Kozmic Muffin - Nautilus. 1994 Spain

A couple of years ago I reintroduced myself to Kozmic Muffin's second and last album Space Between Grief and Comfort. It was quite revelatory. I had it in my head they were a space rock band, as it had been so long since I last heard either of them. Of course Kozmic Muffin were nothing of the sort. From that revisit experience I wrote: "Kozmic Muffin are from Galicia, in the far northwest of Spain. Like their location, their sound is miles from anything one would normally associate with the country. But the group took this even further - and went backwards in time by about 25 years. What we have here is the sound of England circa 1971. The familiar labels such as Vertigo, Transatlantic, Neon and Dawn - and the progressive rock bands that were on those labels. Heavy organ, acid guitar, dense compositions, and wild vocals is what you get... This is total retro prog. But released long before Areknames, Diagonal, Astra, and many others...I'm excited to hear again their debut Nautilus, also sitting quietly in the collection gathering dust. That day will be coming soon enough though."

And that day has arrived. In reading the above I think they may have changed vocalist or vocal styles, as Nautilus is more subdued in that department. But otherwise, the review above applies here. It doesn't pack the wow factor as much as its successor though. And there are a couple of places where the music can drag, especially on the ironically named 'Bedlam'. In this case, they sound too much like a 1970 English band. That is to say they didn't filter out the parts that haven't necessarily aged as well. On the flip side, Nautilus contains two of their best tracks - namely the band's namesake, and especially the instrumental closer 'Eleusis' which takes the ideal of Nektar to its logical extreme. Another thought I had while listening to this track is could this be the sound of what an analog Ozric Tentacles might be like? Imagine the Ozrics in 1972? That's an exciting concept, one that band should have pursued (I suppose they still could). In any case, Nautilus is clearly another winner in the retro prog genre.

Ownership: CD: 1994 Man. Purchased new a couple of years after release (1996), but it was likely the first time for me to hear of them. Today both their CDs are hard to source. Both did get pressed - appropriately enough - on vinyl, which was highly unusual in the mid to late 90s. Interesting to note then that the LPs are easier to score than the CDs. Comes with a nice booklet with lyrics in both English and Spanish. The album is sung in the former.

3//96; 11/30/22

Twentieth Century Zoo - Thunder on a Clear Day. 1968 USA-Arizona

From Phoenix, Twentieth Century Zoo were the first psych band to light the local desert on fire. They managed to put out 3 singles and this one album in a short 3 year time frame. What stands out most is the ferocious guitar tone, complemented by the melodic organ, and snotty vocals. It's the Strawberry Alarm Clock on a bad trip. Best of all is the songwriting is top notch. In particular their marquee single 'You Don't Remember' is one for the ages. This is one of those songs you wish a band like Many Bright Things would have covered and extended to 20 minutes. Very unique, filled with "angry harmony", which might seem like a contradiction on paper. Final lengthy track 'Blues with a Feeling' is a bit typical of the era, but otherwise Thunder on a Clear Day is a rumblin' and a tumblin'. All aces here.

Ownership: CD: 1999 Sundazed. This is one of those albums that by the time I decided I wanted it, it had become OOP and already in the hands of pirates. Finally in 2013 I was able to secure a copy at a reasonable price. It's still a difficult CD to source. The CD front loads two of the 45s (4 songs), making it a chronological release. The highlight being 'You Don't Remember', which is much more kinetic than the LP version - though both are great. The Monkees could have made this song good. Following the album is one more single (2 songs) and 3 unreleased tracks, making this the definitive reissue. Also comes with full liner notes, photos, and memorabilia images. Originals are expensive. This is not an album I would mail order for, but I do hope to find one in the wilds. I just did that with Neighb'rhood Childr'n so there's always hope.

