Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting – Orosvisor. 2010 Sweden

Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting are a really fantastic new band from Sweden that has completely captured the mood of the anarchic 1970 Scandinavian underground. Long instrumental psychedelic journeys filled with loud acid guitar solos, droning violin and an active rhythm section. The mystical Dark Ages folk of yesteryear provide the basis for the melodies. No doubt Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting absorbed first album Flasket Brinner as a blueprint, and further added touches of the second Kebnekaise and some of the more lucid moments from Algarnas Tradgard. It's exciting to know that there are modern groups out there exploring paths that were stopped way too soon. Orosvisor could be considered a distant cousin to Dungen's debut.

Ownership: LP: 2010 Kommun 2. Single sleeve

12/16/11 (new entry)

The Norman Haines Band - Den of Iniquity. 1971 England

Post-Locomotive British rock from the accomplished keys player Norman Haines. Stylistically very diverse, and it takes awhile to get its sea legs. The title track and When I Come Down are the highlights of the first side. With side 2 we get a splendid near 10 minute jam, that truly catches a groove and allows for some excellent guitar soloing over the tranced out organ-led rhythms. Not lost is the longish electronic oriented piece with fuzz organ and electric piano that closes the album. The bonus tracks demonstrate that Haines' songwriting was to improve greatly, even if geared more towards an overt commercial direction with horns (Daffodil and Autumn Mobile were actually released in 1970). I was reminded of Dave Lawson's work with Web I Spider and Samurai in particular. This album takes a couple of spins to comprehend, but it's post British psych at its best. File next to your Nicholas Greenwood Cold Cuts album.

Ownership: CD: 2011 Esoteric. Jewel case with six bonus tracks, mostly made up of rare singles + excellent liner notes.

I had the French original on Odeon but decided to part with it (2/11/24).

2008; 12/12/11 (new entry)

Ske - 1000 Autunni. 2011 Italy

Ske is the new project from Paolo "Ske" Botta, keyboardist for avant progressive rock band Yugen. It's interesting to note that Ske's album is on AltRock's "symphonic progressive" sub-label Fading. I say interesting, because to my ears, 1000 Autunni fits the avant progressive definition better.

Like some modern groups, Ske seems to have compiled the best parts of what progressive rock has to offer, and reassembles them into a hodge podge of the entire genre. So, in effect, what you get with 1000 Autunni is Progressive Rock Extract. Especially the Canterbury scene, Anglagard influenced Nordic symphonic rock, and angular avant progressive (similar to his other group Yugen).

Is there anything wrong with that? Well no, not in my opinion. It almost guarantees a pleasant listen, though I do find myself hoping for a more individual persona and style to emerge. At the time of this writing, Ske's album is #1 on Gnosis for 2011 (and remains in that position as of Sept 2017), and it's easy to understand why. Though it's almost like a perfect reproduction, rather than an original. Perhaps more listens will reveal more of what I'm looking for and my rating will go up even more. In any case, I can only see Ske improving from here. All things considered, this is a fine debut.

Ownership: CD: 2011 Fading

12/8/11 (new entry)

Frob - s/t. 1976 Germany

High energy jazz rock with fuzz guitar, organ, electric piano, and Moog as the lead instruments. More energetic than Morpheus or Release Music Orchestra for example. A less funky Munju perhaps. Every track smokes, and there's quite a bit of variation in the jams. The guitar work is unreal and I think the raw production helps. Great atmospheric organ too. There are no weak tracks, nor is there anything that particularly stands out. It's remarkably consistent.

CD: 2004 Garden of Delights

Vos Voisins ~ Canada ~ Montreal, Quebec

Vos Voisins (1971)

Vos Voisins is a really good example of heavy organ and blues based progressive rock. This seemed to be a somewhat popular breed of music in Quebec in the early 1970s, and can also be found in other fine groups such as Champignons or Dionysos. Some wonderful fat guitar leads too. High quality French vocals as well. A couple of the tracks are piano lead introspective numbers. Best song, in my opinion, is 'Le Monstre de la Main'.

---5/28/26

Looks like I never covered off on the 45 that was appended as bonus tracks to the CD. The first side is, naturally enough, more commercially pleasing in nature. The second side, however, has some wonderful freaky psychedelic interludes. Worthy of obtaining on its own, I'd submit.

Ownership: 

1971 Polydor (LP). Acquired in 2021. 

2011 ProgQuebec (CD). Features two bonus tracks, liner notes, and photos. Acquired in 2011.

First copy: 1977 Polydor (LP). Acquired in 1994. 

