Sky Cries Mary - Wandering in the Vastness. 2021 Trail (CD). I started to plow through this CD upon receipt from the good folks at Trail, but I just couldn't make heads or tales out of it and put it aside for a future evaluation. Two plus years later and that day has finally happened. For the predecessor I wrote: "Sky Cries Mary. Now there's a blast from the past. I haven't thought of this group since the mid 1990s, when they first burst onto the scene. Their 1994 album This Timeless Tuning was all the rage with my running set in those days. I was a bit dismissive at the time, recalling that they were just as immersed into 90s alt rock/indie as they were into neo psychedelia. And I've long struggled to find peace and harmony with the former genre." Secrets of a Red Planet won me over, but Wandering in the Vastness has not, for some of the reasons I mention in my opening prologue. Its very random in its approach, and there's not much in the way of songwriting. It sounds like a product of the 90s, and not the element I enjoy about the decade. There's a lot of music to absorb here and some of it has a nice psychedelic underground and space rock feel. But unfortunately there's not enough here for me to keep. My instincts on the first listen were correct. I just delayed it since Trail was so nice to send it over. I hate leaving anything but positive reviews on welcome submittals, but I just couldn't get into this title. (Nov)
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.
*Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. 197? Columbia/EMI (Germany). Collection revisit (Aug). Famous psych album from the creative mind of Syd Barrett. Sort of random in its songwriting approach, it is just that quality that makes this album special. Clearly (ironically) it came from an addled mind. Bizarre and completely out of left field for 1967. Pink Floyd never really sounded like this again once the remainder of the brain trust took over, though there are elements on Saucerful of Secrets. One of a kind.
*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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