9/3/19; 11/29/22 (new entry)

Jade Warrior. 1971 England

Debut album from arguably the first world fusion band. Jade Warrior's opening move is a complete hedge, mixing Asian soundscapes with blistering psychedelic rock. Nothing ever really develops but I find the album an easy outing and one that begs for repeated listens. An unusual trio of guitar, bass, hand percussion, and flute. As inventive as The Third Ear Band and Jan Dukes de Grey, but a completely different sound. I've owned this album in one form or another for 33 years and it remains in the excellent category.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Vertigo (UK). Online purchase in 2020. Yea, I splurged for an original, though it proved to a good deal at about half of going rates. Love the cover. Wouldn't mind having UK originals of the other 2 Vertigo albums. I've passed on their US counterparts, which remain easier to find than you might originally think. The first copy I owned of this debut was the US Vertigo LP, purchased from Recycled Records in Denton a long time ago in 1989. It was a $5 record back then.

CD: 2005 Air Mail (Japan). Papersleeve edition. I bought the box set with all 3 Vertigo albums upon release. The box is the debut cover as well. Wonderful set. This version has one bonus cut, but it's just an alternate with little deviation.

11//05; 11/28/22 (new entry)

Crime in Choir - Trumpery Metier. 2006 USA-California

Not long after release in 2006, I penned the following: "This is their 3rd album and the grades on the first 2 are mediocre. Wow – I like this one! I guess this is what I expect out of a modern progressive group. It’s all instrumental but accessible – not esoteric in that European way that seems to turn off more mainstream listeners. But not so vapid as to turn off more grizzled veterans like myself. Complex and mathy, nice mix of modern and vintage instrumentation including keys and reeds. Another band who’s heritage can be traced to the At The Drive In family tree (Mars Volta, Sparta)."

In 2017, I reviewed the predecessor, where I did a better job of capturing the essence of Crime in Choir: "San Francisco's Crime in Choir are like a number of bands to appear in the second millennial landscape. The music is exceptional, and the audience for it at the time was nil or fleeting. Especially here in America where creativity was at a high, but the data to find such gems was hard to filter. I only knew of the band because they wrote me directly to review their 3rd album Trumpery Metier, which impressed me on impact (2006). So a little exploration had me going back one album further, which would be The Hoop... As I arrive on RYM's entry, I see math rock as the genre. Crime in Choir is math rock in the same sense as an instrumental Soft Machine and Egg are. Don Caballero, Crime in Choir is not. And thus lies the problem with our modern situation. I can certainly understand the assertion (perhaps the band themselves made it...), but for those of us raised in a different generation, instrumental progressive rock is what we would have thought on first listen. And so had it been marketed to such an audience, the end result would have probably been the same from a financial perspective. And totally different from an artistic one. The music found on The Hoop is highly melodic, and keyboard driven. Even space rockish at times. No, Crime in Choir are not Canterbury, and they are certainly modern. And yet my comparisons hold."

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In hearing it again last night, all the observations I made for The Hoop hold here. In my initial review, I did use the word "mathy". Now I recall the details: The band had sent me an online download - not the CD. And of course a promo package to go with it. I stopped dealing with these "zero dollar investment" review pleas almost before I started. And the band's rarely would even say thank you. In any case, they did refer to themselves as math rock, but that was more the term of the day as I noted above. The timing of hearing this recently is that, interestingly enough, it reminded me quite a bit of Mahogany Frog, another similar band operating at the same time but up north a ways. These CDs remain stubbornly cheap, so if you do have a physical collection, I'd grab a copy if all the above sounds good.

Ownership: CD: 2006 Gold Standard Laboratories. Purchased a year later from my initial review. Interesting artwork. Comes with a tri-fold booklet with photos of the band. Seems they didn't market themselves correctly, as they were clearly a retro prog band with a different motivation. Maybe not a financial boon, but certainly from an artistic legacy perspective.

7//06; 3/26/07; 11/27/22 (new entry)

Blue Oyster Cult - Secret Treaties. 1974 USA-New York

The last of the "Black and White" trilogy of albums, Secret Treaties ups the ante on just about everything. Considered by many to be their most thoughtful and challenging album, lyrically Blue Oyster Cult were living in a surreal, but parallel, universe. Even tracks that are essentially boogie rockers receive mid track breaks that belong more to progressive rock - or later in the heavy metal genre considering the mid song riff change. 'Subhuman' is melancholy on a plate with a killer underlying riff. 'Astronomy' is about as progressive as BOC will ever get, always pulling back instinctively knowing their audience are there to rock and roll. Buck Dharma has a very recognizable guitar style. Had he chosen a route similar to Santana, his name would be far more known today as a soloist rather than band member.

