rock influences.

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Gang of Four - Entertainment! 1979

Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favorably and unfavorably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) -- all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillistic guitar stoccados, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many. Lyrically, the album was apart from many of the day, and it still is. The band rants at revisionist history in "Not Great Men" ("No weak men in the books at home"), self-serving media and politicians in "I Found That Essence Rare" ("The last thing they'll ever do?/Act in your interest"), and sexual politics in "Damaged Goods" ("You said you're cheap but you're too much"). Though the brilliance of the record thrives on the faster material -- especially the febrile first side -- a true highlight amongst highlights is the closing "Anthrax," full of barely controlled feedback squalls and moans. It's nearly psychedelic, something post-punk and new wave were never known for. With a slight death rattle and plodding bass rumble, Jon King equates love with disease and admits to feeling "like a beetle on its back." In the background, Andy Gill speaks in monotone of why Gang of Four doesn't do love songs. Subversive records of any ilk don't get any stronger, influential, or exciting than this. AMG.

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Cochise - Cochise 1970

There was a lot of talent involved in the making of Cochise's debut album. Guitarist Mick Grabham went on to play in Procol Harum; bassist Rick Wills would later join Foreigner; B.J. Cole would be an in-demand pedal steel player on many sessions over the next few decades; drummer Willie Wilson would play with Pink Floyd; Dick Taylor, who'd just left the Pretty Things, produced; and Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis (famous for working on Pink Floyd LP covers) designed a striking and, for the period, daring cover of a woman's unadorned breasts. The credits on a résumé don't always guarantee an outstanding album, however, and Cochise is one of those '60s-turning-into-'70s records that treads an uneasy line between eclectic diversity and a lack of direction. It's so-so period 1970 British rock, distinguished just slightly by a more country-ish flavor than the norm, courtesy of Cole's pedal steel. It's not country-rock, however, and some of the songs in fact owe little or nothing to the form. Numbers like "Painted Lady" and "Moment and the End" are tense, meandering hard rock tunes; the latter cut, in fact (as well as sections of some others, like "Velvet Mountain") sounds kind of like late-'60s/early-'70s Guess Who LP filler. There's a wistful rural feel to parts of the material that suggests some promise, but that mood's shattered by an unnecessary, pedestrian heavy rock cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "59th Street Bridge Song." AMG.

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Jean-Luc Ponty - Open Strings 1971

After creating a major stir in the U.S. in 1969, violinist Jean-Luc Ponty returned to his native France for a couple years. One of his few recordings from the period is this stimulating date which was last made available in the U.S. as a Pausa LP. Ponty teams up with keyboardist Joachim Kuhn, guitarist Philip Catherine, bassist Peter Warren and drummer Oliver Johnson for his three-part, side-long "Flipping," the lengthy "Open Strings" and Kuhn's "Sad Ballad." The electric violinist's dynamic playing is heard in peak form throughout the colorful album, an early and creative fusion date. AMG.

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Syreeta - Syreeta 1972

This album represented the solo debut of Syreeta, a Motown staffer who was one of Stevie Wonder's most important collaborators during his early-'70s renaissance. Fittingly, Wonder returned the favor by producing this album and writing or co-writing several of its songs (he is also notably present in the background vocals of several of the tracks). As a result, the album utilizes the same experimental approach to R&B music that defined his early-'70s work, blending conventional string-sweetened '70s soul with ventures into synthesizer-inflected funk. Highlights include "Black Maybe," a jazz-inflected ballad with socially conscious lyrics, and "Baby Don't You Let Me Lose This," a gently percolating midtempo number that benefits from an infectious chorus and some sleek synthesizer textures. There is also a strong cover of the Smokey Robinson classic "What Love Has Joined Together" that provides an excellent showcase for Syreeta's emotionally rich vocals. Unfortunately, this experimental approach occasionally fails to pan out: the big misstep is a badly misjudged cover of the Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" that suffers from a gimmicky production featuring annoying voicebox-treated vocals on the chorus. Another problem with the album is that it fails to build a cohesive sense of flow from song to song, resulting in an album that feels more like a loose collection of songs than a proper album. Despite these problems, Syreeta offers enough likable soul music to make it worth a spin for anyone interested in Syreeta, and the rare Stevie Wonder tunes it includes make it a necessity for his hardcore fans. AMG.

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Recorded in 1974 in Soweto, this is an intriguing, rousing reminder of the inventive styles that flourished in apartheid-era South Africa, but never came to the notice of the outside world. Batsumi were an Afro-jazz outfit led by a blind guitarist, Johnny Mothopeng, along with his keyboard-playing brother Lancelot and bassist Zulu Bidi. They worked in the sprawling Johannesburg township in the early 70s, and their debut album has been unobtainable for decades. Remastered from the original tapes, and best played very loud, it's a vibrant, energetic workout in which slinky, repeated riffs are matched against wailing, sometimes psychedelic effects, with saxophone and flute solos added. There are five lengthy tracks here, and they range from the opening Lishonile, in which hypnotic, repeated phrases and solos give way after nine minutes to equally furious chanting, and the cool Anishilabi, in which a classy keyboard workout and bass solo ease into a cool, loping riff. An obscure African recording, maybe, but this is still great dance music. 
 

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