Black Sabbath - Master of Reality. 1971 England

For me, one of the most fascinating aspects of musical history are the albums and groups that have transcended time. As a crate digger, I witness the kind of albums that find their way into thrift shops and record store dollar bins all-day, every-day. These are the ones that were popular in their day but demand is almost non-existent in modern times. Hence they have become worthless commodities, and can't even sell for a buck at a thrift shop. Then there's the "once commodities" that are like finding money laying around on the floor. You do realize that gold is technically a "commodity", not a rare gem, right?

Then there's the music review sites. Popular albums from the past will consistently have low ratings and few comments. But the records that have become multi-generational are the highest rated with thousands of reviews gushing on its contents. Once again, having immersed myself into the used record business in the last 5 years, most of my clientele is younger - or much younger - than myself. Their perspective matters to me both from an artistic point of view as well as an economic one. And, maybe even more to the point, as an historian.

Black Sabbath is among the royalty in this discussion. It isn't until their 7th album Technical Ecstasy that anyone casts dispersions, with a faint voice maybe directed at the predecessor Sabotage. But any dissent on Sabbath's first quintet would be the equivalent of doubting the Bible in the 19th century. You would be labeled a heretic. There are plenty of groups that get accused of the dreaded "overrated" tag, many of whom do need a more critical evaluation. But others seems to be immune to that as well - and Black Sabbath is that band - at least from 1970 to 1975.

But why is that? How does Master of Reality relate to a 13 year old in 2024 whereas so many others have the same appeal today as Frankie Valli? And will it always be the case? The latter is impossible to answer, but we're a few generations in now and the theory seems to uphold.

Put me in the camp that says Master of Reality is nothing short of brilliant, arguably their best album (I still have a soft spot for Sabotage). The obvious answer to my premise is that Sabbath invented heavy metal, a genre even the most respected and ardent music critics of the past couldn't make go away. They hated heavy metal, saw it as nothing but machismo music for unreconstructed neanderthal men. And yet here we are in the most cultural woke era in the history of mankind - and heavy metal is still king of the underground.

The thing is, Sabbath didn't invent heavy metal, but it doesn't matter really. They are identified with it. In my mind they weren't really metal at all, but that fuzzy sound that Iommi created just cuts right to the nerve core. For me, it's like a shot of drugs. When you hear it, happiness ensues. Ahhh. Right from the start 'Sweet Leaf' you are going to get that shot of adrenaline. 'After Forever' is more upbeat with a few excellent guitar breaks. Overt pro-Christian lyrics completely ruin the narrative that they were a bunch of satanists. Pfft. They were Catholics, just like Slayer's Tom Araya. And to the point of "breaks", this is a term that is heavily sought after by record collectors. It refers to an isolated drum pattern that can be sampled. But with Sabbath, they introduced the concept of multiple "riffs" in a song. Breaks as it were, but a guitar pattern versus drums. This is something else the band is highly revered for. 

'Children of the Grave' and 'Lord of this World' are two more awesome crunchers that emulate their style perfectly, as noted above. Sabbath would also frequently throw in mellow interludes to offset the barrage. In my mind, that's a brilliant move. Sort of proggy in that way offering up dynamic contrast. And the best example of that is the combo of 'Solitude' and 'Into the Void'. The former is beautiful, with flute, percussion, and Ozzy's mournful vocals. Very much a sound that early 70s England was carrying at that time. As far as I'm concerned 'Into the Void" is their all-time great heavy moment in the sun. That third Iommi riff with Butler's bottom end hasn't been replicated since. Many of tried, none have succeeded. They perfected that formula all the way back in 1971.

Yep. Timeless.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Vertigo (UK). Embossed envelope sleeve. Got this for $20 from an online dealer... in 2017! Sometimes couch digging pays off. Nice condition too. No poster but my goodness what a steal.

CD: 2002 Victor (Japan). Papersleeve edition. Has the poster lol.

The first copy I owned was one of those cheapie 80s era Irish NEMS releases. The 70s UK NEMS releases were much better.