Ownership: CD: 2001 Columbia Legacy. Didn't get around to buying this until 2015 (in one of those $5 sealed sales). This replaced my old LP (see below). Wonderful reissue with insightful liner notes, lyrics, photos, and 5 bonus tracks. Three of these were recorded during the Secret Treaties sessions but left off due to time constraints. Revisiting these, it appears the band / label made the right choice as they are more straightforward than the album proper. Still it's quite excellent to hear unreleased tracks like this. The other 2 are singles, including live favorite 'Born to be Wild'. The definitive reissue.

LP: 1974 Columbia. Original with textured cover. Picked up at one of the Denver record shows earlier in the year (2022) at a great price. Likely to keep this one as the cover is very interesting. I bought my first LP all the way back in 1978, at the tender age of 13. This was the album that sent my religious Mother into a tizzy and darn near thwarted my initial foray into the world of record collecting. She didn't get the irony of the imagery - at all. Fortunately Dad just waved it off. This was the standard Columbia red label version, likely to have been the current pressing for sale in the late 70s. It wasn't in the best shape when I gave it to a friend 7 years ago.

11//12; 7/7/15; 11/26/22 (new entry)

Quantum Fantay - Yemaya Orisha. 2019 Belgium

Quantum Fantay proved to be one of my favorite bands of the 2010's, perfectly capturing everything I like about the Ozric Tentacles sound. They filtered out the reggae and lengthy ambient pieces, while going for the throat on high octane space rock. Yemaya Orisha is their 8th, and to date, last studio album. I've captured six of the prior seven already here on UMR. By now I just have too much of this kind of thing, and I'm weeding some out. But I'm not sure though if any of the Quantum Fantay's will be touched. The opening title track could be considered "typical" (but still very good) and I was thinking this may have been one purchase too many. But 'Mami Wata' packs a wallop, and hits all their trademarked qualities: Ferocious guitar chords, flute melodies, synthesizers galore, and insane rhythmic work. They maintain this pace on 'Riddles of the Sphinx'. By now the last two tracks could be country and I wouldn't care. But of course they're not - just more Quantum Fantay goodness. It's highly likely I stop here with the band - presuming they continue - unless it's essentially given to me. But what a run they had for 15 years.

Ownership: CD: 2019 Progressive Promotion (Germany). Wonderful triple fold-out digipak with excellent digital art.

This was one of a handful of albums that made me stop and think that I probably need to cease loading up on the same kind of music. But at least this one delivers in a big way. 

7/12/19; 11/24/22 (new entry)

Traffic - Heaven is in Your Mind. 1967 England

Heaven is in Your Mind is essentially the US version of Mr. Fantasy (and was originally released that way here in the States). Psych era classic from one of England's most inconsistent groups. You all know how I hate to throw the term overrated around, but damn this band gets a lot of praise for a lot of mediocrity. But their debut was really something special, tapping into the nascent UK psychedelic movement perfectly. 

Ownership: CD: 2000 Island. Thrift shop find from a year ago (2021). Another excellent CD with full liners, and 4 bonus tracks, two of which are the missing songs from the original UK release. It must have been awful to be a collector the late 60s. You see this with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones (and others I'm sure) where the UK and US releases were different, forcing people to consider importing the other version (which was a bloody fortune in those days).

12/2/21 (CD 2.15); 11/23/22 (new entry)

Garybaldi - Nuda. 1972 Italy

Way back in 2005 I wrote: "On Nuda, band leader and guitarist Bambi Fossati is pretty much a post-Hendrix child, with that early proto-progressive sound I find so appealing, especially in the organ work. And this thing really smokes on the last third of the album. Again, nothing at all like what we would normally associate with Italian progressive rock, but had this come out as a small press psych record from Detroit circa 1970, you’d have a completely different perspective. Scorpion (on Tower), Maximillian, The Purple Image and The Next Morning are more accurate barometers than Semiramis and Osanna. In this light, it seems almost remarkably progressive."

