Helmet of Gnats - Travelogue. 2020 USA-Connecticut

I was recently in touch with guitarist Chris Fox, and he was kind enough to send me over a copy of Helmet of Gnats 4th and latest album Travelogue. I have notes on the second and third albums and there's a common bond between them. To cut and paste snippets from each:

"Their stock and trade is retro jazz rock/fusion, with Hammond B3 and electric guitar leading the way. Melody is front and center so this isn't a chops fest, just the way I prefer it. At times it sounds like Niacin with some spruced up psychedelic guitar leading the solo parade."

"As for style, I'm reminded of what Mandrill said about their music: "We were too prog for funk, and too funk for prog". Replace funk with fusion and you could make that same argument here."

The main theme on both of the above is that Helmet of Gnats favors melodicism over technique. And that shines through once again on Travelogue. You never have to sit through a chromatic scale shred fest, nor gymnastic rhythmic displays. Rather there's a natural flow of events to the compositions. While Timeslip refers back to the early 70s side of jazz rock, Travelogue comes in around 1977 or so. Fantastic synthesizer and other analog keys complement Fox's thoughtful guitar solos. The rhythm section is complex but not busy. Some of the warm bass tones are right out of the late 70s fusion cookbook. There are seven tracks totaling precisely 50 minutes. A full LP length, not too short where you are pining for more, not too much where it leaves you exhausted. Travelogue is timeless music, the kind that sounded fresh in the 70s and continues that way into the 2020's and most assuredly beyond. I've enjoyed all four of Helmet of Gnats albums to date.

Ownership: CD: 2020 Ambient. Trifold digipak. Acquired as noted above.

3/29/24 (new entry)

Heard this one online:

Nathan Deacon's Other Brain (2024) single

Helmet of Gnat's latest release is a lengthy seven minute "single". Starting off more in electronic territory the music soon enough shifts towards a mellow Crimsonic type cyclical fusion piece. This eventually leads to the more comfortable sounds of common jazz fusion as one might hear in 1982 (they continue to move forward in time, though 40 years in the rear view mirror). Though the funky wah-wah bit at the 6 minute mark is a cool twist. Very nicely done.

4/3/24

Satin Whale - As a Keepsake. 1977 Germany

Now that I've relistened to the first two Satin Whale albums on CD, I was curious how the next three would go since I've never heard them prior. I was told they were more commercial and not so interesting, which is why I never bothered prior. As noted many times, my interest in proggy AOR has gone up considerably so I figure I might be a good candidate to really enjoy this album. Especially when you consider that Satin Whale displayed a strong knack for melody even on their two acclaimed prog albums. So was I pleased? Yes and no. There are some great moments here, especially on the instrumental 'Maree' which would have fit perfectly on Lost Mankind. Flute remains a key part of their sound palette, and adds more contrast to their overall sound. The opening couple of songs are off putting at first, as the sound is too foreign for Satin Whale. Like they're trying too hard to be commercial when they don't need to. I listened to the album three times straight and the familiarity helped me appreciate more what they were trying to accomplish. There's plenty of progressive rock sequences mixed in with what appears to be straightforward compositions. At least on As a Keepsake, Satin Whale didn't convince me they were a top tier AOR candidate, but I wasn't disappointed either. 

Ownership: 2023 Made in Germany (The Studio Albums). 5xCD. Jewel case. Details on the Desert Places post.

3/28/24 (first listen/new review)

