Ax Genrich - Wave Cut. 1995 ATM (CD). Collection revisit (Oct). The cover visual is startling. The long haired guitar freak hero of Guru Guru's earliest years now looks like a burgermeister on a steady diet of beer and brats. But he hadn't lost his touch on the guitar. When this first came out I was very enthused about the return to his Krautrock roots. As the years have gone by, and countless more bands have arrived to recreate that most fascinating era, Genrich's album sounds more generic. In reality it's like an instrumental psychedelic guitar fusion album rather than truly Krautrock, though it starts more in that direction. If I didn't have so much like this already, I'd keep it. Even though it comes from one of the progenitors of the movement, there's just not enough here to hold my attention anymore.
*Hendrix - Band of Gypsys. 1997 Capitol / Experience Hendrix (CD) (1970). Collection revisit (Sep). Quick - how many albums did Hendrix release in 1969? If you answered zero, then you would be correct. Oh there's probably some mix and match semi-legit release with Curtis Knight out there, but that's one of those quirky facts that isn't readily apparent. And here's his sole 1970 album released while he was still alive. One of these days I'll have to tell my full perspective on Hendrix, but not now. I have an archival release that I've written about here on UMR that is a more full documentation of these four New Year shows at the Fillmore East. But this was the original. Hendrix delivers what the fans wanted: Gee-tar. The blues oriented songs are fine, but they're all enhanced by Jimi the way you want Jimi to do.
*The Litter - Emerge. 1969 Probe/ABC. When I started collecting heavy in the late 80s, the catalog dealers of the day said the first two albums from this Minneapolis based group were great and the last was forgettable. Translation: "We can sell the first two for gobs of cash and the third is on a major label and worth 10 bucks". Today it's worth more, but not insanely so. I haven't heard those mythical first two albums (easy to get as a reissue today), but based on reviews I've read, Emerge is likely to be my favorite anyway, as it's more psych and less garage. ABC had quite a few good groups in this space that few remember beyond collectors like us. (Jul)
Hojas - Mis Sueños Piden. 2005 Lion (CD). This CD includes their entire 1970s output, including the self-titled LP from 1973 and four singles from 1971 to 1975. The music from this Uruguayan group is primarily early 70s era pop rock with some psychedelic sounds including a little bit of fuzz guitar. Good songwriting for the most part and avoids the bubblegum trappings. Reminds me some of the Italian beat bands doing similar in the early 70s. The ones that ultimately eschewed progressive rock. The earlier singles are more poppy, with the last of the 1975 output being the best. Good but inessential. (Jul)
* - Keeping for the collection
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