Joe Walsh - So What 1975

Joe Walsh's catalog by this point was two albums strong and of a consistently high quality. Despite a change of lineup for So What -- a wide range of musicians is used, including the Eagles' Don Henley -- the sound is very similar to previous releases. A number of classic Walsh tracks are featured, including a more polished version of "Turn to Stone," originally featured on his debut album, Barnstorm, in a somewhat more riotous style. "Help Me Thru the Night," Walsh's mellowest song to date, is helped along by some fine lead and backing vocals from the band. So What sees Walsh in top form as a guitarist. Most of the nine tracks feature solos of unquestionable quality in his usual rock style. The classic rock genre that the man so well defined with his earlier albums is present here throughout, and it is pulled off with the usual unparalleled Joe Walsh ability. AMG.

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Bonnie Raitt - Give It Up 1972

Bonnie Raitt may have switched producers for her second album Give It Up, hiring Michael Cuscuna, but she hasn't switched her style, sticking with the thoroughly engaging blend of folk, blues, R&B, and Californian soft rock. If anything, she's strengthened her formula here, making the divisions between the genres nearly indistinguishable. Take the title track, for instance. It opens with a bluesy acoustic guitar before kicking into a New Orleans brass band about halfway through -- and the great thing about it is that Raitt makes the switch sound natural, even inevitable, never forced. And that's just the tip of the iceberg here, since Give It Up is filled with great songs, delivered in familiar, yet always surprising, ways by Raitt and her skilled band. For those that want to pigeonhole her as a white blues singer, she delivers the lovely "Nothing Seems to Matter," a gentle mid-tempo number that's as mellow as Linda Ronstadt and far more seductive. That's the key to Give It Up: Yes, Raitt can be earthy and sexy, but she balances it with an inviting sensuality that makes the record glow. It's all delivered in a fantastic set of originals and covers performed so naturally it's hard to tell them apart and roots music so thoroughly fused that it all sounds original, even when it's possible to spot the individual elements or influences. Raitt would go on to greater chart successes, but she not only had trouble topping this record, generations of singers, from Sheryl Crow to Shelby Lynne, have used this as a touchstone. One of the great Southern California records. AMG.

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Masterfleet - High On The Sea 1973

Unlike a lot of the east coast bands on the Sussex label, Masterfleet hailed from California — Compton, to be exact (which was also the home of The Jackson Sisters, The Sylvers, and War). This hard to find debut album is a mix of vocal soul tracks that have an East Coast sound, with other cuts that get a little bit more funk into the mix. The group’s harmonies are quite good, and they really shine on a number of tracks. Thanks to FunkMySoul.

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Prosper - Broken Door 1975

Prosper was born in Bottrop, a town situated in the northwestern part of the german Ruhrgebiet which is dominated by an eponymous coal mine. The band's story began 1973 as Prosper I with heavy line-up changes. Jürgen Pluta (keys) was a co-founder but soon went to Wallenstein to play the bass. Evert Brettschneider (guitar) and Matthias Geisen (bass) were early members to form a constant line-up and to reduce the name to Prosper. They were later followed by Friedhelm Misiejuk (drums, percussion), Fritz A. Frey (guitar, vocals) und Ernst Müller (keys). This five musicians finally produced the self-released, very professional and diversified debut 'Broken Door' from 1975.

Prosper's sound is a typical mix of different styles. Jazz rock respectively Fusion are having a dominant role but there are also psychedelic parts to point out. Composed with a versatile structure the eight songs contain many instrumental parts interspersed with e-piano, mellotron, moog or nice twin guitar work. Brettschneider, also known as a member of the band Contact Trio, often provides the jazzy attitude inspired by John McLaughlin or Gary Boyle. Unfortunately the current line-up didn't manage to record other releases afterwards. Some member changes occured and Prosper became less important until 1979 when the band tried to make a new start. Only bass player Geisen remained and he gathered some other musicians to record new material. Finally in 2006 some songs of this rehearsals were digged out and released as a vinyl named 'Second Running - The Basement Tapes' with music similar to Doldinger's Passport. More other songs are in a waiting position and therefore Prosper's story might not be closed yet.