Kebnekaise - Resa Mot Okänt Mål. 1971 Sweden

This is an album I long struggled with, having first heard it in the late 80s. Eventually I picked up the CD in 2011, and within the last couple of weeks I squeezed a +1 out of it. I think the primary issue here is the opening side. It's unlike anything else the group released, and it mars an otherwise excellent work. The album opener has an American west coast hard rocking psych vibe to it. Though strangely modern neo psychsters Dungen can portray this sound on occasion to better results. A2 is an instrumental, not bad at all, but is a bit static overall. A3 is a silly hoedown number that leads to the title track. And it's here that Kebnekaise finds its sea legs. Though the silliness factor is still in effect with the chipmunk voices. Oddly, Mikael Ramel used the same technique on his Till Dej album only one year later. Must've been a Swedish thing (and Ramel and guitarist Kenny Hakansson played together prior). No matter, as the music behind it is splendid with superb guitar. Side 2 is all aces. Mostly a hard blues rock outing, that recall fellow countrymen November at the beginning of their career. The lengthy B1 is the highlight of the album for me. After this debut, the band would embrace more their "Swedishness". To great success I might add.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Silence. Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition (2024). Discogs states that the cover (not the vinyl) of this is from the 80s based on rumor and hearsay. I don't think that's correct. Just a variation on the back cover (probably a different printer). It certainly feels like an early 70s cover from Sweden.

The CD listen above convinced me to keep the album, and I added it to my LP want list not expecting a reasonably priced copy to be offered up anytime soon. But that's just what happened, as a US based seller recently offered up a very generous price, so I nabbed it (mintish vinyl too). The CD offers nothing else, so it can go.

3/27/11 (first listen); 11/18/17; 3/24/24 (review / new entry)

Earthstar - French Skyline. 1979 USA-New York

About 35 years ago I purchased this album new from a local store (see ownership section). I enjoyed it, filed, and pretty much that was the end of my Earthstar story until the CDRWL days. And it's only been in the last two years that I filled in the remaining three albums, which I've dutifully reported on here at UMR. So it's ironic that French Skyline is the last of those for me to discuss. Many years ago, and I have no documentation as to when (probably 2008), I wrote the following:

Earthstar is more or less the working band name for one Craig Wuest...  ...I still consider it one of the best electronic albums from the US (though recorded in Germany and France). Of course, having Klaus Schulze produce the album probably helped immensely. It's a powerful album in the Berlin School style.

---

In hearing this album for the first time in 16 years, the Schulze effect is very prominent on the suite known as 'Latin Sirens Face the Wall'. It could very well be an archival release from the Timewind sessions. It's really the only piece in Wuest's oeuvre that isn't highly original. The title suite is more diverse recalling their debut Salterbarty Tales, and is what makes this album special like the others.

Ownership: LP: 1979 Sky. Single sleeve. Purchased new at the Record Gallery in Dallas (1990).

CD: 2023 Made in Germany. Details can be found on the Salterbarty entry. The mastering on French Skyline isn't up to par unfortunately. It obviously comes from vinyl, but also has a bit of wobble in places. MiG is a high quality label, so this comes as a surprise. Salterbarty Tales sounded fine to me. I hope the other two will as well. I'll have to focus on that.

1990; 2008; 3/21/24 (new entry)

Lucifer's Friend - Banquet. 1974 Germany

What a strange record, I'll tell you that right up front. Lucifer's Friend didn't fit neatly in a single box, having released a number of albums that spanned the musical spectrum (and yet never Krautrock strangely enough). But they usually were consistent within the album. That's not the case here. The opening track is misleading and inauspicious. Sounding like 1970 era Beatles, or maybe more to the point Wings, Lucifer's Friend offers an outdated jangly pop track. This is followed by the lengthy 'Spanish Galleon' which mixes in both jazz and brass rock to great success, while infusing a Vegas loungey vocal style. What a great mix, and we're still 4 to 5 years away from any kind of modern relevancy. 'Thus Spoke Oberon' is the highlight of the album, and takes the above track and runs it through progressive rock motifs. I had to hear this side three times straight to digest its contents. That's pretty rare nowadays. Side 2 opens with... a boogie rock track. Of course it does. It does improve as it goes which leads to the near 12 minute 'Sorrow' - yet another Tom Jones fronting Chicago meshed with Wolfgang Dauner number. 'Dirty Old Town' finishes in folk rock fashion, but does not eschew the above artistic or sound qualities. This one gets a +1 for unique and another +1 for being pleasurable to listen to.

