McChurch Soundroom - Delusion. 1971 Switzerland

One of the most prized Krautrock albums from a collector's standpoint. McChurch Soundroom were one of the early albums on Pilz, before the label became a bastion of Germanic folk psych. You won't find a more dedicated and enthusiastic fan of classic 70's Krautrock than moi, but even for a biased cheerleader like me, this album has to rank as a slight disappointment. In the end, it's pretty much basic UK styled heavy rock, with some flute and a few progressive rock moves. Rather generic overall, and certainly puzzling how it's gained such a lofty reputation.

Former ownership: LP: 2015 Ohrwaschl. Online purchase (2020). Straight up reproduction of the original gatefold with a xerox of the original Pilz hype sheet. 

Originals are super expensive, and the most sought after original LP on the legendary Pilz label. It was never reissued on LP by Pop Import like most Pilz albums in the 1980s were. Ohrwaschl owns the reissue market here and the album is basically in production.  Nowadays you can get the LP in your favorite color, presumably to match with your latest Smart Phone. Ay-yi-yi. 

1997; 11/12/16 (review); 9/25/20 (update new entry)

Far East Family Band - Parallel World. 1976 Japan

While Germany is most known for being at the forefront of electronic psychedelic music, Japan certainly had its share of cosmic travelers. One of the best of these groups was Far East Family Band, a band who would gain some stature throughout the world during the latter part of the 1970s. 

Klaus Schulze was one such luminary to be attracted by this large Japanese ensemble. Helping produce their early albums (the first two albums are very similar, the latter of which was re-recorded and sung in English, and other slight variations), Schulze saw an opportunity to promote cosmic rock all over the globe. However, I always felt the debut album/successor tried too hard to be the next Dark Side of the Moon. The instrumental bits are great only to be ruined by sensitive pop ballads - not Far East Family Band's strong suit I'm afraid.

But it all came together on Parallel World. Focusing on their instrumental cosmic sound and pretty much foregoing the pop commercial-oriented songs, the six-piece Far East Family Band unleashed a gem that easily could have found itself on the Kosmische Kouriers label. In fact, the recording comes closest to sounding like the first Cosmic Jokers album with more focus given to the whooshing synthesizers than the guitars (Schulze's influence?). As one can guess, the two keyboard players are featured most prominently, and it's hard to imagine that Far East Family Band actually had two guitarists as well!

The album opens with 'Metempsychosis' (Arzachel anyone?) which is a tribal drum and synthesizer atmospheric backdrop piece that sets the stage for 'Entering' which contains some intense fuzz bass and a ripping guitar sequence among the 12 minutes of keyboard ecstasy. Brilliant, and this is the finest track Far East Family Band has ever recorded! 'Kokoro', thankfully, is a short psych ballad. This is the sort of piece their first albums featured, so one can get a brief whiff of this style. The side long closing title track sounds like a long-lost Galactic Supermarket recording and aptly finishes a masterwork of cosmic progressive space rock.

Ownership: CD: 2009 Super Fuji. Purchased new online upon release. Fine mini-LP with the first press cover and original poster. One has to be very careful when looking for reissues of this title. There are only 2 legitimate presses that exist, as I write this. There are numerous pirate editions, so be careful!

3/3/01 (Gnosis) 

Le Orme ~ Italy

Verita Nascoste (1976)

---3/11/01

After the disappointing commercial effort Smogmagica, Verita Nascoste is a nice return to form for Le Orme. Having acquired a full time guitarist for the previous effort, Le Orme had a new sound to experiment with. Not that Le Orme do much with it. On the contrary, the guitar seems to only add color and little else. By now, Le Orme are completely a song-based rock band, though more complex than their American contemporaries. This quality is displayed clearly on Verita Nascoste, where Le Orme's unique style makes for an overall enjoyable listening experience. 'In Ottobre' is an excellent example of how Le Orme could incorporate their progressive era sound into a tight commercial style rock framework. Throughout, Aldo Tagliapietra's voice is as wonderful as ever. There's even some nice violins on the pensive title track. While not as essential as their classic progressive rock albums, Verita Nascoste is a very pleasant listen, and a fine addition to the Le Orme catalog.

---9/21/20 update

I have to say on this revisit, the album continues to improve to my ears. And I don't say that about many albums anymore...