1984; 11//05; 3/18/17 (LP acquire); 9/12/19; 1/6/24 (new entry)

Farm. 1971 USA-Illinois

About eight years ago I wrote for RYM:

I have a somewhat long history with this album. Back in the late 1980s when Genius Hans was just starting his career (such as it was), I was a computer programmer/developer for a tax software company. Yes, a tax software firm. Real cube dweller stuff. Sexy job, eh? One of the accountant's I worked with, and who I had become friendly with, was from Illinois, and he was about 15 years older than I. His wife - yes his wife - was once the main squeeze of a band member from... (oh c'mon guess?). And yes, she had the original album in her possession! And they let me borrow it. I liked it then... just as I like it now. It's a bit outside of my strike zone, but for guitar driven hard blues rock, mostly instrumental, it's quite good.

Naturally I asked if she was willing to sell it. Naw - too many memories. No telling if they still have it, but I'll guess yes. He just recently retired too (lucky bastard).

I never did buy the doggone thing. I should probably get one of the reissues just for the memories.

---

And I finally did just that - obtain a physical copy. Not much more to add from last night's listen, this is a special album for me because of the story above. Otherwise I probably wouldn't allocate precious collection space for a reissue LP such as this. In addition to what I say above, early The Allman Brothers comes to mind as a major influence, and the final track is a cover of 'Statesboro Blues', so there you have it. It's a short album, barely clearing 26 minutes.

Ownership: LP: 2022 Guerssen. Single sleeve with obi. Contains a four page insert that includes an interview from It's Psychedelic Baby. Also has some photos and other memorabilia. 

Originals haven't gotten any cheaper, but I can tell you Farm was going for a similar price in 1990. And I told my friend that back then. Some things will remain scarce. One wonders if that market ever softens.

1990; 1/18/16 (RYM); 12/15/23 (new entry)

Stray - Suicide. 1971 England

Stray's second album Suicide opens up with distant melancholic vocals, which is then followed by some heavy guitar riffing and a mellotron blast. And there is your storyline for Suicide. Though there really isn't that much mellotron, but there's plenty of great guitar soloing, similar to the debut just a bit more restrained. Hard to imagine any album taking the guitar further than Stray's debut, at least for the time and place. There's a small hint on Suicide of the group's eventual move to boogie and there's a couple of other stylistic diversions. In aggregate though, Suicide remains an excellent album. These early Stray albums are not to be missed for psychedelic hard rock fans.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Transatlantic. Textured single sleeve. Pink letter label which Discogs shows as the original. For some reason I had it cataloged under the picture label, but clearly I didn't take the time to look closely. Anyway, all fixed now. Online acquisition (2013).

CD: 2006 Strange Days (Japan). Papersleeve edition. Comes in the Disc Union box (which uses the Saturday Morning Pictures cover) and includes their first three albums. This was my introduction to the album.

2/15/07; 12/31/10; 11/27/23 (new entry)

Spot. 1971 Switzerland

17 years ago I wrote the following for Gnosis:

"The Swiss quartet Spot obviously spent a lot of their free time digesting the first three Led Zeppelin albums before embarking on their one and only recording. A band could do a lot worse than imitating Zeppelin, and truth be told, there are a surprising few in Continental Europe who actually did. For every five Deep Purple and ELP copycats, you’ll get one who try for Page and crew. Vocalist Pavlo Pendaki does his best Robert Plant with plenty of those swooping “yea-yea-yea” and “my’a-my’a-my’as”. Naturally, lead guitarist John Woolloff is the featured instrumentalist, and does a good job of managing the “aggressive electric blues” that is expected. He also adds more wah wah pedal than usual to the proceedings, which adds points for this writer. There’s also a few acoustic numbers interlaced, which also point to the Zep heritage. Overall, there is just enough originality throughout to make Spot worth seeking out – and they give quite a spirited performance, which is essential for these type of hard electric blues albums to work."

Yep - I got that one right. Except I appreciated it more on last night's +1 listen. A great example of European hard rock from 1971. Inexplicably I still had this filed with my progressive rock collection, but it's not even close. First time for me to hear this album since that review (and acquisition). This title is worth more spins.

Ownership: CD: 1997 Black Rills / Ohrwaschl. Tri-fold digipak with no historical notes. Features two bonus tracks including a rave up of the Khachaturian classic 'Sabre Dance', similar to Love Sculpture. Originals are quite expensive. I'm fine with the CD in this case (incidentally, this is the only version for the media format).