Ownership: LP: 1975 Passport / Billingsgate. Single sleeve. Grabbed from Dr. Boom here in town (2024) in a large trade. I was mostly loading up on vinyl for the next record show, but this one goes to the collection. I used to see this album all the time in the 80s, but never once thought to pick it up.

3/20/24 (new entry)

Superior - Behind. 1995 Germany

Superior came around at a time when prog metal was gaining momentum. The genre wasn't flooded yet with copycats, and originality was still something to strive for. You basically had three schools of this blend going at the time: Fates Warning with its more gritty Iron Maiden styled approach; Dream Theater with its ultra technical yet slick displays of talent; and technical thrash as first introduced by Watchtower. It was this latter bunch that was all the rage in the late 80s and early 90s, which in retrospect is very surprising. But Dream Theater styled, not so much at the time. 

Behind is a solid mix of tunes, with fat riffs and - dare I say - a superior vocalist. Keyboards are usually the simple piano with occasional synth. Not much in the way of showoffy instrumental work, the album is more about atmosphere and heaviness. And it's very catchy too. As the album went on, I was reminded more of Savatage on Hall of the Mountain King. Savatage is a borderline prog group, more being the pioneers of US power metal. But that's your storyline behind Superior.

Had this album come out in the last 25 years, I'd probably be less impressed, but as one of the originators it brings back memories for me of an exciting time of music progression.

Ownership: CD: 1995 private. Jewel case release with lyrics and recording details. This was another surprise for me. When I started adding my collection to Discogs in 2016, this CD wasn't in there. In fact, it was listed as from 1996 and the primary was on T&T. I purchased this from Dream Disc real time in '95 (and the disc face shows a 95 date). I've been lazy in not adding photos of it. I didn't realize at the time that Superior had self-financed their way originally.

1995; 10/16/14; 3/19/24 (new entry)

St. Elmo's Fire - Artifacts of Passion. 2001 USA-Iowa

Four months ago, for Groovector's Ultramarine, I wrote: ""I have quite a few albums in the collection that I'm most excited to hear - many of them I anticipate are better than I have them rated. This is yet another album I haven't heard since it first came out. So 22 years later we have our second visit." - Part 2. In fact I think this was in the exact same CD order with the Hamadryad album that makes up the above quote."

Make that Part 3. For whatever reason there's a part of my collection from 2001 I never revisited. Artifacts of Passion represents a reunion effort, as it were, with mostly reworked versions of older compositions going back to the late 70s and early 80s. A couple of these made the Live at Cleveland Agora EP, but even those tracks are much different here. Though a modern recording in 2001, one could almost view this as an archival release. The sounds are pure analog, and it's as if the prior 20 years didn't happen. Plenty of mellotron and violin to offset the usual rock based instrumentation. Their music is very much a product of the American Midwest and overtures to King Crimson, Genesis, and Yes are apparent. The album is mostly instrumental with the exception of 'The Nemo Syndrome'. Artifacts of Passion is one of those albums that slipped through the cracks of time, but is a fine representation of the type of American progressive rock that existed in the late 70s.

Ownership: CD: 2001 Sprawling Productions. Jewel case with recording details and historical references. My copy came with two postcards, one signed by band leader Paul Kollar.

2001; 3/12/24 (new entry)

Satin Whale - Desert Places. 1974 Germany

Though I've owned Desert Places for 35 years, have rated it a Gnosis 13/5 stars, and the album was a charter member of the CDRWL, I never penned any notes about it. Desert Places is one of those rare albums that ticks all the prog rock boxes, and yet doesn't really sound like anyone else. The melodic quotient is higher than most, and their compositional approach is different, but not radical. The key ingredient here is that Satin Whale has an uncanny ability to groove, most evident on songs such as 'Seasons of Life' and 'Remember'. This is head bobbin' music. The band manages to go from one idea to another seamlessly, while never losing sight of the song or the rhythm. It's an agreeable sound, the type that makes it an ideal place to teach others about the beauty of progressive rock. In this way, they remind me of early Caravan, though this isn't Canterbury styled music. Other guideposts from Germany would be Eiliff and Twenty Sixty Six and Then. Not a minute wasted here. A gem of an album.

