Yang - A Complex Nature. 2004 France

Amazing how many new sounds the guitar-guitar-bass-drums instrumental quartet can come up with. Former Shylock and Philharmonie guitarist Frederic L'Epee goes for the throat on this, Yang's debut album. Seems to me this is what we were expecting from Djam Karet during this era – let it loose and bang that head that doesn't bang. What separates this from other albums of its ilk is the inventive use of the rhythm guitar. Nice melodic structure as well. Good album that delivers what it promises.

Ownership: CD: 2004 Cuneiform

10/20/15 (new entry)

Iskander - Boheme 2000. 1982 Germany

The CD issue contains significantly more music, much of it superb, including the magnificent full 4 part suite of 'Winterhagen', which now clocks in at over 18 minutes. Iskander's debut is a real under the radar delight, and mixes symphonic rock with psychedelic guitar and a variety of progressive ideas. The album is pretty much forgotten today, but was quite well known within those that were tuned into the "Eurock" circle back in the 1980s. I've had this CD almost since it was released, and it has passed the test of time quite well.

Ownership: CD: 1989 Iron Curtain (as Boheme 2000)

1990; 11/22/11; 10/19/15 (new entry)

Winterhawk - Revival. 1982 USA-Illinois

Chicago based Winterhawk have quite the reputation among those predisposed to enjoying the hard rock genre. Like me. Almost all the tracks clear the 5 minute mark to allow for a few more ideas to creep in per composition. And to also allow more time for the unrelenting guitar solos - each, I might add, with a solid amount of creativity. This latter point alone would most certainly have found its way to the cutting room floor back in 1982. As well, the rawness of the production is a big part of the charm here. Makes you feel like you're in an old abandoned brewery on the South Side. Lead dude Jordan Macarus can play the strings with the best of them - and a strong nod goes to the Nuge (right down to the cow leather lace-up boots!). Every major US city had a Jordan Macarus that never got their due. In those days, you would check out Winterhawk live at the "Agora Ballroom", bring your main squeeze, and boast to the bartender you're a good friend of the band. If your girl stayed through the concert without complaining - and as an extra bonus got tanked on Pabst - she was a keeper.

Personal collection
CD: 1998 Monster

The CD is awesome with liner notes, bonus tracks, and from the master tapes.

Praxis - La Eternidad de lo Efimero. 1987 Mexico

Praxis' sole work is a solid instrumental progressive rock album from Mexico. The primary composer, Ricardo Moreno, is the same keyboardist behind Iconoclasta and the music is remarkably similar - especially the Iconoclasta albums that came after Praxis. One reason for this is that Praxis' guitarist Hector Hernandez joined Iconoclasta not long after. The other is that Praxis had eschewed the local regional Latin American influences - as did Iconoclasta in their later years. The album's faults lie in the muddy Third World sounding 1980s production, and the lack of variety in tone - especially considering the rather cheap sounding synthesizers. But the charms outweigh the negatives here. A finely crafted album, that I'm sure today would sound fantastic, especially if afforded a room full of analog gear.

CD: 1994 Mellow (Italy). The CD is a straight reissue with good sound and nice historical liner notes. You really have to be a vinyl-only junkie to not want the CD for this title.

CD removed from collection (2022).

10/16/15 (new entry); 6/8/22

Tantra - Misterios e Maravilhas. 1977 Portugal

On the surface, Tantra sounds like an odd cross between Mahavishnu Orchestra and Genesis. There really isn't any other band from Portugal that sounds anything like Tantra, and with revisionist history on our side, the band have a somewhat international flavor. The fusion tracks sound like Argentina's Crucis whereas the vocal numbers recall Carpe Diem of France. The heavy use of the Farfisa Synthorchestra and the distant, sparse, and mysterious vocals add credence to this latter claim. Meanwhile, on the middle tracks, the insane bass and drum rumblings with wild soloing made me think of Los Delerios del Mariscal. As many have said, the production is lousy, and detracts from the overall immense potential for greatness here.

Ownership: LP: 1977 EMI. Single sleeve. Online acquisition (2019). Note back cover of the original. There are two pressings, and the one with "1877-1977 100 year" seal is the true original. I started with the 1983 press that I purchased in 1990. That was replaced by the Musea CD. I've decided to part with the latter after capturing the excellent liner notes, and there are no bonus tracks. 

1990; 10/15/15 (new entry); 12/11/19 (LP acquire); 2/18/23

Siniaalto. 2002 Finland

Finnish trio Siniaalto (Sine Wave) can trace their musical heritage back to an earlier electronic music era, primarily Tangerine Dream circa Phaedra. A full array of keyboards, both analog and digital, are on display here. Though it’s the good old Rhodes piano, heavily echoed and treated, that truly gives their debut album an early 1970s feel. I could swear there is a Mini-Moog in play as well, but it’s not listed. The general modus operandi for each composition is to start out by creating a dark atmosphere followed by a plodding, low pitched, sequence. This is then followed by the group adding a series of alien sounds, of which the most notable is the treated Rhodes piano as mentioned prior. There are only four tracks, clocking in at close to an hour, so plenty of room for meditative listening. A good start from a promising band in the ever increasing fold of groups performing in the Berlin School style of electronic music.

