Cherry Five. 1975 Italy

Cherry Five are an anomaly for the Italian progressive rock scene, in that they sing in English and have a sound that is squarely from the big names of the scene like Yes, Genesis, and Gentle Giant. In this way, they recall Mass Media Stars era Acqua Fragile, though Cherry Five are significantly more heavy and complex. Formed by the main two protagonists of Goblin with participation of drummer Carlo Bordini from Rusticelli & Bordini. So if you can blank your mind of images of Museo Rosenbach and Il Balletto di Bronzo, and pretend Cherry Five are from London, then this is quite a good mid 70s progressive rock album. All the vintage keyboard toys are on display and there's plenty of complex compositions to dive into. A really great album.

Ownership: LP: 1986 Nexus (Japan). Gatefold with obi. Acquired from a friend in Japan (1999). 

CD: 1993 King (Japan). Jewel case with liner notes in Japanese. Purchased new upon release. There was a time when this CD was expensive, but no more.

Originals are impossibly rare and expensive. Even the original Japanese reissue above goes for good coin. 

1993 (first listen); 1/29/12 (review / new entry); 9/22/23

La Maquina Cinematica - Musica Para Pantallas Vacias. 2010 Argentina

While La Maquina Cinematica are ostensibly categorized in the avant progressive sub-genre of "rehearsal intensive" chamber music, my first reaction to their music came from an entirely different source: Anacrusa. Especially late era Anacrusa around the time of El Sacrificio and Fuerza, when they had switched from being an entirely folk oriented band to one that embraced a certain contemporary classical sound. For the most part La Maquina Cinematica focus on melody and complex arrangements, and thus create a tapestry of beautiful music. However, they do rock out on occasion, and I was again reminded of an Argentine band: Las Orejas y la Lengua. Due to the optimistic nature of the recordings, the ghost of Art Zoyd and Univers Zero are very faint, though not completely absent. A very good album and a must for fans of contemporary chamber music.

As an aside, this is definitely the first CD I own that is sponsored by Ernst & Young. Maybe there's hope for global corporations after all.

CD: 2010 Epsa

Feb 2018: Sold the CD.

1/24/12 (new entry)

Lasting Weep - Le Spectacle de l'Albatros. 1976 Canada-Quebec (archival)

Following on from yesterday's post, here is the second archival issue of Lasting Weep from the good folks at ProgQuebec. First composed in 1972, Le Spectacle de l'Albatros was set to be an epic piece for what would be their debut album. That never happened of course, but while Maneige was on hiatus, the key members of Lasting Weep assembled a 17 piece ensemble to be performed over the course of 3 nights in the early months of 1976. Fortunately these were recorded and preserved for antiquity.

Musically, Le Spectacle de l'Albatros is a much more ambitious work compared to the hard jazz rock of the "1969-1971" album. There are some loose avant garde moments to endure, but for the most part this is a very fine work as well. If pressed to pick one album, I'd go for the 1969-1971 album, but most of my peers prefer this one.

CD: 2007 ProgQuebec

CD features unique liner notes, photos and concert posters.

Lasting Weep - 1969-1971. Canada-Quebec (archival)

A fantastic archival release from ProgQuebec. Lasting Weep, like Franck Dervieux's group, was the breeding ground for Quebec's underground scene for the next 10 years or so afterward. Lasting Weep were the precursor to most notably Maneige, but also featured members that went one to play in Conventum, Michel Madore, and L'Orchestre Sympathique.

The lion's share of the salient material is from 1969 and for the era this is an extraordinary recording, as it mirrors not only what was going on in England at the time, but it predates a lot of the early 70s Krautrock movement. Flute and guitar driven hard jazz rock and blues is the preferred style here, and a fantastic example of such.

The 1971 recordings make for excellent bonus tracks but are of lesser aural quality. Had Lasting Weep continued, would have Maneige ultimately been the same type of music? We'll never know of course, but it's certainly one path this troupe could have taken.

CD: 2007 ProgQuebec. Excellent liner notes, unique photos, and poster reprints round out this excellent document.

