Xhol - Motherf*ckers GMBH & Co KG. 1972 Germany

One year after Electrip, the band changed their name to simply Xhol to avoid confusion with the more famous British band. Their followup, Motherf*ckers GMBH & Co. KG, demonstrates the band's total defiance towards anything resembling standard convention. The album was shelved and not released until 1972 (by the legendary underground Ohr label), hence the "2 Years Old" written across the cover. Immediately the listener will note that Xhol had clearly moved away from their fusion roots to a more challenging avant-garde electronic approach. The highlight for me is the haunting 16 1/2 minute combined compositions of 'Orgel Solo' & 'Side 1 First Day', which could've just as easily been on Tangerine Dream's groundbreaking Electronic Meditation album. In fact, much of this album has the feel of the true Krautrock underground, one that successfully mixes avant-garde electronic structures with the psychedelic rock sounds and energy of the era. The primary instruments here are flute and organ, with plenty of hand percussion thrown in. Overall, it's a psychedelic feast! The odd tune out is the 13 minute insane version of 'Love Potion 25', not exactly what one would call a cover tune of the old classic!

Ownership: LP: 1972 Ohr. Picked up the LP online in the 1999/2000 time frame. Single sleeve that leaves much to be desired. Sold the basic Spalax CD, as it didn't offer anything new.

3/23/01 (Gnosis) 

Mahagon - Mahagon / Slunečnice Pro Vincenta Van Gogha. 1978 Czech Republic

I've said this before, but some of the best albums I've yet to appreciate, already sit in my collection. I've had Mahagon's debut for many years, going back to finding an original LP in Denver in the 90s. While I've always enjoyed the contents, I'm not sure I could offer up much more than it's a fine fusion album. But this +2 listen confirmed that it belongs in the brilliant column. This is exactly the kind of jazz fusion I really enjoy. There's a funk factor, a bit of horn rock, and some sultry female vocals - in Czech of course, adding that much more of an exotic flair. 

The CD is the way to go here, as it starts out with 2 pre-album 45s from 1976. Both of these are very obscure - expensive / not for sale on Discogs and not listed in RYM - and demonstrate a harder rocking brassier version of Mahagon. This is followed by one more obscure track before launching into the album proper. As with most Eastern European albums, the CD demonstrates a quality production that was diminished by the poor Supraphon pressing.

Then another single is presented along with a solo effort from singer Zdema Adamova. One can tell the band is moving into commercial rock waters, but it's still quite good. The second full album from 1980 is titled Slunečnice Pro Vincenta Van Gogha, and they really lost the plot here. The music is mostly vapid pop and they've completely lost their edge. Fine for bonus material though, as the CD affords.

Ownership: CD: 2009 Indies Happy Trails. Contains many liner notes (in Czech) and photos. Purchased new online upon release.

Haikara. 1972 Finland

Haikara's debut is an intense work, almost a Finnish version of Van der Graaf Generator. From a strictly academic perspective, Haikara scores top marks. But to be honest, the music isn't very memorable, and I always struggle to put a few words together about it. In fact it's been a week since I last heard it and yet its contents escape me for the most part. No question it's an essential addition to any Nordic prog rock collection. Perhaps over time the compositions will penetrate. Though in 22 years of owning it, that has yet to happen. I think it would require multiple listening attempts, preferably back to back to back. 

Ownership: CD: 1998 Fazer. A straightforward, but otherwise fine reissue. It's going to have to do, as the original is unattainable. Strangely enough, I'm not a fan of the fantasy cover. Typically I enjoy covers such as these, but this one is somewhat creepy to me. In a bad way. Picked up this CD online new when first released.

Morpheus ~ Germany

Rabenteuer (1976)

Morpheus were formed from a band called Opossum. The latter has one archival album out that I've reported on somewhere in this blog, but essentially it's a very loose kind of jazz rock, where improvisation is valued over composition. Morpheus is a reaction to Opossum. That is to say, Rabenteuer is all about the composition at the expense of letting their hair fly. And for me, I had considered this album somewhat stilted on initial impact. I bought the CD upon release, as the album had a wildly great reputation and was prohibitively expensive. It didn't live up to my expectation. I filed it away dutifully for a revisit that came way later than expected. 22 years later, a more measured study - like the album itself - yielded better results. In context of when it was released - 1976 Germany - it fits the sound of the times well. And while a wild psychedelic solo wouldn't have hurt, the approach the band takes is to be admired and enjoyed. And the compositions are uniformly good. It does feature a lengthy track, and the CD adds a 20 minute jam. But don't expect fireworks. Overall, much better than my memory would have it.