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In last night's listen, my first since then, I concur with the above. The Hendrix tracks are front loaded, with the opener being quite the banger. '26 Febbraio 1700' reminded me of Electric Sun's interpretation of Hendrix, though I doubt Roth would have known Fossati, but who knows. The final track on side 1 is where the band tilts towards progressive rock. And the final side long composition is completely prog rock focused with killer guitar, Hammond organ, and plenty of rhythmic changes - all hallmarks of the Italian scene. Excellent album.

Ownership: LP: 1972 CGD. Stunning triple fold out cover from comic strip artist Guido Crepax, with jungle animals protruding from every crevice. I picked this up online from an Italian dealer in 2001, and it was one of my top LP wants at the time. Not likely it will ever leave either.

CD: 2004 Strange Days. Purchased new upon release. Japanese paper sleeve edition that replicates the original in every way. I splurged for the box set as well which contains 5 CDs, and Nuda is the box art as well (best choice for sure). This package will also stay with me until the end I suspect. 

The above CD replaced the Japanese jewel case release, which I picked up in 1994 and that was my introduction to the album. This wasn't part of my initial foray into Italian prog in the late 80s, even though I was aware of it from mail order dealers.

1994; 5//05; 11/20/22 (new entry)

Miles Davis - Get Up With It. 1974 USA

If anyone asks me what my favorite Miles Davis album is, I will respond Get Up With It. Even though this focused listen (albeit in the car) resulted in a -1, it still falls in the exemplary range. Because what's good is astoundingly good. I'd like to start this discussion with Disc / Record #2 as it's more familiar in terms of Davis' other albums from this period. Essentially you get the deep jazz funk that Davis was offering up live during this era. Especially Dark Magus, Pangaea, and Agharta reflects what these studio versions relay. Wah wah guitar, bursts of trumpet, layered organ, bass, drums, hand percussion, sax, and flute all playing the murkiest of fuzzy funk. It's an hour of trance jamming, though I'm not fond of the short 4 minute 'Red China Blues'.

What's special about Get Up With It is the first disc / record. 'He Loved Him Madly' is quite simply one of the most beautiful and calm chill out pieces ever recorded. I remember the first time I heard it in the mid 90s (from a friend's cassette dub). I was exhausted after playing a 5 game tennis match. I just sat there in the chair mesmerized - and at total peace. In hearing this album recently in traffic I came to the conclusion that all radio stations should make it mandatory to play music such as this during 5 o'clock rush hour. Someone cuts you off? Noooo problem. I've got 'He Loved Him Madly' playing. Nothing's going to bother me. Same goes for subways, or any other hectic place. And that's not even my favorite track. That would be the next one 'Maiysha' which is the most accessible track here ironically enough. Sounding all the world like a 60s easy listening song funneled through Davis' funk filter, it's a potent combination. And the final track on this disc is 'Rated X' which is the exact opposite. Here Davis pulls out his inner Krautrock with his static-y organ and motorik drums. It's noisy, but one could imagine Can or someone similar playing something like this. More funky of course, but the vibes are similar.

Overall, a fantastic work. A bit too long in places and really could have used some trimming on Disc 2. But I'm sure the philosophy was to pack it all in there and let you filter what you wish. Fair enough.

Ownership: CD: 2000 Columbia Legacy. Outstanding reissue including full liner notes from session member David Liebman and a few photos. Looks like I picked this up near the time of release and was the first copy for me to own. I consider this my primary.

LP: 1974 Columbia. 2xLP gatefold. Bought this last year (2021) at a local record store for a good price. Superfluous really, but it's cool to own on vinyl. Probably will stick around for a long time too.

