Taipuva Luotisuora - 8. 2013 Finland

8 starts off like a space rock version of Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song', before settling down into their usual cosmic groove. The guitars are noticeably heavier than prior, and they seem to be circling the post rock genre a bit more closely than before. Faux organ sounds are never a bad idea, and nice to see Taipuva Luotisuora applying both that and the rare guitar solo back in the mix. Overall, 8 may be their most straightforward disc to date. I for one would like to see them reach back to their debut for some inspiration on future works. This is the first album where I feel they have stopped innovating. Too comfortable. But it's still excellent!

It appears the bands naming convention is 2 to the (x-1) power where x is the actual release number (not counting the demo of course). We'll see if that holds up. If so, the next album will be either 16 or XVI.

Ownership: CD: 2013 Kaakao

3/26/13 (new entry)

Takeshi Inomata & Sound Limited - Innocent Canon. 1971 Japan

If the movie Lost in Translation had been made in 1971 instead of 2003, then Innocent Canon would most certainly have been its soundtrack. Forget the fictional Sausalito with their hipster lounge covers of forgotten Mary Butterworth tunes, and cozy-up with Sound Limited and their groovy late 60s Beat Club smackdown! This is the psychedelic soundtrack of your imagination, but never actually witnessed. One complete acid drenched freakout by a deranged Japanese jazz big band, where the action takes place in a carnival funhouse rather than the video arcade. They even lift the phased-drum-with-narration-bit from no less a luminary than Group 1850's Agemo's Trip From Mother Earth. Damn, this is awesome.

CD: 2012 King

Innocent Canon is another one of those hopelessly obscure Japanese underground albums that few know about. Inomata himself is a known jazzer, but like many of his contemporaries, he went out of his mind with psychedelic music between 1970-1972. The first CD press went by before anyone noticed, so be sure to pick up the 2012 version before it's too late. The artwork throughout features some very weird erotic sketches.

Henry Fool. 2001 England

I suppose a Porcupine Tree comparison is unavoidable on Henry Fool's debut album. Especially considering the vocal tracks. That is to say, the more melancholic efforts from Porcupine Tree replete with mellotron. The instrumental parts range from lounge jazz to pure psychedelic bliss - and all points between. Radical in its own way - though not necessarily ground breaking. It's not until track 4 that vocals are even heard. There are 16 tracks in all. This is the same spirit that classic progressive rock had in the 1970's - making music just to make music. No end purpose in sight. Exciting concept if you think about it...

Ownership: CD: 2001 Cyclops

2004; 2012; 3/21/13 (new entry)

Micah - I'm Only One Man. 1971 USA-New York

Micah started in Terre Haute, Indiana before relocating to upstate New York. I'm Only One Man is head and shoulders above most of these hard rock / psych US private pressings from 1971. Long runs of guitar and organ solos, with a great vibe throughout. I love the way the Hammond is played in a choppy manner, with the wah wah guitar solos layered on top. Incredible bluesy soulful vocals. Just nonstop (I mean nonstop) kickass music, the way you want every single one of these type of obscure private albums to sound, but sadly they rarely do. Only bummer is that Side 2 is only 11 minutes long. For me, Micah's music is the definition of BAD ASS. They exude early 70's coolness. Micah are the perfect realization of Uriah Heep now that I think about it. Or Gregg Rolie era Santana. About as good as it gets for the style.

Ownership: CD: 2013 Shadoks (Germany). The original LP is one of the rarest American private pressings. I had never even heard of it until my buddy Heavyrock played his original for me about 7 years ago. So unless you have a nice trust fund going, you'll probably want to fork over for one of the Shadoks reissues. I opted for the CD, which has just recently been released. It features plenty of historical notes, a recent interview, and photos to supplement this issue. It's unfortunately a rather short album (< 30 minutes) and there are no bonus tracks. Don't let that deter you though, as it's 29 minutes of excellence with no wasted moments.

