Nu - A Golpe de Latigo. 1979 Spain

Ñu's sophomore effort A Golpe de Látigo sees the band streamlining their sound further, as the music here is heavier and more compact than their stunning debut. All the same, Ñu is still very much a progressive rock band with Jose Carlos Molina continuing to sport a mean flute, and the violin touches have yet to disappear. But for 1979, this is an incredibly heavy album. The raw proto-metal guitar sound, and the Halford-esque en Español shrieks of Molina, all have a passing resemblance to same era Judas Priest. So imagine perhaps Ian Anderson walking into the studio for the Hell Bent for Leather sessions, while contributing to the songwriting - and after listening to a Bloque album perhaps - and you have an idea of what Ñu has accomplished here. Groundbreaking stuff.

Ownership: LP: 1980 Chapa Discos. Gatefold. Online acquisition from 2020. According to Discogs, the version I have is one year later from the original. My first copy was the Zafiro CD (1991) but offers nothing else, and I decided to move it out. 

11/4/16 (RYM)

Dionysos - Le Grand Jeu. 1970 Canada-Quebec

Along with Franck Dervieux, Dionysos' first two albums have to be considered Quebec's most pioneering progressive rock works. They mixed psych, electric blues rock, and long track progressive compositions to create some wholly original music for the time and place. Their debut Le Grand Jeu is simply one of the heaviest albums to ever emerge from Le Belle Province. Wicked heavy guitar and some fine Hammond organ define this most auspicious debut. The tracks are lengthy and they put the extra time to good use by adding various musical ideas throughout, with the odd interspersed jam keeping it fresh. They also use the local French language, something that wasn't yet in vogue in Quebec at the time. Apparently 'Suzie''s got the blues, and she got 'em real bad. So I'd just leave her back and let her deal with it - and focus on the rest of the great tunes!

Ownership: LP: 1970 Jupiter. Gatefold

Was reissued as part of a 5 CD box set from Return to Analog in 2022.

7/3/09; 9/14/18 (new entry)

Rag i Ryggen. 1975 Sweden

Råg i Ryggen's sole album is a great representation of that perfect meeting place between progressive and hard rock. The instrumentation is pure fat analog, with organ, mini-moog, woody bass, loud electric guitar, and powerful vocals. Early 70s Uriah Heep would seem to be the main influence here, along with a good dose of Deep Purple and even fellow countrymen Trettioariaga Kriget. And on the folk based instrumental 'Spångaforsens brus', Kebnekaise rises to the fore. The lyrics are a mix of Swedish and English, though surprisingly there's no downturn in quality when utilizing the latter, as would be normally the case. I think those that dig bands like Blakulla and Saga (post November band), will find plenty to enjoy here. Easy recommendation for genre fans.

Ownership: LP: 1975 Rondo. The original comes in a very fragile thin single cover and is likely to have wear (as does mine). Recent online purchase from Sweden (2018).

CD: 2005 Transubstans. Typically great reissue from Transubstans with informative liner notes, photos, and good sound. There's also 3 bonus tracks, two from 1975, and the last from 1976 called 'Land Over the Rainbow', and it sounds very similar to the album proper. The sound quality on these are OK, given they appear to be an audience recording.

1/30/07; 10/13/17 (new entry); 11/21/18 (LP acquisition)

Karmic Society - Journey. 2007 Germany

Karmic Society are a new, primarily instrumental German band who have a sound somewhere between the early 1970s German/British heavy prog rock sound (2066 and Then, Odin) combined with some 1960s jam band elements (Grateful Dead, QMS), and even some Kraut space rock similar to Ohr-era Guru Guru. Nice to see the high quality reissue label World in Sound beginning to produce some fine new talent in addition to their excellent reissue inventory. Journey opens with a fascinating cover of an obscure mid 1960s synthesizer composition, though with a full sounding rock band (organ, guitar, bass, and drums). From here they launch into their 4 original compositions, which are easily the highlights of the album. Hammond organ and electric lead guitar are the solo instruments of choice, and to my ears at least, they sound like the best of the retro hard prog rock groups like Black Bonzo, Blood of the Sun, and the Wicked Minds. One aspect of Karmic Society’s sound that I find highly appealing is their strong melodic sense, something that is lost on many newer bands. The final 3rd of the disc comprise of all covers. 'Yoo Doo Right', the old Malcolm Mooney era Can chestnut gets a much needed upgrade, and I find Karmic Society’s version considerably better and more focused (and frankly less annoying). Quicksilver’s 'Witches Moon' is up next, and Karmic Society are up to the task with a riveting version. They close with the Dead’s 'Dark Star', which if nothing else takes a lot of guts. There are literally thousands of live versions of this opus (by the Dead themselves of course), many of them masterpieces in their own right. They’re stomping on sacred ground here, and perhaps it would be better not to try an attempt, even if they do indeed produce a fine version I must say. An excellent album from a band we never heard from again.