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Profile - Sands Of Time 1973

Originally released in 1973 on Encounter Records, Profile's Sands of Time was produced by Bernard Purdie (a living, walking definition of soul-jazz drumming), and the album bears his signature sound. With Don Sands on organ, Dave Barron on guitar, Seldon Powell on tenor sax, Garnett Brown on trombone, Jimmy Owens on trumpet, Paul Martinez on bass, and Purdie and Butchman Bateman sharing the drum kit, with help from percussionist Norman Pride, the album catches an easy, gently funky shuffle tone from the opening track, Barron's "99 Baseball," and then never lets go. Instrumental versions of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," Isaac Hayes' "Shaft," and Jimmy Webb's (via Isaac Hayes) "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" all fall into a delightful rainy-day groove, making Sands of Time somewhat of a lost classic. AMG.

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Quill - Sursum Corda 1977

Three-piece progressive/symphonic rock band that formed in Santa Barbara in 1975 and disbanded in the late 70s. They reunited for a one-off performance at the inaugural Progfest in 1993.

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Leroy Hutson - Love Oh Love 1973

After working as a writer and producer for such soul music stalwarts as Donny Hathaway and a stint replacing Curtis Mayfield as the lead vocalist in the Impressions, Leroy Hutson embarked on a solo career with 1973's Love Oh Love. The album combines the kind of smooth soul music that Hutson performed with the Impressions with more ambitious and conceptual outings in the vein of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. When Hutson sticks to love songs, Love Oh Love is magical: "So in Love With You" combines a honey-sweet romantic vocal from Hutson with a spine-tingling string arrangement to create an elegant and heartfelt ballad, while the title track raises its tale of lost love to an up-tempo level with jazzy horns and a percolating rhythm arrangement. "As Long as There's Love Around" is another effective romantic track that layers Hutson's velvety vocals over a complex instrumental track that combines gentle strings and brash horns with an insistently grooving bassline. The progressive-minded tracks are less satisfying: "Time Brings on a Change" is a political commentary song whose use of a Martin Luther King sample is a little too gimmicky for its own good, and "Getting It On" is a funk instrumental that fails to work any memorable hooks into its pleasant groove. Despite these problems, nothing on the album is less than listenable and everything flows together nicely to create a cohesive (if somewhat short) album. In short, Love Oh Love is one of the most consistent albums in the Leroy Hutson catalog and a good introduction to his silky soul style. AMG.

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The John Dummer Band - Blue 1972

The John Dummer Band also known as John Dummer's Blues Band, John Dummer's Famous Music Band, John Dummer's Oobleedooblee Band and The John Dummer Band Featuring Nick Pickett was a British blues band, of the 1960s and 1970s, noted for its extensive roster of members, including Graham Bond, Dave Kelly, Jo Ann Kelly, Tony McPhee, Bob Hall, John O'Leary and Pick Withers, and for supporting US bluesmen such as Howlin' Wolf and John Lee Hooker on UK tours.

The band was formed by drummer John Dummer (born Anthony John Dummer 19 November 1944, Surbiton, Surrey). He formed Lester Square and the G.T's in 1963 with Chris Trengove (alto saxophone and vocals) and Elton Dean (tenor saxophone, later of Soft Machine) and toured the UK and Germany for two years.

Dummer formed the John Dummer Blues Band in 1965. The original line-up was John Dummer (vocals, harmonica), Roger Pearce (guitar) and Pete Moody (bass) - both recruited from London R&B band The Grebbels – plus Bob Hall (piano) and Dave Bidwell (drums). Moody later left to be replaced by Tony Walker (bass) and his sister Regine Walker joined Dummer as a second vocalist. The featured guitarist was Tony 'Top' Topham, the original Yardbirds guitarist. The band changed its line-up and began a regular Sunday afternoon residency at the Studio 51 Club in London's West End. Dummer had moved onto drums, and Dave Kelly and Tony McPhee joined as guitarist/vocalists, with Iain "Thump" Thomson (bass) and John O'Leary (harmonica). Dave's sister, Jo-Ann Kelly, was also a regularly featured vocalist at these sessions. The band picked up a following at the club with visiting artists such as John Mayall, Keef Hartley, Champion Jack Dupree, Long John Baldry, Duster Bennett and Alexis Korner. The band was signed to Mercury Records and their first album, Cabal, was released in 1969. Dave and Jo-Anne Kelly and Tony McPhee were featured artists, and the band was the same as had regularly played the Studio 51 Club. Tony McPhee left the band shortly after to re-form The Groundhogs.