It's a recent revelation that the alternate cover comes from 1977. As the story goes, the original "wanted poster" rendition had to be pulled, due to Polydor not receiving permission from the Allo Police tabloid to use their logo.

1994; 1/20/11 (review); 11/13/11 (update / new entry); 2/11/23; 5/28/26 (update)

Polyphony ~ USA ~ Virginia

Without Introduction (1972)

Polyphony were a complex and intense American progressive rock band from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Without Introduction brings forth an enormous amount of energy. Loud guitar, shredding organ, two hyperactive percussionists, and hazy psychedelic vocals is what you'll find here. ELP's Tarkus suite seems to be the main influence here, with a bit more of that American rough and tough edge, not to mentioned the heavy guitar presence. 'Juggernaut' is the pick of the litter, but the entire 37 minutes is well spent. I've always been a bit surprised this album isn't more revered, as I find it among America's finest progressive rock albums from the early 1970s along with Metaphysical Animation and Ram's Where In Conclusion.

Ownership: 1972 Eleventh Hour (LP)

1993 (first listen); 11//04; 11/12/11 (review); 10/13/16 (update)

Tonton Macoute. 1971 England

Tonton Macoute was the name of Papa Doc Duvalier's private military force in Haiti, loyal to his rule. They brought forth a reign of terror that paralyzed the island state with its systematic violence. With such a menacing moniker, one would presume Tonton Macoute to be a heavy and sinister rock band. Quite the opposite. Their sole album is a proto-progressive jazz rock affair, similar to other UK artists of the day like Raw Material and Diabolus - though more instrumental than either. The album features one brilliant flute driven composition in 'Flying South for the Winter'. Other classic tracks include 'Don't Make Me Cry' and 'Natural High' Parts I and II. Only misstep is 'You Make My Jelly Roll'. 

Ownership: LP: 1971 Neon (Germany). Gatefold. Online acquisition (2024).

CD: 2010 Air Mail (Japan). Papersleeve edition that mimics the original in miniature. 

Former ownership: LP: 2001 Akarma. Gatefold. This was my introduction to the album.

12//01 (first listen); 11/12/11 (review / new entry) 

Toshiaki Yokota and Genshi Kyodotai - Primitive Community. 1971 Japan

Well... here it is. An album only whispered by a few in the know. A Knights Templar secret for the ages. Yesterday, I spoke of Heavyrock's amazing collection. This isn't one he owns. He had to buy a CD-R transfer from a Japanese dealer who was keeping it closely guarded. And it wasn't cheap. And this from someone he buys a lot from! But since the original sells for a few thousand, what are you going to do?

The most prominent member here is Yokota's constant electric guitar companion - Kimio Mizutani. Just the mere mention of Mizutani usually has heads like me scrambling for a listen. There's also a track listing... and it's all originals save one cover - a Beatles instrumental called 'Flying' from their Magical Mystery Tour album. The Beatles, of course, were not known for their instrumentals. A full dissertation on this song can be found here. It's important to note that there are almost no covers, as Yokota had a few pay-the-bills albums like "Exciting Flute" and "Young Young Flute" that are nothing but jazz flute renditions of Bacharach, Simon and Garfunkel, Blood Sweat & Tears, ad nauseum.

So now it's time to pull back the curtain, and display the contents....

I feel like I'm in a Steve Berry novel here...

Toshiaki Yokota and Genshi Kyodotai is at the meeting place of jazz and rock. That exciting time at the turn of the 1970 decade, long before what is commonly referred to as fusion, when the ambition of free jazz met with rock's exciting psychedelic nature. It wasn't important to display Berklee-trained chops, but rather it was about texture, atmosphere and creativity at its most radical. But fortunately it stops short of free jazz's reckless abandon - that point where it's just noise for the sake of noise. There is meaning to every note, instrument and pattern. As well, we get a peek-through-the-bushes look at a Japanese sacrificial ritual as described by the tribal drumming, Hammond organ shards, wordless monk chanting, Yokota's flute and Mizutani's acid fuzz guitar blazing a wah wah trail all to be one with Kami. And that's before we get to the Hare Krishna chorus. An album like this becomes mythical because it is mystical. It's in the same league of sixth dimensioners like Älgarnas Trädgård's Framtiden Är Ett Svävande Skepp, Förankrat I Forntiden, Lula Côrtes e Zé Ramalho's Paêbirú or Pierrot Lunaire's Gudrun. If Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser had heard this band, they would have been signed to the Ohr label on the spot.

This album perfectly fits my idea of a freaky underground album. No, it's not the greatest album of all time. Or even close. But it is the kind that you want to listen to over and over. Because it's fascinating and exhilarating.