11/17/22 (new entry)

Hawkwind - Warrior on the Edge of Time. 1975 England

As I will probably state in every review about Hawkwind, they really aren't a band I crave listening time with. For the most part they tend to create a wall of sound and improvise from there. Warrior on the Edge of Time is probably their most well-crafted album, though again there isn't much here that is memorable. But it is oddly engaging while listening. The opening 'Assault and Battery' / 'The Golden Void' are often pointed out by fans as some of their finest compositions ever. 'Opa-Loka' could be lifted off a Krautrock album with its motorik beat. And 'Magnu' is classic In Search of Space styled Hawkwind. The addition of trippy narration works well on an album such as this. Finale 'Kings of Speed' sounds like an emasculated 'Ace of Spades', a formula bassist Lemmy would later perfect and capitalize on. Speaking of Lemmy, this was the album they booted him off from, tired of his druggy unpredictable ways. Not one to be slowed down, he launched his next band Bastard. He was later convinced that name wasn't going to make it anywhere, and renamed it to Motorhead, his last song contribution to Hawkwind. Which also found its way onto this CD too. Warrior on the Edge of Time is an excellent album, about as good at it gets for the psychedelic warlords. Speaking of which, can you believe leader Dave Brock is now 81 - and he's still playing live?

Ownership: CD: 2013 Atomhenge. Excellent digipak reissue with copious historical liner notes and photos. Includes the one bonus track as noted above. Purchased this new upon release and was my introduction to the album surprisingly enough.

6/25/13; 11/16/22 (new entry)

Toxik - This This. 1989 USA-New York

I wasn't sure where I was going to land on Think This, Toxik's second album. The CD I purchased includes their debut World Circus, and I struggled with it. The production is very tinny and it seems to have as much in common with punk as it does thrash. The irony there is that it was recorded at Morrisound, the epicenter of the death metal movement. They were just getting rolling with that genre when Toxik arrived, and it just seemed they didn't know what to do with the group's sound.

Think This is much better fortunately. Even though Toxik is one of the more (relatively) known bands in the tech thrash space, they were by no means one of the more radical or heavy. Their sound fits the late 80s style, with herky-jerky rhythms, air raid siren vocals, gang choruses, crazy solos and riffs. It's like a stripped down Realm without the electronics. I also heard a prototype to where Heathen would land on their classic 1991 album Victims of Deception - especially the documentary narratives.

Ownership: CD: 2022 Dissonance. 2xCD with attractive tri-fold digipak. Excellent reissue that includes both of their albums in full. Insightful historical liner notes and additional photos round out this fine collection. If I ever warm more to World Circus, I'll feature it separately.

11/15/22 (new entry)

Magrathea - Legends. 2004 England

Magrathea are one of these bands that play in the oxymoronic "retro neo prog" style. This had come up through the weed out stack, as it seemed entirely unnecessary for me to possess such an album when I already have plenty of the real deal. Speaking of that, the irony here is that I just listened to one of those "real deal" bands (Twelfth Night), an early album which had nothing to do with the neo prog style. 

As I was listening, I pretty much had convinced myself that my prophesy of it belonging to someone else would be fulfilled. But then I began to realize just how perfect this album is for the style it is emulating. I mean if Anglagard can ape 1973, then why can't Magrathea copy 1982? And that's really your story line here: This is a pitch perfect realization of the early 80s NWOBPR. And just as Anglagard represents the ideal verse the reality of the scene, so does Magrathea. Everything about this screams some obscure cassette that was sold through Lotus Records and some dive bars throughout London. The cover, the sound, the compositions. It's IQ, Tamarisk, and Lahost all wrapped up in a stencil drawing of some Grendel like creature up to no good. I don't need to load up on albums like this, but since it's already here, I see no reason not to keep it. It's neo prog extract of the finest kind.

Ownership: CD: 2004 private. Online acquisition (2017). The packaging is as basic as it gets, and I suspect that's by design.