10/12/06 (Gnosis); 11/19/23 (new entry)

The Counts - What's Up Front That Counts. 1971 USA-Michigan

The second the music started on What's Up Front That Counts, I was enthralled. Detroit's own The Counts offer up an immediately likeable funk album, more so than any album I can think of in the genre. Not necessarily the best funk album, but rather it's funk extract - what I expect all of these albums to sound like, but rarely do. I said something similar about Morgen for the psychedelic genre. What's Up Front That Counts has a groove that just won't quit. No extraneous detours here, this just brings the goods for the grand total of 28 minutes. Yes, it's short, but not a second wasted.

Ownership: CD: 2011 Westbound (Europe). Recent online acquisition (2023). Jewel case with a short history. Also includes a very rare 1978 single. 'Motor City' is very similar to the 1971 album while the flip is more in the soul genre.

6/29/23 (new entry)

Broselmaschine. 1971 Germany

Some 22 years ago, I penned the following for Gnosis:

One of the three legendary Pilz folk albums from the early 1970s German scene. Of these, Bröselmaschine were certainly the most folky. The five-piece lineup included primarily male and female vocals with acoustic guitar. And as accents to various songs, the band added electric guitar, bass, hand percussion, flute, sitar, zither, and mellotron.

The five minute opener 'Gedanken' is a pleasant enough folk track with heavily accented dual male and female English vocals, flutes, and some nice electric guitar. 'Lassie' follows and is just the sort of song that my Dad would have enjoyed. One gets the impression that Bröselmaschine would feel comfortable opening for comedian Bob Newhart at a place like the Hungry I in San Francisco circa 1966. Ceramic plates and silverware clanking in the background - and after the song completes - an uproarious crowd claps maniacally while cigarettes dangle from their lips. The two minute acoustic guitar interlude with wordless female vocals 'Gitarrenstuck' is where the proceedings begin to get interesting. 'The Old Man's Song' starts with a repetitive and trance-like acoustic guitar. Hand percussion and wah-wah guitar enter while some delicate flute sets the tone for the peaceful female singing. The nine minute 'Schmetterling' is the album's highlight and recalls Hoelderlin's Traum with its Eastern motif (sitar, tablas, flute) and female narration in German. Later in the song there's a wonderful driving bass guitar that gives the song a sense of contrasting urgency not found elsewhere. The album closes with 'Nossa Bova' a nice stroll in the park kind of song with emphasis on acoustic guitar, flute, wordless voice, and hand percussion.

Overall, Bröselmaschine is the type of album to sooth ones nerves after a hard days' work. Not particularly experimental or groundbreaking, but for fans of early Hoelderlin, Emtidi, or other such cosmic folk bands, Bröselmaschine is a must pick up.

---

Last night's listen resulted in a -1. Still an ultimate keeper especially since I have the original LP. However I'm not feeling the cosmic angle as much as prior. 'Schmetterling' was the go-to track for that, and it still shines comparatively, but it's not enough to suggest that Broselmachine isn't anything more than a folk rock album with psychedelic embellishment. Which by itself isn't a bad thing, and for what is presented, it's quite pleasant. 3.5 stars / Gnosis 10.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Pilz. Gatefold. A gift from a good friend of the UMR (2014). 

Former ownership: CD: 2013 Belle Antique. Papersleeve edition.

Former ownership: LP: 1981 Pilz / Pop Import. Mail order acquisition (1992). 

1992 (first listen); 8/26/01 (review); 9/20/13; 4/22/23 (update / new entry)

Dashiell Hedayat - Obsolete. 1971 France

Daniel Theron's (Hedayat of course) only solo album is very Gong-like but with the wonderful addition of vicious bass lines, almost Magma-esque. Less bombastic - more jumpy and off-kilter - but still a focus area of the music. It is this exact feature that endears me to the album.

Ownership: LP: 1978 Shandar. Love the textured pink single sleeve cover. Bought this from a mail order dealer in 1989 when it would still be listed as an "original". Who knew all of these minutiae details back then? Not too many folks. Discogs has certainly enlightened us over the years. 

1989; 1995; 2/1/23 (LP 4.5); 4/5/23 (new entry)

Wind - Seasons. 1971 Germany

Wind's debut defines the 1971 German hard rock sound. These reviews can pretty much auto-write at this point. Heavy organ and guitar with gruff vocals leading long jams with shorter introspective interludes, including flute. Start lining them up: Zarathustra, Weed, Second Life, Haze, Dies Irae, Epitaph, Eloy, Virus, etc... All from the same year and country. It seemed Germany were filled with bands such as this from the top to the bottom. And that doesn't even get us to the progressive and cosmic bands journeying around. What an era!