Personal collection
CD: 2007 World in Sound

Last listen: May 9, 2017

Mammoth Volume - A Single Book of Songs. 2001 Sweden

As a rule I don't have much appreciation for the "stoner" genre. I appreciate the sounds, but after awhile, the premise becomes worn out and boredom ensues. Those vocals and those fuzz guitar sounds. Sometimes I'll hear about a "progressive stoner album", which is some type of oxymoron I believe. A Single Book of Songs is a progressive stoner album. It does exist after all. And the organ sounds are straight out of an American 60s garage. Flute and bells? This is one strange album, that's for sure. Not strange in the NWW list kind of strange, mind you.

I bought this CD not long after it was released, since it was advertised as a "progressive stoner band". Gullible as always, I bit. 15+ years later it's time to sell it right? I like it better now than then. Hmmm.

Ownership: CD: 2001 The Music Cartel. Comes in a cardboard digi-pak with recording details. Hasn't been released on vinyl to date.

5/3/17 (new entry)

Epitaph - s/t. 1971 Germany

Epitaph were a German heavy rock band, typical of the 1971 genre, with a UK vocalist in tow which is always a plus (if persisting with the English language that is). 'Moving to the Country' starts the album off somewhat inauspiciously with that sort of breezy rural rock which dragged down their more famous later album Outside the Law. 'Visions' switches gears radically. Basically a symphonic ballad with a tremendous amount of mellotron. After this, Epitaph go for the "long form" track with extensive stretches of guitar jamming, which is certainly their forte. 'Little Maggie' gives us a "head fake" that it's going to be another rural affair, before tossing the composition aside so they can get down to the business of jamming. Arguably the album ends at its apex with 'Early Morning'. An excellent debut by an otherwise mediocre band that deteriorated as they went on. Though the followups Stop, Look, Listen and Outside the Law are quite good as well.

Personal collection
LP: 1971 Polydor
CD: 2005 Polydor/Universal

The Polydor/Universal CD comes in a fine digi-pak and features 5 bonus tracks that are quite good in their own right and make an excellent supplement to the album proper.

Ave Rock. 1974 Argentina

Understanding the poor sound quality, as mentioned below, plays a major role in one's appreciation of Ave Rock's debut. My opinion has flip-flopped over the years, and I'm now of the mindset that this is a very fine progressive rock album. As with many records from Argentina, the style of music recalls the 1970s Italian scene, which makes sense given their ancestry. Imagine heavy organ rock like Uriah Heep and Deep Purple that is suddenly tipped on its head with all sorts of crazy rhythms, counterpoint, melodic dissonance, and general madness. Bands like Triade, Alphataurus, and L'Uovo di Colombo all come to mind here. And with the good comes the bad, which includes the whiny singer-songwriter bits and the straight up rock and roll segments. But that's the music of the early 70s Italian era - and the music here on Ave Rock's debut. I highly recommend you listen to this with headphones, and focus intently through the grime of the original recording. Casual listening will leave a negative impression.

Ownership: LP: 2019 Svart (Finland). Gatefold. Recent online acquisition (2022). Fine reissue that replicates the original cover, with an additional insert of liner notes, not particularly that in-depth. The sound is not very much improved from the CD (see below), so that was disappointing. Also they goofed up on the "obi" strip. For gatefolds, you either keep it open ended or it fits on the front panel. Here they put it over both panels so you can't open it lol. Fortunately it slides off easily. They caught their mistake for Espacios.