CD: 2011 Think

It was only a year ago that this album was a complete unknown - only whispered about in quiet dark corners. An album that costs as much as a down payment on a house. I was fortunate enough to obtain a CD-R copy from my friend Heavyrock, and presented what I believe to be the first ever expose about the album, on the CDRWL. This was followed by more coverage on the internet including Yokota himself - and less than a year later, we have a full blown reissue - in the mini-LP format no less! Think is Disc Union's new jazz oriented label, and they really opened with a whopper! This reissue alone is validation enough for me that the CDRWL was well worth the time to do. The review below is what I wrote last year (with slight variations). Also please see my review of Flute Adventure first. It's worth reading, just to give some slight background on Yokota himself.

Sunlight - Creation of Sunlight. 1968 USA-California

Sunlight's sole album is an excellent example of sunshine pop psych, complete with harmony vocals, flute, organ, and fuzz guitar. The album is frequently compared to the early Strawberry Alarm Clock albums - not an unfair comparison - though not near as consistent overall.

Ownership: CD: 2005 Lion Productions. Jewel case. Contains historical liner notes, and a rare single, of which one of the two songs is unique.

Within collector circles, the band has always been known as Creation of Sunlight. However, according to the liner notes of the CD, the band was called Sunlight and Creation of Sunlight is the album title. Despite being on the quirky Windi label, which was based in Utah, the group were from Long Beach, California. Windi is most famous for releasing the Merkin album.

Watch out for bootlegs of this title as they were numerous prior to Lion's reissue.

1997 (first listen); 10/27/11 (review / new entry); 11/10/19

Mahoujin ~ Japan

Babylonia Suite (1978)

Mahoujin was quite a discovery for Made in Japan back in the early 90s. Probably the best of their archival finds (another title from this series that we recently featured is Round House). Mahoujin are quite simply an instrumental progressive rock band performed by a keyboard trio. It runs the gamut of similarly minded trios starting with the obvious - ELP - and moving on to Trace, Egg, Triumvirat, and even Le Orme. Plenty of polysynths and mellotron to absorb. The music never really takes off, or gets chaotic. However it is highly melodic, and the pace varies enough to hold the attention span in check.

Ownership: 1991 Made in Japan (CD). Insert with liner notes in Japanese. Acquired in 1991.

1991; 10/20/11 (review / new entry); 9/25/26

Dr Tree - s/t. 1976 New Zealand

Dr Tree's sole album is one of the hottest fusion albums of the 1970s. That's a pretty bold statement given the multitude of albums in the genre, but for those that know the album, it remains true. A 6 piece, with dual percussion, fiery guitar, Fender Rhodes, bass and.... trumpet. This latter element adds a unique dimension. And while you may be thinking this will put it in the Miles Davis camp, that wouldn't be right either. This isn't the heavy deep groove of Miles (which would have been fantastic as well), but more like the high energy of prime Return to Forever with trumpet as one of the lead instruments. Obviously plenty of room is also left for the guitarist to shred and the keyboardist to fly. The two percussionist's keep the tunes hopping throughout. Considered by fusion fans as a must own. Just be sure to get the only legit version as discussed above!

As an aside, you may be asking where the period is on Dr(.)? It doesn't appear anywhere on the album, though I do think it is meant to be short for Doctor - rather than just the Dr letters. (see comments for an explanation).

CD: 2007 EMI

If you're looking to obtain this title, be very careful. Most of the versions that are available here in the US are bootlegs, in one case a pirate attempt was released after this legit version. The CD I own is printed by EMI New Zealand and is pretty much a straight reissue, with unique liner notes about the band. Almost assuredly you will need to import this directly from New Zealand.

Rock Workshop - s/t + The Very Last Time. 1970-1971 England

Rock Workshop were yet another early 70s horn rock band, when that sound was all the rage, due to the massive popularity of Blood Sweat & Tears and Chicago. In England you could find other bands in this style like Heaven and Brainchild. Lead by jazz guitarist Ray Russell, Rock Workshop had the pedigree to go far. Musically, the band played both sides of the horn rock spectrum - from blues to jazz. The music never really goes off the rails, rather opting to clearly try to grind out a hit, as Ray Russell grouses about in retrospect in the liner notes. All the same, there are plenty of super tracks found on both albums (including the bonus tracks). Good fuzz bass, acid guitar and advanced horn charts. As readers of my blogs know, I like a good horn rock album - and no doubt Rock Workshop are in the top half of the genre. While I wouldn't call this top tier like the aforementioned Brainchild or Heaven albums, Rock Workshop is a fine example of the UK brass rock style. The bonus tracks on The Very Last Time are awesome, showing the band at their most raw and progressive, and thus the more recommended of the two CDs.