The second album, The John Dummer Blues Band, featured Dummer, Hall, Thomson, Dave and Jo Ann Kelly (vocals), with a new lead guitarist Adrian "Putty" Pietryga, from The Deep Blues Band from Bristol. This band toured extensively in Britain and Europe for two years.

By the third album, John Dummer's Famous Music Band (1970), Dave Kelly and Bob Hall had left to be replaced by Nick Pickett (guitar, violin and vocals) Pietryga and Thomson remained, being augmented by Chris Trengove (alto sax) and Davey 'Crabsticks' Trotter (Mellotron).

After the third album the band "drifted apart", only to reform to record again when their instrumental "Nine By Nine", featuring violinist Nick Pickett, was number 1 in France. The 1972 album Blue, released as the John Dummer Band, featured a cover by Roger Dean, whilst the band had shrunk to a four-piece blues-rock band, comprising Dummer, Pickett, Pietryga and Thomson. The band's fifth album, Oobleedoobleejubilee (1973), released as John Dummer's Oobleedooblee Band, had a country music style, whilst the line-up again included the Kellys, along with Michael Evans (violin) and Roger Brown (vocals). The band's final album, recorded in 1973, included Graham Bond (saxophone), Pick Withers (drums), Pete Emery (guitar) and Colin Earl (Foghat) (keyboards), but the album was shelved, and the band broke up in 1974. This final album was eventually released in 2008, as the Lost 1973 Album.

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Charles Mingus - Reincarnation Of A Lovebird 1960

A virtuoso bassist, composer, pianist, arranger, and bandleader, Charles Mingus cut an indelible path through 20th century jazz, creating a legacy that continues to influence, instruct, and enrich. His powerful tone and unshakeable rhythmic facility drove an original music, ambitious yet earthy. Influenced musically and culturally by Black gospel, Mingus drew inspiration from each sound that grabbed him -- blues, New Orleans jazz, swing, bop, Latin traditions, classical, and avant-garde -- and adapted them for his ensembles. Influenced by Duke Ellington, Mingus grafted the maestro's harmonic innovations and swing onto gutbucket blues, dissonance, and abrupt rhythmic and meter changes. His important '50s albums -- Pithecanthropus Erectus, The Clown, Mingus Ah Um, Blues and Roots -- offered traditional notation, oral dictation, and space for his sidemen to improvise. Further, Mingus introduced many future jazz luminaries and leaders through his bands including Jackie McLean, Eric Dolphy, Dannie Richmond, Don Pullen, George Adams, Jimmy Knepper, and Jack Walrath. AMG.

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Billy Cobham, Alphonso Johnson, Steve Khan, Tom Scott - Alivemutherforya 1978

Drummer Billy Cobham is heard on this live set heading an all-star quintet also including Tom Scott on tenor, soprano and lyricon, keyboardist Mark Soskin, guitarist Steve Khan and electric bassist Alphonso Johnson. Although the music is mostly funky and uses plenty of electronics (Scott sounds quite faceless on lyricon), there are some strong solos, particularly from Khan and Scott (when he is on tenor). The six group originals are highlighted by "Bahama Mama," "Some Punk Funk" and "On a Magic Carpet Ride." Due to the amount of variety and spontaneity, Alivemutherforya is superior to most of these musicians' individual projects of the era. AMG.

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John Blair - We Belong Together 1977

John Franklin "Ellington" Blair was an American violinist & guitarist, born November 8h 1943 Toledo, Ohio, died June 3rd 2006 in New York, NY, USA. Dr. John Blair (or Master John Blair) grew up in California and began taking violin lessons as a child, graduating with honors from Lincoln High School in San Diego in 1961. Blair became a heavy academic, holding degrees from Eastman and Curtis conservatories. He even founded a school (The Universal Natural System). He is best known as the inventor of the Vitar, an acoustic combination of violin and guitar. He featured on many jazz funk LPs in the early 1970s and released a few sought after psych-funk releases on Mercury, Columbia and CTI. During the 1980s he disapeared off of the map, never to return. He died of heart failure, homeless.