Ownership: 1998 Garden of Delights (CD). Includes the aforementioned bonus tracks and plenty of photographs. The liner notes are a bit light for a GoD release, but they weren't as thorough in the early days of the label. Acquired in 1998.

1998; 11/5/20 (review / new entry)

Blind Illusion - The Sane Asylum. 1988 USA-California

Blind Illusion were yet another Bay Area metal band who featured two members that later were to form Primus. The Sane Asylum is an album I bought upon release based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews, promising a highly creative thrash metal effort. At the time it did not click with me, and a few years later I parted with it. Recently I had another opportunity to pick an original up at a reasonable cost, and this time I'm enjoying considerably more. So what was the original problem and why is it more appealing now? It's the production - or lack thereof. It's incredibly thin, and you really have to crank up the stereo to get any kind of impact. In 1988 I would have been looking for more crunch and heaviness. Today that isn't as important as the compositions themselves, which really are wildly all over the place - within each song. I've always enjoyed this era of late 80s metal when bands were making it up as they went along. Controlled chaos. Still, this is no prog album and there's no question of its metal heritage, but the impact is diminished by its production.

Ownership: LP: 1988 Combat. Recent online acquisition.

LP Roundups

In what has to be the craziest thing I've done yet -  I'm buying mainstream, garden variety LPs. In some cases replacing the CD's.... that originally replaced the LPs!

Why would I do that? Well partly because I'm insane. But the other reason is more prosaic - I'm already out there digging for obscurities, rarities, unknowns (and God forbid, something for my collection) - so I might as well grab the regular rock albums as well. They usually sell well, so if I don't like it, they move quickly. They only replace the CDs that are also commodities,  not the ones that have great liner notes and bonus tracks (in those cases, it's a supplement). Many times, these LPs are in nicer condition than what I sold off some 25 years ago. I didn't originally take care of my collection when I was a kid. That all came later in high school and early college. And especially later on.

Looking for a place to jot down some notes for me to reference. Not everything I will keep, and that will be obvious from my notes. Most of you will know the music I'm referring to, so it's just one more idiot's opinion that you can read at your leisure. Perhaps a dose of humor will be included.

Timmy Thomas - Why Can't We Live Together. 1972 USA-Florida

Now this has to be the damnedest album I've picked up in some time. Marvin Gaye... brings along Jimmy Smith on organ... with a drum machine... and plays the music of Sade... in 1972. And that's just the first track. Talk about an album that you have to keep listening to. Twilight Zone stuff here.

Ownership: LP: 1972 Glades. Gotta love thrift shops. This one came from one in Wyoming. Yea.

McChurch Soundroom - Delusion. 1971 Switzerland

One of the most prized Krautrock albums from a collector's standpoint. McChurch Soundroom were one of the early albums on Pilz, before the label became a bastion of Germanic folk psych. You won't find a more dedicated and enthusiastic fan of classic 70's Krautrock than moi, but even for a biased cheerleader like me, this album has to rank as a slight disappointment. In the end, it's pretty much basic UK styled heavy rock, with some flute and a few progressive rock moves. Rather generic overall, and certainly puzzling how it's gained such a lofty reputation.

Former ownership: LP: 2015 Ohrwaschl. Online purchase (2020). Straight up reproduction of the original gatefold with a xerox of the original Pilz hype sheet. 

Originals are super expensive, and the most sought after original LP on the legendary Pilz label. It was never reissued on LP by Pop Import like most Pilz albums in the 1980s were. Ohrwaschl owns the reissue market here and the album is basically in production.  Nowadays you can get the LP in your favorite color, presumably to match with your latest Smart Phone. Ay-yi-yi. 