CD (Rock Workshop): 2002 Angel Air
CD (The Very Last Time): 2004 Angel Air

Each CD features copious bonus tracks, band written liner notes, previously unreleased photos. Excellent reissues. These were released on a high profile label like Angel Air, no doubt due to the fact that the leader of Rock Workshop was none other than relatively famous jazz guitarist Ray Russell's band.

Surgery - Übermorgen. 1980 Germany

Yet another unknown German fusion album from the late 70s and early 80s. File along with the "German M" groups like Moira, Mosaik, Munju, Missus Beastly and Morpheus. Some pretty hot psychedelic guitar, especially on the first side. Superb unison melodies with the sax and electric piano. Can get to be a bit breezy on Side 2, though some of it reminded me of Ash Ra's Correlations in the guitar work oddly enough. A Latin jazz vibe pervades. Very good representation of the style.

CD: 2010 Garden of Delights

The CD features 10 bonus tracks, history, and photos.

Sithonia - Confine. 1995 Italy

On the Spettacolo Annullato review, I mentioned that it would be interesting to hear that album with a more modern (and analog) recording. In some ways Confine is that album. Not quite what I would expect from a band today, but at least this effort from 1995 has more heft than its predecessor. Especially surrounding the guitar sound, which when in riffing mode, at least gives off a whiff of true heavy metal. Make no mistake, Sithonia aren't a progressive metal band, but at least if they're going to use a heavier tone, give it a little muscle - and they did. The keyboards are still digital, but are somehow mixed a little further back and the sound is a bit better as a result. On the down side, I don't think Giovannini's vocal performance is as inspired as on Spettacolo Annullato, and the compositions aren't as memorable or as deep. There is no question they manage to capture the spirit of the best themes from their past though it doesn't quite hold as well together. 

Former ownership: CD: 1995 Mellow. Jewel case. Lyric booklet with photos. They probably should have tried for better artwork.

1//96 (acquired); 10/12/11 (review / new entry); 9/10/24 (update)

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).

Jettison Slinky - Dank Side of the Morn. 1999 USA-California

Jettison Slinky, a 10 piece ensemble lead by keyboardist Graham Connah, were another interesting band coming from the fruitful 1990s San Francisco Bay Area scene. There's a strong Canterbury melodic sense throughout, and the heavy guitars, keyboards, and dual female vocalists point to an obvious affinity for National Health. It's almost shocking to me that an American band can pull off this most distinctly English style of rock music. One of the ladies on the album is none other than Jewlia Eisenberg, leader of the Klezmer inspired band Charming Hostess, and a darling of the Avant Progressive fan base. Trombone and clarinet add a unique palette. Beyond the Canterbury references, there's also a distinct mid-1960s Brill Building campy/sweetness going on with the melodic jingles recalling perhaps a mix of the Rascal Reporters and Stereolab. And I'm also hearing characteristics of U Totem, where the density of the compositions become a bit hard to penetrate. On the album's closer 'Eternal Dalmation', Jettison Slinky begins to experiment with avant-garde deconstruction which is an unnecessary and disappointing conclusion to an otherwise very satisfying album.

Ownership: CD: 1999 Evander

10/11/11 (new entry); 8/19/15

Kollektiv ~ Germany

Kollektiv (1973)

Kollektiv's album on Brain is one of those Krautrock gems that few paid attention to until recent times. Generally panned by the underground rock community as "jazz", this is squarely in what is now known as "Kraut fusion" and had it been on the MPS label (which it should have been probably), would be even more sought after by those into "rare groove". Loads of flute, electric sax, driving bass, scattered rhythms, and that all-important fuzz guitar is never too far away. The missing link between Xhol Caravan and the late 70's fusion movement in Germany (Mosaik, Cry Freedom, Morpheus, Katamaran, Munju, etc...). Essential.

Ownership: 

1973 Brain (LP). Gatefold cover with a gimmix insert attached on the inside portion, that was to be used as a game to mix variations on words like Pop, Rock, and Jazz. My copy has been cut like most (carefully and very nicely done), so at least I can play the game. An unperforated sheet goes for two to three times the price. Acquired in 1989.

2007 Long Hair (CD) Booklet liner notes, photos, and four long bonus tracks. Acquired in 2008.

1989; 2008; 2010; 10/11/11 (review); 9/2/18

Also own: SWF-Sessions Volume 5; Live 1973

10/11/11 (new entry)

Sithonia - Spettacolo Annullato. 1992 Italy

Spettacolo Annullato is Sithonia's sophomore effort and is a huge leap in quality from their good-not-great debut.