Ownership: CD: 2002 If Society

10/14/15 (new entry)

Cosmic Debris ~ USA ~ Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Cosmic Debris (1980)

Cosmic Debris were a band from Oklahoma City that married electronic sequencer based music with rock instrumentation such as guitar and drums. Very much like a mixture of Klaus Schulze's Moondawn with Edgar Froese jamming on top. Or Wolfgang Bock's Cycles album. Side 1 is made up mostly of 'Spectrum' with only a brief introduction of Aaron Coplan's generally overused 'Fanfare'. This is the only side that guitarist Shawn Phillips appears on. And he wails wonderfully in a psychedelic manner throughout. The flip is more atmospheric, though the driving drum set is still in place, with sequencer based Moog, atmospheric sounds, and percussion, recalling perhaps late 70s Jade Warrior in places. Mixed with Heldon. Cool.

There are no reissues (as of 2/21/25). There's some debate on the date and title of this release. The copyright date on the original LP is 1980. However there are two typed inserts (with my copy anyway - and I reprinted them below this review). One is dated 1.1981 and the other 1.1.981, so we'll presume bad editing on the latter... So the evidence is there that the album wasn't released until 1981, though I'm personally a fan of copyright dates. Depends on the discography site and their rules eh? Based on these inserts, it's pretty clear to me, that the 3.7K title that has recently been appended this album is in reality the catalog number, not the album title. This becomes even more evident once you realize their second album While You're Asleep has 4.6K as a catalog number.

Insert #1 (dated 1.1.981) says:

"Cosmic Debris Biographical Information

Cosmic Debris was founded in 1977 as an experimental synthesizer ensemble. From their first performance at the Friends Jazz Festival in July 1977, Cosmic Debris has constantly strived to bring subtlety, elegance and control to live electronic music. Cosmic Debris has expanded beyond strict electronic electronic horizons. In 1979, the ensemble performed in the fusion jazz format. Growing out of that format, Richard Bugg (founder of the Debris) and Joel Young (percussionist with the fusion jazz edition), have gone on to incorporate elements from all musical areas.  "We present the listener with a choice of ever changing perception of reality". The Cosmic Debris can be heard on Non Compos Mentis Records number 3.7k"

--- It should be noted that the above was riddled with spelling and grammatical errors which I attempted to fix (not that I'm an English ace or anything, but jeesh!)

Insert #2 (dated 1.1981) says:

"In their debut album for Non Compos Mentis, Cosmic Debris (Richard Bugg, Shawn Phillips, and Joel Young), have managed to fuse the control available to modern electronic musicians, with the freedom of expression that typifies contemporary music. The result is a true meta-language that express the positive power of emotion and mind. An intelligent sound that aggressively fuses pulsating undercurrents of raw power with an intricate interplay of sonorities."

--- This one needed little editing. But who the heck knows what it means? 

Ownership: 1980 Non Compos Mentis (LP)

1993 (first listen); 10/14/15 (review)

Hoelderlin - Rare Birds. 1977 Germany

Rare Birds follows the unique Genesis meets cosmic / space rock hybrid of Clowns and Clouds, with yet another difficult-to-pin-down progressive rock album. The compositions are increasingly more accessible, with a certain soft lens focus coloring their sound. Viola is clearly their defining instrument at this point. Vocals are airy and melodic. The songwriting is excellent, and given the right commercial backing, Hoelderlin would have been household names. From a prog fans standpoint (i.e. me), the album's highlight is the driving instrumental 'Necronomicon'. This is an album that has grown on me tremendously over the near 30 years I've been acquainted with it. Definitely not an "immediate" release, so something to consider if you're encountering the music for the first time.

Ownership: LP: 1977 Spiegelei. Single sleeve. Purchased at Half Price Records in Dallas (1987).

1987 (first listen); 9/12/07; 8/14/12; 10/11/15 (review / new entry); 2/7/23

Hills - Frid. 2015 Sweden

Frid is the 3rd studio album from this fine space rock / Krautrock band from Sweden. Overall, this is a fairly conservative effort. Meaning... Hills seems all too content to play to genre norms, including motorik styled beats, and fuzz guitar explosions. The band is so rigid in their structure, if would appear they might break in half if they threw in an actual meter shift, or a completely new idea. The beauty of the original Krautrock scene was the escaping of expectation, and blowing minds with exploration. Tonality and color continue to be challenges for the band, as they've never replaced the warmth of the flute from the debut. Sitar is a nice inclusion, though it's unclear who plays what, since the album lacks any kind of documentation.