Ownership: LP: 1971 +Plus+. Single sleeve. Acquired via trade with a well known German dealer (2018). 

The CD on Second Battle was my introduction to the album (2010). 

2010; 12/30/22 (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: 1971 Vertigo UK (LP). Gatefold. Acquired in 2020.

First copy: 1971 Vertigo US (LP). Gatefold. Acquired in 1989.

1989; 11//05; 11/28/22 (review)

Erna Schmidt - Live 69-71. Germany (archival)

I've spoken about this prior, but worth repeating here: There's an Essence of Krautrock. To me the term has an esoteric meaning. It's not just one thing, or one style of music, but rather it was the spirit of the moment. Zeitgeist is the proper term, though often overused today. Many bands fall into the Krautrock vortex, whether they be hard rock, cosmic electronic, progressive jazz, etc... It certainly doesn't mean "rock from Germany". In fact, it can be from anywhere, even though its origins are definitively from the Fatherland. And with that...

Erna Schmidt is the pure embodiment of Krautrock. One of the best examples there is, certainly of those that weren't released real time in their day. They feature a classic lineup of guitar, flute, bass, and drums. Erna Schmidt were your prototypical hippie troupe, that lived the commune lifestyle, and played concerts throughout the country. They were signed to the Ohr label, the perfect home for a band such as this. Probably if looking for label comparisons, Erna Schmidt ties closest to Mythos at the time of their debut, minus the ill advised vocals. One could point to dozens of other examples, but it's not necessary because you already know the type of sound. The beauty of Krautrock is each brings their own ingredients to the figurative bowl of stew. No formal studio recordings were ever made, but fortunately a future entrepreneurial engineer recorded multiple hours of live material - in great sound for the time and place. Because of the volume of recordings, they were able to vet out some fantastic moments. The highs of Live 69-71 lie in the middle of the disc, which is how many of the best archival albums are laid out. Not too much at once, and don't wait until the end for the "good stuff". The booklet hints there are SWF tapes as well, though we're 22 years on from this release, so perhaps that isn't the case. In short though, if Krautrock is your bag, Erna Schmidt should already be your collection. If not, buy it now.

Ownership: CD: 2000 Garden of Delights. Purchased new upon release. The usual fantastic job from GoD with lengthy liner notes and better-than-you-would-expect sound. There are no details on the exact dates of each track, though it says the majority are from 1970. Apparently - perhaps sadly - this wasn't a big seller, as you can still purchase the CD new and it was never repressed. I wouldn't wait forever though.

3//10; 7/31/22 (new entry)

Fashion Pink - Encore. 1971 Germany (archival)

Brainstorm were a band with 2 studio albums... and no less than 4 full posthumous archival releases. Between Garden of Delights and Long Hair, the group's backlog has been mined thoroughly. And yet, surprisingly, there's little repetition between them. Encore features not only Fashion Pink's earliest recordings from 1969 but also their last known show in 1975 as Brainstorm. Through it all, we hear their patented take on the Canterbury sound, without ever deviating into commercial realms. The first 8 songs compliment the SWF Sessions Volume 3 release, and are uniformly excellent. Best of all is the inclusion of a full EP that was released under the name T.A.C. (see Ownership section for some controversy). These tracks demonstrate early sketches of what was to be eventually released as Smile a While, and flow quite nicely together. If you're a fan of the collective, you'll want this, even if you have the other 3 archival albums.

Ownership: CD: 2005 Long Hair. Excellent archival release with fine sound and full historical liner notes. After the release of the SWF Sessions, original guitarist Helmut Rusch chimed in to clarify some of the history. Looks like I didn't get around to purchasing this until 2013.

Now for the promised controversy: T.A.C. There's no questioning the authenticity of the recording, the purpose of its recording, the moniker or anything else. It's an outstanding addition to the overall package. Some of you might recall my entry for a Dutch band called Crying Wood. I think we have a similar situation here. The liner notes indicate that an EP was released in 1971 by the corporate entity known as Beiersdorf. You can look them up on Wikipedia, and they remain a major provider of skin care products in Europe. The story goes that this album was given as a gift to customers. Pffffttttt. C'mon. Now we're not being harsh on Mr. Rusch, as it could have been misinterpreted what he said, or he may have been mistaken about it being actually released (you know musicians and their memories...). But I'm sure the recording themselves could have been made for such a purpose. All of that is believable, and again, these are authentic recordings. 