Ownership: LP: 1974 Brain. Single sleeve. Green label. Acquired at the Mad Platter in Springfield, Missouri while passing through (1989).

CD: 2023 Made in Germany. 5xCD (The Studio Albums 1974-1981). Contains their first five albums in full with liner notes in German. Pity about this latter fact, as I'm sure many around the world would like to know their history. English translations are common and expected, so that's a disappointment.

Finally, after all these years, Desert Places received a CD reissue. It seems insane that it took this long. That leaves only the Gash album as the last classic green Brain album to not have been released on CD (legally). And the RMO albums... Maybe MiG will take care of those as well.

5/22/89; 1995; 3/11/24 (new entry)

Camel - Rain Dances. 1977 England

Rain Dances, Camel's 5th album, is where Camel wandered over the line from all-in progressive rock to that of AOR/FM music. Well sort of. They could be considered what is now known as Yacht Rock, or even more to the point, Yacht Prog. So yes, you can place Camel now in the company of Fruupp, Kestrel, Sebastian Hardie, and the rest of them. Latimer gives the game away on the back cover, though they are a bit scruffy to allow on the boat it would seem. Maybe they can work in the steam room?

If we're honest, Camel had always leaned in to the melodic side of the house. Herky-jerky rhythms and impossible compositions were never their forte. They just mastered their craft better here. And I have to think Latimer spent a little time digesting some of Santana's guitar licks before heading into the studio. Adding Canterbury stalwart Richard Sinclair was the right move at the right time. One of the few British singers who actually sounds like he lives there, his soothing tone is perfect for the soundscapes Camel are painting. There are a couple of overt plays for radio that didn't really stick (I can't recall ever hearing Camel on the radio growing up in the late 70s), but they aren't soaked in saccharine pathetic whining, like so many of their peers were prone to do. They were to dive deeper into these waters on the also excellent Breathless, but even more brazenly commercial than here. The deal is, Camel were just damned good songwriters and musicians, so they were able to pull it off. I'd submit much better than Genesis did, though the latter clearly captured the corporate market far better. There's no accounting for good taste, now is there?

Ownership: CD: Deram (later pressing of 1991 edition). Jewel box reissue with a fine historical retrospective and one single edit bonus track.

The CD above was my introduction to Rain Dances (2004). Of course the LP was easily available in the middle 80s when I first started crate digging for prog albums. Based on the cover, song lengths, and year, I just presumed this was a pop album, which wasn't uncommon. I was to be proved wrong. I did finally buy the LP during the pandemic at a record show. But given I have no history with it on vinyl, the CD easily won the battle. The LP goes to the next record show with me.

2004; 6/14/20; 3/9/24 (new entry)

Bella Band. 1978 Italy

Bella Band's sole album is always better than I think it is. Part of that thought process is the album was originally on Cramps, so my mind immediately goes to avant prog, and conclude it's more arty than I tend to prefer. But that's not the case at all. Bella Band is an all instrumental high energy jazz rock with saxophone, Clavinet, Rhodes, fiery guitar, and a busy rhythm section. Melody is front and center at all times. I'm most reminded of early Passport, when they were at their peak of rock creativity (Second Passport in particular). Less slick than the 1978 date infers. 

Ownership: CD: 1994 Mercury / Cramps. Jewel box with no extras. 

The first copy I owned was the original LP (1992). It was an early casualty of my CD replacement program (1995). At this point, I'm fine either way, but if a clean and reasonably priced LP is floated my way, I'll swap back since the CD offers little else.