In some ways, the band succeeds despite itself. The guitarist plays in that annoying pseudo-metal riffing style, stopping just short of actually being balls-out metal (which would be far more preferable actually), with plenty of pig squeal guitar leads to send everyone racing from the room covering their ears. Worse are the digital keyboards, a set of plastic wonders that A Flock of Seagulls most assuredly would enjoy playing.

With that bit of grime out of the way, let's focus on why the album works. Primarily it's the compositions themselves, which are incredibly well thought-out while constantly on the move, in that classic early 1970's Italian style. There is quite a bit of thematic development as driven by the fantastic acoustic piano work, and the melodies are in your mind long after the music has stopped. With the right editing, and other factors, some of these songs could have been major label radio hits. But perhaps best of all is new vocalist Marco Giovannini's performance. What an outstanding impassioned display he gives here - some of the finest from the Italian progressive rock scene.

I rarely vote for re-recordings, but I would love to hear Sithonia record this album with a instrument setup of all analog gear and perhaps a bit more crispness during the recording. It should prove to be a masterpiece.

Ownership: CD: 1992 Mellow. Jewel case

1992; 10/9/11

Odissea - s/t. 1973 Italy

The other progressive rock band on RiFi, the label most known for bringing Circus 2000 to the world. Odissea is generally considered a second or third tier Italian progressive work, but I disagree. All the elements of classic Italo-prog are at play here, minus some of the more overt instrumental gymnastics of their peers. The song structures and atmosphere all point to the classic 1973 sound. The gruff and husky vocals recall Jumbo, and I find them highly appealing and very much of their era. I'm not prone to use terms like underrated, but I think this is one case that does apply. The implication is that Odissea are a "soft prog rock" band, but this is by no means a lame singer-songwriter album, and there are plenty of heavy progressive rock moments to be found.

LP: 1973 RiFi
CD: 2011 Belle Antique
CD: 1989 Vinyl Magic

This was one of the very first albums I bought on CD without owning the LP first - and according to my database I've owned it since 1990. I like the scan from RYM (shown here), because it is indeed true that almost all original copies suffer from lamination "crinkling".

2012 update: Finally obtained an original, one that I very much wanted to own.

Heru Avenger - New Aeon + Magique Mistress. 1998-1999 USA-California

Here's an an odd little band that crept out of Orange County, California in the late 1990s. Even in 1998, no one was talking about Heru Avenger. If Greg Walker didn't send me a copy to check out, I probably would never have heard of them - even today. I listened to New Aeon a couple of times, liked it - filed it - forgot about it. An all too common problem when one is in constant accumulation mode, something I fortunately stopped doing a decade ago. And I never bothered to check out the second Heru Avenger until recently, and Greg still has copies - so I bought one!

Heru Avenger is the brainchild of one John Basil, an interesting cat who even managed to get a local article written about him. He's obviously a very interesting guy. In addition, he's a hardcore vinyl, video and literature collector as documented here.

Both albums are remarkably similar, and thus I lumped them together. Basically this is psychedelic chill out music. For the psychedelic, we get loads of fuzz guitar, sequencer based electronics, sax (on Magique Mistress) and real drums. For the chill out, the albums keep a constant low key and steady pace, in a jazz sort of way - like a classic early 70s Miles Davis deep groove. There are no dynamics or compositional aspects to speak of. It's pretty much long space rock jams - all the time. Definitely good background club music - except instead of synthesized techno beats - it's all organic analog rock music. If chill out music existed in 1974, then this is what it would have sounded like. The OC Weekly, in the article quoted above, nails it perfectly by stating: "The first Initiates release was 1998's New Aeon, recorded as Heru Avenger with drummer Craig Teigen of LA's Afrobeat Down. The four epic tracks evoke Hawkwind at their most cosmic and expansive, with hints of the disciplined, improvisational funk of Miles Davis' On the Corner and Get Up With It. Heru Avenger's next release, Magique Mistress (1999), contains marathon, cyclical Afrobeat funk jams with spidery, fluid Michael Karoli-esque guitar and some Agharta/Pangaea spectral jazz ambience, inducing an awestruck stasis."

Ownership: CD (New Aeon): 1998 Initiates International

Former ownership: CD (Magique Mistress): 1999 Initiates International

One of these is enough. Keeping the debut.

1999 (first listen); 10/4/11 (review / new entry); 5/9/24; 10/14/24