1/21/12 (first listen / new entry); 1/14/24

Cathedral - Stained Glass Stories. 1978 USA-New York

It's interesting for me to see how many folks today poo-poo this album and say it's overrated, hyped, plagiarist, or whatever. Perhaps it was the background that my friends and I came from that made Cathedral's album seem so extraordinary. Nowadays progressive rock fans have access to thousands of albums at their finger tips, and perhaps it does blend in with similar artists - and so maybe that's why they can't understand old-timers like us who would rave about Stained Glass Stories. I personally think it's a great example of the American underground take on progressive rock. They went all out and left absolutely nothing behind. It doesn't matter to me that it wasn't perfect from a composition/playing standpoint. It's a highly ambitious work with great melodies interspersed throughout and therein lies the charm of it all.

I guess I'm glad to have discovered the album before I read it was "one of the greatest progressive rock albums ever." We didn't have any expectations back then. We just loved it.

Ownership: LP: 1978 Delta. Single sleeve. Online acquisition (2004).

CD: 2010 Belle Antique (Japan). Papersleeve edition.

My first copy to own was the Syn-Phonic LP reissue which was housed in a unique poster cover (1989). 

I first heard this album in 1988 from Rockadelic who had stumbled onto the original. For hardcore progressive rock heads like me, Stained Glass Stories was an astounding find. It was exciting to know that there may be dozens of unknown gems yet to be discovered. Those were exhilarating times if you were a record collector. 

Interesting side story: Way back in 1990 or so, both Syn-Phonic and Rockadelic were trying to release a second unreleased album called Epilogue. I was friendly with both gentlemen so knew the details behind this as it was happening. All these years later, and it still remains in the vaults as the band couldn't agree on terms. I have a copy on CD-R and it's fantastic. Really a shame that it's not out there for public consumption.

1989; 1/11/12 (new entry)

Canarios - Ciclos. 1974 Spain

Canarios (The Canaries) were a pop band prior to this album, and they could not have changed any more dramatically than on Ciclos. The album features four LP side long overblown symphonic rock numbers, loosely based on Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It's a sincere effort, extremely well thought out and complex. For some, it probably represents a parody of the entire progressive rock genre. Personally, I think it's great.

Ownership: LP: 1980 King (Japan). Gatefold 2xLP. Purchased from a mail order dealer (1988) 

1988 (first listen); 1995; 1/8/12 (review/new entry)

Haze - Hazecolor-Dia. 1971 Germany

From a musical perspective, Haze are a typical 1971 blues based hard rock band from Germany - not really progressive - but definitely fits the all-encompassing Krautrock tag, especially the era of its origin. The addition of wailing flute and pounding organ help tremendously when considering the otherwise standard g-b-d format. The vocals are all over-the-top exaggerated, loud, and... insane. Which is the pure essence of Krautrock. Since when did we have an expectation that we are to be objective in our evaluation of the genre?

Ownership: LP: 1972 Bacillus / Bellaphon. Single sleeve with transparent plastic-film die-cut and rounded corners. Picked this up at the Rocky Mountain Record Show (2022). Not cheap, but less than online prices. This version is the second press, as the original 1971 release sports a white label Bacillus imprint. 

This copy replaces the Long Hair LP that offered nothing else, not even liner notes, unusual for the label. 

My first copy was also the original LP, bought at a record store in Arlington called The Crate... in 1985! I had no idea what I had. It wasn't in the best condition, and it wasn't much to my taste so I traded it out (can't remember which original pressing). 

1985 (first listen); 1/7/12 (review / new entry); 4/20/23

Pollen. 1976 Canada-Quebec

If you're not familiar with Pollen, then consider it a must own album if you're a fan of 70s progressive rock. It's a staple of the diet.

The above represented my CliffsNotes review from a few years ago. I find Pollen one of those bands that's hard to review, mainly because they check all the requisite boxes, and it's difficult to call out anything that is distinguished. And despite that, it's incredibly enjoyable. Their sound basically is progressive rock - sung in French mind you. The usual suspects can be name checked here including Yes, Genesis, and Gentle Giant. So.... if you're a fan of the genre, as mentioned above, it's something you must hear.

Ownership: LP: 1976 Kebec Disc. Single sleeve. Online acquisition (2003).

CD: 2010 Belle Antique (Japan). Papersleeve edition.

The first LP I acquired was in 1992 via mail order. Much was made back then of the "pot leaf" back cover, and that it had to be retracted and repressed with the band photo shot (which was my first copy). And supposedly it was much rarer. I don't think that's the case though as they're both readily available.

1992; 12/30/11 (new entry); 8/31/18