1997; 11/12/16 (review); 9/25/20 (update new entry)

Far East Family Band - Parallel World. 1976 Japan

While Germany is most known for being at the forefront of electronic psychedelic music, Japan certainly had its share of cosmic travelers. One of the best of these groups was Far East Family Band, a band who would gain some stature throughout the world during the latter part of the 1970s. 

Klaus Schulze was one such luminary to be attracted by this large Japanese ensemble. Helping produce their early albums (the first two albums are very similar, the latter of which was re-recorded and sung in English, and other slight variations), Schulze saw an opportunity to promote cosmic rock all over the globe. However, I always felt the debut album/successor tried too hard to be the next Dark Side of the Moon. The instrumental bits are great only to be ruined by sensitive pop ballads - not Far East Family Band's strong suit I'm afraid.

But it all came together on Parallel World. Focusing on their instrumental cosmic sound and pretty much foregoing the pop commercial-oriented songs, the six-piece Far East Family Band unleashed a gem that easily could have found itself on the Kosmische Kouriers label. In fact, the recording comes closest to sounding like the first Cosmic Jokers album with more focus given to the whooshing synthesizers than the guitars (Schulze's influence?). As one can guess, the two keyboard players are featured most prominently, and it's hard to imagine that Far East Family Band actually had two guitarists as well!

The album opens with 'Metempsychosis' (Arzachel anyone?) which is a tribal drum and synthesizer atmospheric backdrop piece that sets the stage for 'Entering' which contains some intense fuzz bass and a ripping guitar sequence among the 12 minutes of keyboard ecstasy. Brilliant, and this is the finest track Far East Family Band has ever recorded! 'Kokoro', thankfully, is a short psych ballad. This is the sort of piece their first albums featured, so one can get a brief whiff of this style. The side long closing title track sounds like a long-lost Galactic Supermarket recording and aptly finishes a masterwork of cosmic progressive space rock.

Ownership: CD: 2009 Super Fuji. Purchased new online upon release. Fine mini-LP with the first press cover and original poster. One has to be very careful when looking for reissues of this title. There are only 2 legitimate presses that exist, as I write this. There are numerous pirate editions, so be careful!

3/3/01 (Gnosis) 

Le Orme ~ Italy

Verita Nascoste (1976)

---3/11/01

After the disappointing commercial effort Smogmagica, Verita Nascoste is a nice return to form for Le Orme. Having acquired a full time guitarist for the previous effort, Le Orme had a new sound to experiment with. Not that Le Orme do much with it. On the contrary, the guitar seems to only add color and little else. By now, Le Orme are completely a song-based rock band, though more complex than their American contemporaries. This quality is displayed clearly on Verita Nascoste, where Le Orme's unique style makes for an overall enjoyable listening experience. 'In Ottobre' is an excellent example of how Le Orme could incorporate their progressive era sound into a tight commercial style rock framework. Throughout, Aldo Tagliapietra's voice is as wonderful as ever. There's even some nice violins on the pensive title track. While not as essential as their classic progressive rock albums, Verita Nascoste is a very pleasant listen, and a fine addition to the Le Orme catalog.

---9/21/20 update

I have to say on this revisit, the album continues to improve to my ears. And I don't say that about many albums anymore.

Ownership: 1976 Philips (LP). Gatefold. Acquired in 1989.

5/27/89 (acquired); 3/11/01 (review); 9/21/20 (update)

Collage (1971)

In the late 1960's, Le Orme were one of the few Italian bands to attempt an American styled psychedelic music, and the results varied from high quality original compositions to trite mimicry. By 1971, Le Orme had changed directions to the new music movement sweeping Italy: Progressive rock. Collage, Le Orme's first progressive album and third overall, is a stripped-down affair with only organ, piano, bass, and drums. The exception is the opening title track which could be considered the bridge between their psych and prog composition styles. This track has a kitchen-sink mentality and features an orchestra, pseudo-baroque motifs, and some trendy of the era moves. The next piece however, 'Era Inverno', is the beginning of the classic Le Orme sound. Aldo Tagliapietra's instantly recognizable alto voice opens the song and then is followed by Tony Pagliuca's fabulous organ and the energetic drumming of Michi dei Rossi. Of all the songs found on Collage, this one would be the model for the future. The amazing 'Cemento Armato' follows. Le Orme has never been known for being a jam band, but this eight-minute organ trio number is one of the greatest of its kind. Blistering organ work and the rhythm section of Aldo and Michi are as hot here as anywhere to be found in their entire canon. Another highlight can be found on 'Evasione Totale', an experimental organ jazz rock piece with heavy echoed keyboards and groovy rhythms. Overall, Collage is Le Orme's most energetic, raw, and experimental album. As such, this album tends to be overlooked by those awed by their more polished follow-up efforts. Fans of heavy organ rock, as more commonly found in Germany, will likely adore Collage.

