Grail. 1971 England

There were many bands like Grail in the 1970 English landscape. Mixing hard rock with other influences, in this case folk and raga, was all the rage. For whatever reason none of the labels in England were excited about the band, despite having marquee name Rod Stewart producing. Eventually the album found its way to Germany and France, but by the time of release in 1971, Grail were no more. There are some excellent riffs here offset by flute and most notably sitar. It's a slightly unusual blend on a typical recipe. Were it on Vertigo - precisely the place it should have been - the album today would be something of a... well you know....Grail.

LP: 2000 Second Battle (Germany)

Both German (Metronome) and French (Barclay) originals are very scarce. Each features a different cover, and the Barclay release tried their best at exploiting Rod Stewart's name. To date, the album has been poorly served in the reissue market. Only Second Battle reissued it, and without much supporting documentation. The LP is really an afterthought, seemingly appeasing a very small (back then) LP buying public. How times have changed in 20 short years. It's pretty much a brick and that's it, thus assuring postage will cost more from Europe. There's no info or anything else. Despite claiming license from Metronome they used the French cover? They could have done better. Grail seems like the type of band (and album) that could use the proper care from a Rise Above or Esoteric - or the German labels like Garden of Delights or Long Hair.