Despite all these minor gripes, I'm predisposed to liking music such as this, which is probably the only reason I rate it as high as I do. I will submit though, that Frid is a slight improvement on the even more rigid The Master Sleeps. The highlight for me is the ending of 'National Drone' which segues nicely into the superb 'Anukthal is Here'. This is as close as Hills has gotten to their own early 70s native music scene like Algarnas Tradgard and Flasket Brinner. And 'Och Solen Sänkte Sig Röd' won me over on the third straight listen (and 3rd beer). Sometimes it takes that effort...

Ownership: CD: 2015 Rocket (UK)

10/8/15 (new entry)

Ariel ~ USA ~ Chicago, Illinois

Perspectives (1985)

From the far south Chicago suburbs, comes the super obscure Ariel, an album that is just now making its sound heard worldwide. Early 80s Rush is the most obvious first influence, but there's more here than meets the ear as it were. All instrumental guitar, keys, and drums are the core components, and the compositions are complex and tight - with a strong fusion influence. No escaping the King Crimson sound from the era either, but also (surprisingly) Doldinger's Passport, minus the sax (imagine the sequencer heavy Moog lines for example). If we were to really deep dive here, I would compare Ariel to fellow Chicagoan's Proteus, mixed with the UK group Red (on Jigsaw). While Side 1 is impressive enough, the final three tracks do nothing short of wow the listener. And they close with their peak composition, always a hallmark of a great album. Ariel does not belie its mid 80s sound (despite the somewhat psych influenced guitar tone), and yet compared with the normal dreck from the era, the band proves the middle 80s were not a total wasteland (heavy metal genre exempted of course). This one deserves the buzz its currently receiving in the underground.

Ownership: 1985 Little Misters (LP). Orange insert (there are three colors apparently).

No reissues as of 2/21/25.

10/7/15 (review / new entry)

Man Made ~ Canada ~ Montreal, Quebec

Man Made (1971)

I first ran into this title by way of Marquee magazine's (Japan) expose on rare Canadian progressive rock way back in 1990 or so (I still have the issue). My friend from Tokyo translated the review, and quite frankly it didn't sound all that great. For years I'd see the name pop up, but usually without much fanfare or recommendation. All the same, I was most curious about the side long track that opens the album.

And that side long namesake track is definitely the highlight. The first half is slow blues coupled with atmospheric space rock. The Hammond organ in particular is quite good. About halfway, there's a really cool jazz rock break, and this is followed by some fine flute work. Odd in that no flute is credited anywhere. There are "horns", but I've never heard anyone call a flute a horn. If the whole album were like this, no doubt its reputation would be stellar. Side 2 is very disappointing, and is typical 1970 era North American styled straight rock with blues, gospel, country, and boogie undertones. 'Keep on Moving' is energetic at least, with a semi interesting compositional model, but otherwise the remainder is a complete snoozer.

Despite the music, kudos goes to the artwork - most certainly as representative of the traditional male mindset as one will ever find.

10/6/15 (review / new entry)

The Greatest Show on Earth ~ England

The Going's Easy (1970)

Greatest Show on Earth's second album demonstrates a musical maturity towards songwriting, but in retrospect, I like both albums about the same regardless. The blues element is brought forward, whereas the pop oriented horn charts are left behind. One step forward, one step back. 'Magic Woman Touch', the album's great hope for a single sees the band heading towards folk rock territory with mixed results. And closer 'Tell the Story' is probably their worst composition to date. Clear highlight for me is the multi-part jazz rock suite 'Love Magnet' which is GSOE's shining moment of their entire career - and a direction I would have liked to see them pursue further. Alas it was not to be, and their two-album-one-year-run was over.

Ownership: 1970 Harvest Germany (LP)

7/22/07 (first listen); 3/23/14; 10/2/15 (review); 2/17/23

Horizons (1970)

The Greatest Show on Earth are another fine entry from the UK brass rock genre of the early 1970s. On Horizons, GSoE provide us with seven tracks in the four + minute range, and one extended lengthy title suite. The music is heavily inspired by Blood, Sweat and Tears, but unfortunately the songwriting isn't particularly sharp. However, the extended song lengths allow GSoE to demonstrate their skill at instrumental breaks, and it's here the band excels. In particular the catchy grooves of 'Angelina' and 'Real Cool World' are inspiring, as is the bluesy 'Sunflower Morning' and the creative hard psych of 'I Fought for Love'. Addressing the elephant in the room, the long track has many great moments, but suffers a bit from immature jamming, especially prevalent with the front loaded near three minute drum solo and some monotonous percussion and bass rambling later on. Still there's more than enough time for some outstanding breaks and thus the track still grades out high. A very fine album, and only eight months later the band would release their second and last album - which demonstrated more development within their sound.

Ownership 1970 Harvest (LP)

9/1/07 (first listen); 11/26/14; 9/17/15 (review)