11/19/17; 8/22/21 

The Old Man & The Sea - s/t. 1972 Denmark

Musically speaking, The Old Man & The Sea fits squarely in the Scandinavian / Northern European sophisticated heavy rock bag. Heavy organ and guitar lead the instrumental solo sections, while rough English vocals add a bluesy feel to the proceedings. It's definitely influenced by the Vertigo label UK sound, but of course deep divers will likely recognize other Scandinavian acts such as Norway's Ruphus (first album) or Host, Finland's Kalevala, and Sweden's November. Excellent album.

CD: 2011 Belle Antique (Japan)
LP: 2013 Shadoks (Germany)

For as long as I've been collecting progressive rock (mid 1980s), The Old Man & The Sea's sole album has probably been Scandinavia's most sought after major label record, along with Junipher Green's debut. As such, it was always too expensive for me to buy a copy. Unfortunately, for years on end, this album thrived strictly in the bootleg market - both on LP and CD. Then in 2003, unbeknownst to everyone (including me) there was an authentic CD put out by a small label called Dunk. No one even carried it for sale! And it was just as obscure as the album itself, though not as expensive of course. Finally, in 2011, Marquee's Belle Antique put out a fresh copy completely remastered by former band member Tommy Hansen - who also happens to now be a famous producer. This is an unusual move for Belle Antique, who are usually content to put fancy packaging on already remastered CDs. As for the packaging, the original gatefold album cover is stunning - thus a perfect vehicle for the mini-LP format. And recently Shadoks has come through with a beautiful LP reissue. The thick gatefold has been replicated perfectly, and includes an insert with a full history and interview. They even received permission from Universal to use the original orange Sonet label! They also provided a CD reissue if in the market for one.

As an aside, to the rarity of this album, I would like to point out an article I read years ago. It was in a newspaper called The European, which was an awesome English language resource for a European backpacker like me in the 1990s. I think it was in 1991 (maybe 1993), where I read about the rarity of European rock records - something I was already all too painfully aware of. The example they used? The Old Man & The Sea on Sonet. Even back then, this was a huge prize. And it's easy to see why.

Missus Beastly - Dr. Aftershave and the Mixed Pickles. 1976 Germany

Dr. Aftershave and The Mixed-Pickles sees Missus Beastly moving onto the more-in-fashion funky sounds of the era, while still building on the jazz rock of the 1974 album. Anyone who is familiar with Embryo's Bad Heads and Bad Cats will immediately recognize the sounds here (and they share many members between the groups). Worth noting this is the first album on the April label, later renamed Schneeball for legal reasons.

LP: 1976 April
CD: 2011 Garden of Delights

The original LP comes in a folder cover, without borders. And recently I've supplemented that LP with the much anticipated Garden of Delights CD. It features two excellent bonus tracks (taken from the Umsonst und Draussen festivals - also featured in this blog), great sound, thick booklet with history, and photos. Superb reissue as always.

Missus Beastly - SWF Session 1974. Germany (archival)

Hmm! So we have an interesting one here. The question is: Are you willing to buy an alternate version of the 1974 Missus Beastly album? If the answer is yes, then definitely get this. If not, read on. I'm disappointed in Long Hair for not mentioning the similarities between the two. And the lackluster liner notes make no explanation as to why some of the tracks have different names than on their vinyl counterpart. It's worth noting that these recordings (two different sessions) were recorded near the dates of the studio release, so the similarities with the actual album are certainly understandable from the band's perspective.

The album begins with 'Fly Away', which is track 6 on the Nova album. It's a great example of why the original album is so brilliant in my eyes (the album itself is a 5 star/Gnosis 14 Masterpiece as far as I'm concerned - see yesterday's entry for more detail).

But now the problems start. The second track would appear to be unique, if titles are what we go on here: 'Simsalabim'. But the melody is instantly recognizable and, sure enough, it's the 'Paranoidl' track from the LP.

Now things really get weird. Track 3 is 'Talle', which turns out to be '20th Century Break' on the original, and happens to be one of my favorite tracks of all-time. No mention, as I stated earlier, as to why the difference in track titles. To make matters worse, 'Talle' from the LP is the ONLY track not on the SWF Session. Good grief - what a mess.

'Free Clinic' is a unique track, though there is a longer improvised live version on the GoD reissue (as a bonus track).

'Geisha' is a pretty faithful representative of the LP version. 'Space in the Place' is the first truly new piece (I think) represented here. But at just two minutes, there's not much to grab onto.