Ownership: 1976 Philips (LP). Gatefold

5/27/89 (acquired); 3/11/01 (review); 9/21/20 (update)

Collage (1971)

In the late 1960's, Le Orme were one of the few Italian bands to attempt an American styled psychedelic music, and the results varied from high quality original compositions to trite mimicry. By 1971, Le Orme had changed directions to the new music movement sweeping Italy: Progressive rock. Collage, Le Orme's first progressive album and third overall, is a stripped-down affair with only organ, piano, bass, and drums. The exception is the opening title track which could be considered the bridge between their psych and prog composition styles. This track has a kitchen-sink mentality and features an orchestra, pseudo-baroque motifs, and some trendy of the era moves. The next piece however, 'Era Inverno', is the beginning of the classic Le Orme sound. Aldo Tagliapietra's instantly recognizable alto voice opens the song and then is followed by Tony Pagliuca's fabulous organ and the energetic drumming of Michi dei Rossi. Of all the songs found on Collage, this one would be the model for the future. The amazing 'Cemento Armato' follows. Le Orme has never been known for being a jam band, but this eight-minute organ trio number is one of the greatest of its kind. Blistering organ work and the rhythm section of Aldo and Michi are as hot here as anywhere to be found in their entire canon. Another highlight can be found on 'Evasione Totale', an experimental organ jazz rock piece with heavy echoed keyboards and groovy rhythms. Overall, Collage is Le Orme's most energetic, raw, and experimental album. As such, this album tends to be overlooked by those awed by their more polished follow-up efforts. Fans of heavy organ rock, as more commonly found in Germany, will likely adore Collage.

Ownership:

1971 Philips (LP). Gatefold

2004 Philips Japan. Papersleeve gatefold.

10//96 (acquired); 3/11/01 (review); 2//05; 4/22/20 (update)

Felona e Sorona (1973)

Le Orme's fifth release (and 3rd progressive album), Felona e Sorona, is generally considered their masterwork. The album is progressive rock by the numbers: 1) A heady concept with fantasy lyrics; 2) One long composition broken into nine subsections; 3) Keyboards galore featuring Mini-Moog, Mellotron and the familiar organ. The "formula" track as found on Collage has now been turned into an album length exercise. Going about it in this way, Le Orme came up with a fail-proof album that stills satisfies today. While it would be easy to pass off Felona e Sorona as a typical pretentious progressive rock album typical of the day, few deliver the goods as well as Le Orme. As with any ambitious project such as this, there is plenty for the listener to sink their teeth into. Many dynamic changes between the singer-songwriter tendencies of Aldo Tagliapietra and the bombastic keyboards of Tony Pagliuca. However what possibly keeps Felona E Sorona from the top echelon is the lack of allowing creativity and experimentation into the mix, so it appears most of the album seems restricted by an unspoken protocol. Exceptions to this are the eerie 'Attesa Inerte' and the ambitious closer 'Ritorno al Nulla', both reminiscent of the Uomo di Pezza balance of soft composition, jazzy grooves, and heavy rock. Overall, another classic Le Orme album and a must own for fans of Italian progressive rock.

Ownership: 

1973 Philips (LP). Gatefold.

1973 Charisma (LP). Gatefold. English language version.

2//88 (UK LP acquired); 1996; 2//99 (Italian LP acquired); 3/11/01 (review); 7/19/19 (update)

Uomo di Pezza (1972)

Uomo di Pezza, Le Orme's fourth album and second progressive rock era release, opens appropriately enough with an organ prelude quickly joined by a complex and heavy rhythm section. Silence begets a piano melody and then Aldo Tagliapetra's beautiful voice enters. The model found on Collage has been rediscovered and exploited.

So with that, Uomo di Pezza is ostensibly going to be a more sophisticated affair. As well, concerning instrumentation, Le Orme becomes more diverse. Here they add more acoustic guitar to the mix and the organ isn't as prominent as the newly acquired Mini-Moog. Gone are the jams and the reckless abandon found on Collage, to be replaced by more angular and thought-out creative music. 'La Porta Chiusa' is the perfect example of the new and improved Le Orme. A thundering bass and drum layer is offset by a Moog dial turn (as in turning the radio from soft to loud). Aldo then begins to sing softly, but somewhat eerily, only to find counterpoint with a thunderous organ, Moog, bass, and drum maelstrom. For pure songwriting, 'Figure di Cartone' and 'Aspettando L'Alba' are brilliant examples of melancholic beauty, especially the latter (which would've been the perfect soundtrack to an arty Italian film). Aldo's emotional voice is perfect for this kind of style and unfortunately they were unable to capture this magic on their later, more commercial, efforts. The album closes with the raucous instrumental 'Alienazione', perhaps the only acknowledgement of their previous history with heavy psych rock, via their opus Collage.