7/2/17 (first listen); 11/14/22 (review/new entry)

Twelfth Night - Live at the Target. 1981 England

As mentioned many times on this blog, when I first started collecting progressive rock, there was no contemporary scene for me to relate to. Nothing from my generation to follow and collect. Everything I was gravitating to was from the 70s - and likely the early part of the decade at that. It was late in my high school years of 1983 that I began to learn of a new movement coming out of England called The New Wave of British Progressive Rock (from UK metal magazines no less). And Twelfth Night were one of the more prominent bands receiving attention along with Marillion and IQ. I was in college by the time I finally heard Twelfth Night. Live and Let Live (1984) was being imported into the States, and I snapped up a copy "like a bulldog on a pork chop". My reaction was positive but not wowed. The one exception to that comment is the finale 'Sequences'. After this, I also picked up quickly their new album Art and Illusion, and it was clear Twelfth Night were no longer interested in being a progressive rock band, and those dollars were forever lost. Buying import records on a college budget was a very expensive endeavor. At least before I landed that plum engineering intern job in 1985...

And that was my initial history of Twelfth Night. Around 1990 or so, we (the Dallas contingent) were visiting a local friend in Fort Worth - someone who was to release many prog albums of his own or in groups. Underground Railroad would be one band you may recognize him in. In any case he was selling off a number of records and CDs, and one of those was Live at the Target (1989 UGUM). There's 'Sequences' again with 3 other tracks. Once home, I spun the disc and was listening to something completely different than expected. First thing to note is the album is all instrumental. Secondly, this album has nothing to do with what is normally associated with neo prog. This is space rock of the highest order. More in line with Nektar, Gong, or Hawkwind than anything Genesis related. Had I heard this album first, I would have been a big Twelfth Night fan from the off. Which I guess would have ultimately led to a great disappointment similar to what I experienced with IQ in the mid 80s. All 4 tracks here are great. Well written tunes, executed perfectly, and the jams are exhilarating. Andy Revell is a master of the wah-wah peddle, Brian Devoil's drumming is kinetic, while Clive Mitten distinguishes himself as a strong bass lead. Rick Battersby's keyboards provide more color than solos, but is seamlessly blended. Even though I was familiar with this album for over 30 years, I enjoyed a +1 listen.

In addition to the album, the Definitive Edition CD offers a full second disc of mostly live material, some of it unreleased, or only on other archival issues. The music found here is very similar to the Target concert. Some of the recordings are a bit rougher, but still enjoyable throughout, especially as bonus material. And at 73 minutes, it's a double LP's worth of extra music.

Ownership: CD: 2011 Festival. Brilliant reissue with the extra CD as noted above. Purchased new not long after release and quickly replaced the original bare bones UGUM reissue. Incidentally that reissue is called out in the liner notes as "unauthorized", though no one on Discogs has bothered to label it as such. I doubt I'll do it either. Anyway, not only do you get the bonus disc, but also a thick booklet with many historical perspectives, photos, newspaper articles, and other memorabilia. A first class job all the way, and this remains my primary copy.

6//90; 2//11; 2/20/12; 11/13/22 (new entry)

Mahogany Frog - On Blue. 2005 Canada-Manitoba

Alrighty - climbing back into the saddle here. Ever so slowly. Just returned from 2 straight weeks of business travel in Chicago and Phoenix. Managed to wiggle away for a little free time and check out some record stores as well, though no major finds. And there was only one day home sandwiched in between, that which was completely filled by us selling at the Colorado Springs Record Show. Pretty crazy sequence of events. 

OK - let's move over to CDs now, since Morning Sky was the last of the new LP arrivals.

On Blue had come up through the weed out stack where the survival rate is very low these days. But happy to say On Blue made it. This is the kind of music I'm really appreciating - highly melodic, analog fuzzy, and prog rock minded. I've never really gone too much for post rock - a bit too static for my tastes - and Winnipeg's Mahogany Frog have those tendencies. But there's also a strong Canterbury flavor here, a style that seems to be a natural fit for post rock. It's a very short album, barely clearing 30 minutes, indicating its preference to be a vinyl release (which it was too). Because of its brevity I listened to it four times straight which allows more time for the melodies to sink. Each listen was better than the last. Those are the kind of albums you want to keep.

Ownership: CD: 2005 private. I think they call this a digifile sleeve. Sort of a like an oversized thin papersleeve combined with a digipak. Looks like I picked this up in 2009 not long after getting their next album DO5.

1//09; 12/20/18; 11/11/22 (new entry)