1992 (first listen); 1995; 2009; 3/8/24 (review / new entry)

Catharsis (Volume II "Les Chevrons"). 1972 France

Catharsis' second album is quite simply music for liquid light shows. Head music as they would call it back in the day. I found this to be an improvement from their debut Masq. The instrumental psychedelic rock music of Les Chevrons is more compact, and demonstrate more compositional quality than the strictly atmospheric Masq. The title track, with its haunting organ melody, is particularly memorable. This isn't meant to be challenging prog music. Kick back, digest your beverage of choice, and let the music take you to new places you haven't been. Or at least enjoy the slide projector...

Ownership: LP: 1975 Festival. Gatefold. Acquired from a mail order dealer in France (1994).

CD: 1990 Griffe. Includes all of Masq and 3 different tunes from various singles.

Three of the early Catharsis albums were self-titled, so when Festival reissued their early albums in 1975, they appended titles to them. Those names stuck, as that's how most collectors refer to their albums by. Catharsis were a relatively popular band in their day with 6 albums and 13 singles, not counting the many collaborations they were involved in.

1994 (first listen); 4/3/13; 3/2/24 (review / new entry)

The Masters of Deceit - Hensley's Electric Jazz Band & Synthetic Symphonette. 1969 USA-Indiana

The Masters of Deceit's sole album is yet another wonder from the interior of America, in this case Indiana. When hearing Hensley's Electric Jazz Band & Synthetic Symphonette, the first thought that comes to mind is Soft Machine's debut, an album they must've digested before heading to the studio. As with the origins of Canterbury, The Masters of Deceit are heavily influenced by both jazz and psychedelic, but their music squarely belongs to the early days of progressive rock. Plenty of jazz psych jams and whimsical tunes  featuring clavinet, vintage organ, and electric guitar. The rhythms are distinctly from the jazz school. File alongside The United States of America, Listening, After All, Brimstone, The Spoils of War, and other pioneering American prog groups.

Ownership: LP: 1969 Vanguard. Uni-pak gatefold. Found at the Rocky Mountain Record Show (2024).

This is one of those albums I keep hoping to find in the wilds, but never do. Though in this case, the CD is just as rare and expensive, as it remains the only pressing. But if I ever do score a copy, I'll probably swap them out. Of course I can mail order for it, but that isn't any fun. I bought the CD 21 years ago, and didn't hear it again until last night and this morning.

And wouldn't you know it - one month later I found the original. CD can go (4/8/24).

2003; 3/2/24 (new entry)

Libra - Musica e Parole. 1975 Italy

19 years ago I wrote: 

Late entry to the Italian prog game. Related to Goblin and inexplicably signed to Motown in the US. A mix of classic complex prog (Lanzetti era PFM, Come In Un'Ultima Cena era Banco, and Cherry Five come to mind), singer songwriter, mid 70’s raw fusion, and yes, even a bit of funky business with clavinet (which would be the tie-in with the Motown crowd). 14 minute final piece 'Inquinamento' ties it all together nicely for the album’s winning cut. Not an album to change anyone’s opinion about a particular music scene, but an easy purchase for those into said scene.

---

In hearing the album for the first time since (and I didn't even realize I penned any notes prior), I found Libra's debut a very pleasing set of tunes (+1). Classic Italian prog with a fusion edge. It was released at a time when prog was waning in Italy, but still had enough of an audience to allow this kind of creativity to exist. Motown signed them to a 10 album contract, which doesn't make any sense at all (also - didn't they know Italian bands rarely last more than two albums?). Seems like the chemical enhancements were flowing down nicely. The funk touch on this debut is very light. I have their second album in my sell bin (for a long time since no one wants it), and it's geared more towards AOR.

Ownership: CD: 2004 BMG (Japan). Gatefold papersleeve edition.

The above was my introduction to the music. This is the type of album I would normally replace with an original. But finding the Italian pressing isn't cheap, surprising perhaps. But then again I don't recall ever seeing it for sale - even in rare catalogs of the day. I like the album, but getting an original here isn't imperative. The American press on Motown is a $10 to $15 record. But it has English vocals, so I'll pass unless I find it thrifting, which is certainly possible. But that would be a supplement copy in that case.

4//05 (first listen/review); 3/1/24 (update/new entry)