Ownership:

1971 Philips (LP). Gatefold. Acquired in 2009.

2004 Philips Japan (CD). Papersleeve gatefold. Acquired in 2005.

First copy: 1990 Philips (CD). Acquired in 1996.

10//96 (acquired); 3/11/01 (review); 2//05; 4/22/20 (update)

Felona e Sorona (1973)

Le Orme's fifth release (and 3rd progressive album), Felona e Sorona, is generally considered their masterwork. The album is progressive rock by the numbers: 1) A heady concept with fantasy lyrics; 2) One long composition broken into nine subsections; 3) Keyboards galore featuring Mini-Moog, Mellotron and the familiar organ. The "formula" track as found on Collage has now been turned into an album length exercise. Going about it in this way, Le Orme came up with a fail-proof album that stills satisfies today. While it would be easy to pass off Felona e Sorona as a typical pretentious progressive rock album typical of the day, few deliver the goods as well as Le Orme. As with any ambitious project such as this, there is plenty for the listener to sink their teeth into. Many dynamic changes between the singer-songwriter tendencies of Aldo Tagliapietra and the bombastic keyboards of Tony Pagliuca. However what possibly keeps Felona E Sorona from the top echelon is the lack of allowing creativity and experimentation into the mix, so it appears most of the album seems restricted by an unspoken protocol. Exceptions to this are the eerie 'Attesa Inerte' and the ambitious closer 'Ritorno al Nulla', both reminiscent of the Uomo di Pezza balance of soft composition, jazzy grooves, and heavy rock. Overall, another classic Le Orme album and a must own for fans of Italian progressive rock.

Ownership: 

1973 Philips (LP). Gatefold. Acquired in 1999.

1973 Charisma (LP). Gatefold. English language version. Acquired in 1988.

2//88; 1996; 2//99; 3/11/01 (review); 7/15/19 (update)

Uomo di Pezza (1972)

Uomo di Pezza, Le Orme's fourth album and second progressive rock era release, opens appropriately enough with an organ prelude quickly joined by a complex and heavy rhythm section. Silence begets a piano melody and then Aldo Tagliapetra's beautiful voice enters. The model found on Collage has been rediscovered and exploited.

So with that, Uomo di Pezza is ostensibly going to be a more sophisticated affair. As well, concerning instrumentation, Le Orme becomes more diverse. Here they add more acoustic guitar to the mix and the organ isn't as prominent as the newly acquired Mini-Moog. Gone are the jams and the reckless abandon found on Collage, to be replaced by more angular and thought-out creative music. 'La Porta Chiusa' is the perfect example of the new and improved Le Orme. A thundering bass and drum layer is offset by a Moog dial turn (as in turning the radio from soft to loud). Aldo then begins to sing softly, but somewhat eerily, only to find counterpoint with a thunderous organ, Moog, bass, and drum maelstrom. For pure songwriting, 'Figure di Cartone' and 'Aspettando L'Alba' are brilliant examples of melancholic beauty, especially the latter (which would've been the perfect soundtrack to an arty Italian film). Aldo's emotional voice is perfect for this kind of style and unfortunately they were unable to capture this magic on their later, more commercial, efforts. The album closes with the raucous instrumental 'Alienazione', perhaps the only acknowledgement of their previous history with heavy psych rock, via their opus Collage.

What separates Uomo di Pezza from the other albums in their canon is the perfect balance between the raw heaviness found on the predecessor - with the more uppity aspirations of pretension to be heard on their next opus. A true classic and, for me, Le Orme's finest work.