What separates Uomo di Pezza from the other albums in their canon is the perfect balance between the raw heaviness found on the predecessor - with the more uppity aspirations of pretension to be heard on their next opus. A true classic and, for me, Le Orme's finest work.

Ownership: 

1972 Philips (LP). Gatefold. Orange peel textured gatefold. "A" Catalog

2001 Philips (CD). Papersleeve gatefold with orange peel textured cover.

1//88 (first acquired); 1996; 3/11/01 (review); 11/4/18 (update); 12/18/22

Other albums I own and need to review: Contrappunti; In Concerto; Storia O Leggenda

11/4/18 (new entry)

Area - 1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano! 1978 Italy

An interesting close out to Demetrio Stratos' career before his untimely death. Starts off in strong fusion territory, but ultimately goes all over the place. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've never been a huge Area fan - in fact of all the bands that I haven't embraced over the years, it would seem Area would be the one that I'm the most diametrically opposed. That's not to say I don't enjoy their albums, I most certainly do, but they have long spells of experimental noise that doesn't appeal to me. When reflecting on the band, the element I enjoy most are the vocals, which ironically might be the most experimental aspect to their sound. In the scheme of things, as strange as '1978 Gli Dei Se Ne Vanno, Gli Arrabbiati Restano!' is within the Area discography, I'd probably rank it 3rd behind 'Arbeit Macht Frei' and 'Crac!'. Wouldn't expect to receive much support for that position. 

Ownership: LP: 1978 Ascolto. Nice gatefold cover with full recording details and photos. Acquired online in 2004.

9/21/20 (new entry)

Le Stelle di Mario Schifano - Dedicato A... 1967 Italy

As noted below, yet another 20+ year delay in hearing an album. My score was pretty high on this one, so I expected to lower it as my tastes have changed on items such as this. Not at all! I still enjoy the side long freakout, though I found myself admiring more the second side, which contains some fine psychedelic pop tracks with excellent melodies. Groundbreaking album in so many ways, especially for Italy.

Ownership: LP: 1999 Akarma. Originals are famously expensive, a true 4 figure rarity. This is one of those albums where I bought the CD (Mellow) and shortly thereafter picked up the LP (2000?) - likely at Amoeba in San Francisco - mainly for the cover. Wow - glad I did. What an amazing package this is to behold (original libretto; liner notes). I never heard the LP copy until this past week. Sounded great to me. By most accounts, this one falls into their legit release category.




.

Maquina - Why? 1970 Spain

Maquina represent the earliest forays into psychedelic music for Spain, similar to fellow countrymen Cerebrum. Coming from Barcelona, their Catalan roots look north to France for inspiration, and one can hear snippets of Les Goths, Omega Plus, Dickens, even the Chico Magnetic Band. The album opens with its gem 'I Believe', a beautiful piano led piece, with a gorgeous melody and some wicked fuzz. The 2 part, 25 minute title track is a loose jam for the most part, and the length takes quite a bit out of its bite. Had this been consolidated into 10 minutes, it would have been a marvel. Again, it's hard to look past the psychedelic guitar here, as he's definitely in "fire" mode most of the time. It's a short album, and even worse, it's short on ideas. On the plus side, when it does fire on all cylinders, the album is sublime. And for the historical record, that is 1970 Spain, it's quite an extraordinary accomplishment.

Ownership: LP: 2004 Wah Wah. Recent online acquisition. Super reissue with a poster, full liner notes (in Spanish and English), and great sound. This replaces the CD on PDI that was the source of the original entry.

6/6/18

UMR week of Sep 20

And then.... he went silent.

Many moving parts in the last month. Sure, there was the usual work issues. It was a great month for my career, so no complaints. My efforts contributed directly to the news in the last 2 weeks. If you know who I work for, and you Google the company, then it will become apparent what I've been doing. 

Then there was the jury duty saga. Oh boy, is that a story. It only lasted one day, but it was this close to lasting 3 months to a year! That would have been the end of me.

And then finally, I've been reassessing my collection in depth. Primarily the CDs. Just too much here, and it's time to start letting go. I love my CD collection, but there's too much dead weight. And there's no more space. Contrarily, the LP collection continues to grow. Always looking for that "best" copy as well.

Anyway, threw out a couple of unknowns here for you to learn about, that I had prepared a month ago. There's so many great 45s I have to share with you all, and I will be getting back to that shortly.  The unknown blog will be kicking off soon too. And the collection cleanup project has been nonstop - so lots to report there as well.

I probably will go back to adding as I go, and dropping the weekly format. I'll keep these rambling free-associating notes going though...

See ya soon.