But wait - there's a version on Discogs (see photo on right). See? You're wrong again ol' Mr. UMR! Sure - and so are the Psi-Fi releases and the Crying Wood. Remember Art Jackson's Atrocity on Columbia? Haha. Here's what we know: The image on Discogs was taken from an ebay auction in 2008. There's no label or back cover. Which mysteriously can't be found anywhere. 2 people claim ownership, and a whopping 13 want it (including us now lol). So I'm supposed to believe that a major corporation used this album as a giveaway, and only 2 copies are owned after all these years? And almost no one knows about it? So it's that obscure? Yea, right. You know the RT had a lot of these corporate albums in his collection. I had to throw most of them away and use the covers as mailer filler. There's 1000's of them in the marketplace, all more worthless than the last. Note the date of the auction: 2008. Perhaps taken from the CD? Ya think? Well anyway, none of this is proof it doesn't exist. No more than I can prove that original LPs by Pyramid or Galactic Explorers doesn't exist. But the evidence looks awfully fishy. But was there a band named T.A.C. who recorded an EP for Beiersdorf in 1971? I can believe that for sure, yes.

4//13; 7/21/22 (new entry)

Tear Gas. 1971 Scotland

Now this is exactly the kind of hard rock I like. Great sounding heavy guitar with well thought-out compositions that contain more than one theme throughout. And superb solos. Only on 'Lay it On Me' do we hear Tear Gas go garden variety boogie rock, and even then, the guitar soloing saves the track from ruin. You'll also note an Elvis medley towards the end. Normally that would result in a complete disaster, but in the hands of Tear Gas, they make the tracks so much more interesting than they are. Overall a superb slice of early 70s hard rock.

Ownership: CD: 1993 Renaissance (USA). Standard jewel case reissue with one excellent bonus track, not found on the other reissues (including Esoteric). Acquired this from a friend in 2014.

11//14; 7/19/22 (new entry)

I was reading some old notes of mine from 2004, and I wasn't very keen on this title back then. Just goes to show how much my appreciation for hard rock has gone up since.

Dr. Z - Three Parts of My Soul. 1971 England

A much polarizing release, primarily due to the original being incredibly scarce. Featuring a gimmix die cut middle opening (similar to Ash Ra Tempel's debut), the LP barely sold any copies in its day. Like with the Still Life album we just spoke about, demand picked up a decade later, but no copies were to be found. In fact, even less so than any other on the venerable Vertigo swirl label. As such, it has been a 4 figure rarity for many years now. And with that you will have fans that like it because of just that. And... you will have those that say the album is overrated because the music doesn't substantiate the ridiculous high price of the original. Of course all of these opinions are due to the album being reissued in multiple formats. The reality is the music itself doesn't warrant strong opinion at all. It is very much a product of 1971 England - a traditional but quirky progressive rock album. A three piece with keyboards, harpsichord, bass, and drums. And unusual vocals. One could see The Mandrake Memorial taking this route if they continued on. 

Former ownership: CD: 2001 Vertigo (Japan). Papersleeve edition.

6/3/17 (first listen); 7/15/22 (review / new entry)

A.R. & Machines - Die Grüne Reise / The Green Journey. 1971 Germany

It all starts here for Achim Reichel's new project A.R. & Machines. Essentially he discovered tape delay which made his guitars sound massive. The album was much derided by the German music press upon release. Keep in mind that Reichel prior to this was a pop star, so the end results were jarring to fans. Reichel can rightfully be considered one of the pioneers of the sound-on-sound electric guitar Krautrock albums later further refined by Manuel Gottsching and Gunter Schickert. Voices and percussion provide further mysterious atmospheres for the recording. A pioneering and groundbreaking work that today stands in stark contrast to its original reception. The recognized classics usually go through a similar historical metamorphosis.

Ownership: LP: 1985 Polydor. Single sleeve with a cool cover. I bought this later press brand new from the Record Gallery in Dallas circa 1987 while still in college. I've spoken about this remarkable store and its impact on my music development in other posts.

CD: 2007 Tangram. CD+DVD. Super nice tri-fold digi-pak cover with a history in both English and German. Also comes with a DVD that I have yet to see. Since the album was originally released as a "movie soundtrack for your mind", a group of contemporary college students decided to make a video with the music as a backdrop. This is the copy I listened to for this revisit. It appeared Reichel was going to reissue his back catalog in this manner, but then it derailed for 10 more years before he decided to release the massive box set.