This LP replaces the CD on PRW (Brazil), which is of good quality, typical of the label, with photos, lyrics, and a nice layout. However the sound is not good at all. It's taken from a noisy LP - and if I had to guess - it probably was a minty copy too. I've never owned the original but I have to suspect, based on personal experience, that it doesn't sound very good. And this tells us the masters are probably long lost.  My first copy to own was on the LP on Marcoumar. The packaging was very well done, but of course the sound was no better (sourced from the CD I'm sure). And then I found out it was a pirate edition and ditched it to auction a few years ago. 

12//9; 1/18/15 (new entry); 8/4/22 (LP upgrade)

Pandora - Sempre e Ovunque Oltre il Sogno. 2011 Italy

If the debut implied that Pandora would rather be classified "heavy progressive" versus "progressive metal", then their sophomore effort Sempre e Ovunque Oltre il Sogno concludes the argument. While the metal tones haven't been completely eliminated, they have been diminished significantly, and their primary role is as an accent instrument to demonstrate power (and from my vantage point, that seems to be how metal works best in the progressive field anyway). Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, and Mellotron all guest star in this full featured Italian film. At this point, Pandora are paying homage to their forefathers from 40 years prior, with long tracks, constantly shifting meters and dynamics, and the random capriciousness expected of the genre. I did catch one direct rip from Genesis that I couldn't find credited, and I'm sure that was an oversight on their part.

Ownership: CD: 2011 BTF/AMS

6/28/14 (new entry)

Ñu - Cuentos de Ayer y de Hoy. 1978 Spain

Jose Carlos Molinas is the charismatic leader of Ñu and he employs a unique dramatic vocal style and also plays a mean flute. Heavy guitar (bordering the early 80s heavy metal style) and violin round out the major components of their sound. Ñu are generally compared to Jethro Tull, but I don’t hear it myself. As we know, any time aggressive rock is mixed with flute, you’ll get that reference. In some places Ñu is like a proto Deus Ex Machina, especially when you compare Molinas' histrionic singing with Alberto Piras' style. The last two tracks 'El Juglar' and 'Paraiso de Flautas' are extended complex compositions with copious flute and violin.

Ownership: LP: 1978 Chapa Discos. Gatefold. Online acquisition (2011).

CD: 1992 Crime (Japan). Jewel case. Features one bonus track, taken from a 45.

1993; 5/20/12 (new entry); 7/19/19

I Teoremi – s/t. 1972 Italy

I Teoremi was one of the few early 1970s Italian progressive rock albums that I didn't care for initially. I bought the first CD as soon as it came out (Vinyl Magic), and ditched it immediately. But that was my mistake. I Teoremi is more of a guitar based hard rock album, with elements of progressive rock - mostly found in the shifting rhythms and overall atmosphere. In this way, I Teoremi is more like the first two Il Rovescio della Medaglia albums, or perhaps even Osage Tribe. This shift in mindset allowed me to approach the album differently, and with a whole new appreciation for what it is.

CD: 2011 Belle Antique (Japan)
CD: 1993 Vinyl Magic

Originals on Polaris are insanely rare and expensive. The Belle Antique mini-LP perfectly represents the album in miniature. Well I presume so anyway, not that I've actually seen a real original. The CD features a textured gatefold cover with an inner flip over the vinyl entrance area. It's hard to appreciate the beauty of the cover with the scan provided (taken from the CD and a bit better resolution than what I've typically seen).

Polestar 1 ~ USA ~ Baltimore, Maryland

Flying Thru the Universe (1980)

Polestar 1 were a Baltimore based heavy progressive rock band that in many ways reflect the same standards and sound as their Midwest brethren close by. There's a certain directness from America's premier political region, and you hear it in bands such as The Muffins, Oho, Heavy the World, Mars Everywhere, and Id's Where are We Going. The latter two groups in particular seem to have parallels with Polestar 1, especially the cosmic themes, vocal styling and guitar-centered space rock nature of the recordings. Like the Midwest groups, the playing is compact but complex.

Ownership: 1980 Rascal (LP)

No reissues as I update this post (2/21/25)

3/29/11 (review / new entry)