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Climax - Gusano Mecánico 1974

Bolivian rock band of the late 1960's to mid 1970's. They started as a beat, largely covers, band mixing hard rock, blues and psychedelic influences, issuing a few singles. They went through many styles during their history, later reinventing themselves as an experimental progressive rock outfit with the album "Gusano Mecánico". The Climax LP is widely regarded as a pinnacle of Bolivian prog alongside the the debut by the group Wara. 

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Dah - Veliki Cirkus 1974

Serbian heavy rock band with folk influences active in period 1972-1977 in former Yugoslavia. The group enjoyed brief but prominent international success when they recorded hit single "Shoshana" during their sojourn in Belgium. Under new name "Land" "Shoshana" single was issued by Polydor across Europe and it even raised to No. 1 on the top list of Radio Morocco. Upon return to Yugoslavia in 1976 they released the third album "Povratak" and soon disbanded. Goran Manojlović then continued with new line-up and it lasted until 1979.

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New Riders Of The Purple Sage - The Adventures of Panama Red 1973

One has to wonder if 1973 was the year of drug references in songs...never mind. In any case, The Adventures of Panama Red established the New Riders of the Purple Sage as something more than a Jerry Garcia side project -- which they never were. John Dawson, Spencer Dryden, David Nelson, and Dave Torbert along with pedal steel ace Buddy Cage -- replacing Garcia -- and producer and multi-instrumentalist Norbert Putnam crafted a smoking, hard country-rock and bluegrass hippie record. Also along for the ride were guest vocalists Donna Jean Godchaux from the Grateful Dead and no less than Buffy Sainte-Marie and the Memphis Horns. Trad country it ain't, and dated it is; but nonetheless, Panama Red has considerable charm as a relic from the era. Nelson, Torbert, and Dawson were decent songwriters and enthusiastic performers, and Columbia knew a good thing when they saw one and got behind the album -- which was a minor hit. The title track and "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy," with Cage's whinnying steel, carry a lot of the band's weight and separate them from virtually every other West Coast outfit trying the same thing. The Flying Burrito Brothers were more country and Commander Cody's Lost Planet Airmen swung harder, but one thing the New Riders were more of than anyone was stoned, and these songs with titles like "Important Exportin Man" and "Kick in the Head" and lyrics like "I've been smokin' dope, snortin' coke/Tryin' to write a song/Forgettin' everything I know until the next line comes along" only underline this. The freakiest thing is that the record segues together so beautifully and the songs are so tight with nothing extra between, it feels like it's a lot longer than the mere 29 minutes it is. The listener feels satisfied that after 11 songs it's all been said and done in a delightful way. This endures despite its obvious lyrical stupidity. Musically it can do a lot to teach modern-day alt-country cookie-cutters something about knowing the rules before trying to break them. AMG.

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Riff Raff - Riff Raff 1973

Riff Raff's self-titled effort from 1973 was the band's first album proper. Alan Marshall was not replaced when he left, with Tommy Eyre, Roger Sutton, and Pete Kirtley all taking turns on the vocal chores. The jazz -rock sound that Eyre and Sutton had explored with Mark-Almond was the springboard for the exploratory rock music made by Riff Raff. Here deep groove -- à la Brian Auger's Oblivion Express -- and tough rock choruses and dynamics were married to the jazz sense of structure and composition. Far more "progressive" sounding than their early demos, this music nonetheless has little to do with the excesses of the Canterbury Scene. From the opener, with the glorious Fender Rhodes and electric guitar interplay in which the blues and jazz commingle in a rock picture frame, through the improvisational melodic and modal work on "Dreaming" to the glorious theatricality and drama of "La Même Chose" that closes the album, Riff Raff comes off as one of the most original, innovative, and brilliant bands of the early '70s. It's too bad they never got to America; they would have been as huge as their former bosses in Mark-Almond. AMG.

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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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