CD: 2017 Tangram. And we're glad he did! This is a 10 CD box set with a hardbound book. One of the highest rated CD packages in my entire collection. I discuss this box more in depth on the AR 3 review.

At this point, I will likely keep all 3 copies as each brings something unique.

1987; 12/31/07; 12/20/18; 7/13/22 (new entry)

Fields. 1971 England

Graham Field was the keyboardist for Rare Bird, and this solo album is pretty similar to their first 2 albums, minus the guitar. At its best, Field is pounding hard on the Hammond, and grinding out a grungy sound, with a complex rhythmic background behind him. There are some regular "classic rock" styled tunes here too, which reminds me also of Rare Bird. I always want more out of this album, mainly because it's not dedicated to progressive rock, and it fumbles around too much with other disparate styles. I feel the same about Rare Bird. That said, it's still very good on the whole, and worth keeping.

Ownership: LP: 1971 CBS (UK). Beautiful unipak gatefold including the rare elusive poster! Recent online acquisition. Strangely I've never owned (but had heard) this album in the past, in any format. Might as well open up the PPR piggy bank and get the first press original with all the goodies!

new entry

Abacus. 1971 Germany

On Abacus' debut you can hear a lot of parallels to another quirky German band: Nine Days Wonder. Like NDW's debut, this album is radically progressive, covering anywhere from Frank Zappa's more complex works to any number of UK outfits. The vocalist is from England, and he writes much of the material, so this album doesn't sound much like Krautrock as we know it. After this, the band took a noticeable downturn. As such, I think this debut is overlooked. Be sure to not miss this one, as it's excellent!

Ownership: LP: 1971 Polydor (UK). Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition from our new friends down south in ABQ: SloLow, who we spent some time getting to know at the last Denver Record Show. The front and back photos are this copy as we added them to Discogs. The label shown is too dark red, but we left what was already there anyway.

5/3/10 (CDRWL)

Jean Cohen-Solal - Flutes Libres. 1971 France

On the surface, it would appear Flutes Libres would be yet another flute jazz album that was all the rage back then. With Jean Cohen-Solal appearing in his Yankee Doodle outfit, it couldn't be more than a cash-in album of that era's greatest hits. Right? Way wrong. Flutes Libres is a dense work, bordering on the Kosmische with droning organs, and classical level flute played on top. While there are some rocked out rhythms and trendy moves looking East, in general, this is an album that will appeal to those into both experimental rock and serious avant garde music. The album is remarkably consistent, without any notable highs or lows.

Fans of atmospheric, and perhaps even difficult, avant-garde jazz rock will find much pleasure in Flutes Libres. For certain it's not an easy listen, and definitely not the kind of music that results in pleasing a crowd. But for private listening in a dark room with headsets, the rewards are great.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Daphy / Sonopresse; CD: 2003 Mio (Israel). The LP comes in a heavy duty gatefold with a dissertation of the flute, and details of each track, within the centerpiece. I picked this up online in 2012, and this is the first time for me to hear the LP, close to 10 years later. The CD includes the second album in full, entitled Captain Tarthopom. More detail can be found on that entry, since it's the only copy I own of it.

8/20/15; 1/1/22 (new entry)

Tasavallan Presidentti. 1971 Finland

Tasavallan Presidentti's second album, released only in Sweden oddly enough, is very much in the spirit of other albums from the UK and Continental Europe during this time. Bands as disperse as Colosseum, Ahora Mazda, Tonton Macoute, Zior, and Ikarus come to mind. Strong woodwinds (flute;sax), gruff vocals from Englishman Frank Robson, and excellent guitar from Jukka Tolonen highlight this excellent period piece. If you're already a fan of early 70s European progressive rock, then Tasavallan Presidentti's sophomore effort is one more to add to your stack.

Ownership: LP: 1971 Columbia / EMI (Sweden). Single sleeve and it still has the original EMI audiophile inner. Online acquisition from 2013. Almost 9 years later, I'm finally hearing this copy (and add another decade since I heard the album at all). Because it was released in Sweden, and not Finland nor the UK, it's by far the scarcest of the Tasavallan Presidentti albums. Prior to the LP, I did own the CD (2002 EMI Finland), which offers a nice history (preserved below) and lyrics. No bonus tracks. Just not enough there to keep it.

new entry

xxx

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