'Song For Ann' is a beautiful Dieter Miekautsch piano piece - except it too was released on the (get ready) Missing Link album from 1972 (Missing Link... Missus Beastly. Ay-yi-yi. Keeping up with me here?). It's slightly different than the LP version, but not by much.

'Dauerwurst', like 'Simsalabim', is not new. It's a renamed version of 'Vacuum Cleaner Dance' from the Nova LP. It's driving me nuts why none of this has been mentioned before!

'Julia' is a lively rendition of the Nova album opener. Different enough to be exciting, and perhaps what this SWF could have been about. But no.

And we get to the last two tracks - which are finally unique. 'Serenade to a Soul Sister' is no doubt an embryonic version of 'Vloflutho' which shows up as a bonus track on GoD's CD of the '74 album.

Had I not heard most of this material before, this would be a solid 5 star/14 Gnosis rating. But.... 3.5 / Gnosis 10 it must be.

Ownership: CD: 2012 Long Hair. 11/22/23 update: Decided to sell.

3/17/13 (new entry)

Missus Beastly - s/t. 1970 Germany

Missus Beastly's debut is squarely in the psychedelic blues rock camp, and is significantly different than their later (and brilliant IMO) jazz rock albums. Highlights here are the gloomy organ, Mississippi Delta blues guitar, and downer vocals. Definitely strives for a down and out American alley sound. And succeeds for the most part.

LP: 2012 Garden of Delights

Missus Beastly's debut album is one of the earliest examples of a studio album being pirated and resold (Nara Asst Incense). While this has sadly become common practice in the CD era, it was very rare in the early 70s when the industry was more tightly controlled. I mention it here only as an historical curiosity, rather than as a recommendation to look for it. Needless to say, the CD and LP versions from Garden of Delights is where you'll want to focus your buying power. The GoD LP duplicates the brilliant gatefold cover, and provides full liner notes. Originals on CPM are extremely rare and expensive. The OPP bootleg version, as expected given its legal status, is much easier to find.

Many Bright Things - Many Bright Friends. 2005 USA-Indiana

For my tastes, Many Bright Things' best work is Many Bright Friends, which features [i]the best[/i] cover version of Paul Butterfield Blues Band's 1966 classic 'East West'. All modern bands should revisit this Indo-blues classic on how to lay down a groove and then improvise on top. Guest Nick Salomon (Bevis Frond) lays the studio to waste, only to be immediately followed by Al Simones' incendiary and violent solo, that concludes one of the greatest one-two punches I've ever had the pleasure to hear. The other tracks on the album unfortunately don't stack up, but the 21 minute 'East West' more than makes up for any shortcomings.

Ownership: CD: 2005 Wild Places. Jewel case with small booklet and many details regarding the recording.

3/9/13 (new entry); 6/19/21

Necronomicon - Haifische. 2012 Germany

Now this is how you do a reunion album! Essentially Necronomicon reformed and newly recorded previously composed tracks from the early 1970s. These compositions were never properly recorded, so the band reformed last year to finish the job. What's most interesting to me is that this sounds exactly like a well recorded album from 1973. There isn't a hint that this is a modern recording. The instrumentation, the production, and the songcraft all point to 40 years earlier. And, best of all, the four lengthy tracks presented here are better than their 1972 album proper! Much more progressively minded, with plenty of space for instrumental improvisation. As with their "Tips For Suicide" album, all the lyrics are sung in German. Perhaps the only downfall is the 13 minute 'Wenn die Menschen Tiere Wären' which is a tad too wordy for my tastes, but that's just a personal grump. But otherwise, Necronomicon's comeback is superb! And I hope they don't stop here. I wish all reunions would use this as a blueprint for how to restart a career (or hobby as it should be known).

Ownership: LP+CD: 2012 private. And now let's talk about the packaging, which is nothing short of magnificent. It is an exact duplicate of the multi foldout Tips zum Selbstmord - but this time it's white on black (see above photos). As well, the LP comes with a free CD to take along for the car ride. If you're an LP collector, this is the kind of album you dream about.

3/3/13 (new entry)