Ownership: 

1972 Philips (LP). Gatefold. Orange peel textured gatefold. "A" Catalog. Acquired in 1996.

2001 Philips (CD). Papersleeve gatefold with orange peel textured cover. Acquired in 2003.

First copy: 1987 Philips (LP). Acquired in 1988.

1//88; 1996; 3/11/01 (review); 11/4/18 (update); 12/18/22

Other albums I own: Contrappunti; In Concerto; Storia O Leggenda

11/4/18 (new entry)

Le Stelle di Mario Schifano - Dedicato A... 1967 Italy

As noted below, yet another 20+ year delay in hearing an album. My score was pretty high on this one, so I expected to lower it as my tastes have changed on items such as this. Not at all! I still enjoy the side long freakout, though I found myself admiring more the second side, which contains some fine psychedelic pop tracks with excellent melodies. Groundbreaking album in so many ways, especially for Italy.

Ownership: LP: 1999 Akarma. Originals are famously expensive, a true 4 figure rarity. This is one of those albums where I bought the CD (Mellow) and shortly thereafter picked up the LP (2000?) - likely at Amoeba in San Francisco - mainly for the cover. Wow - glad I did. What an amazing package this is to behold (original libretto; liner notes). I never heard the LP copy until this past week. Sounded great to me. By most accounts, this one falls into their legit release category.




.

Maquina - Why? 1970 Spain

Maquina represent the earliest forays into psychedelic music for Spain, similar to fellow countrymen Cerebrum. Coming from Barcelona, their Catalan roots look north to France for inspiration, and one can hear snippets of Les Goths, Omega Plus, Dickens, even the Chico Magnetic Band. The album opens with its gem 'I Believe', a beautiful piano led piece, with a gorgeous melody and some wicked fuzz. The 2 part, 25 minute title track is a loose jam for the most part, and the length takes quite a bit out of its bite. Had this been consolidated into 10 minutes, it would have been a marvel. Again, it's hard to look past the psychedelic guitar here, as he's definitely in "fire" mode most of the time. It's a short album, and even worse, it's short on ideas. On the plus side, when it does fire on all cylinders, the album is sublime. And for the historical record, that is 1970 Spain, it's quite an extraordinary accomplishment.

Ownership: LP: 2004 Wah Wah. Recent online acquisition. Super reissue with a poster, full liner notes (in Spanish and English), and great sound. This replaces the CD on PDI that was the source of the original entry.

6/6/18

UMR week of Sep 20

And then.... he went silent.

Many moving parts in the last month. Sure, there was the usual work issues. It was a great month for my career, so no complaints. My efforts contributed directly to the news in the last 2 weeks. If you know who I work for, and you Google the company, then it will become apparent what I've been doing. 

Then there was the jury duty saga. Oh boy, is that a story. It only lasted one day, but it was this close to lasting 3 months to a year! That would have been the end of me.

And then finally, I've been reassessing my collection in depth. Primarily the CDs. Just too much here, and it's time to start letting go. I love my CD collection, but there's too much dead weight. And there's no more space. Contrarily, the LP collection continues to grow. Always looking for that "best" copy as well.

Anyway, threw out a couple of unknowns here for you to learn about, that I had prepared a month ago. There's so many great 45s I have to share with you all, and I will be getting back to that shortly.  The unknown blog will be kicking off soon too. And the collection cleanup project has been nonstop - so lots to report there as well.

I probably will go back to adding as I go, and dropping the weekly format. I'll keep these rambling free-associating notes going though...

See ya soon.

Niacin - Time Crunch. 2001 USA

Interesting to hear Time Crunch immediately after Love Cry Want. Niacin has many of the same qualities in terms of sound, but Time Crunch is a far more focused effort. The advantage of coming along later and learning from other's mistakes I suppose. Perhaps not as experimental nor raw for some fans, but I prefer this actually. Niacin are a fairly well know band - at least in the world I usually reside, and this is the first album I've heard by them. An interesting response to the guitar fronted trio, as the trusty Hammond B3 proves up to the challenge of maintaining interest throughout. Don't know if I need a lot more of this, but certainly Time Crunch is a fine representative for my personal collection.

As an aside, I recently ran into a psych single that organist John Novello (native of Erie, Pennsylvania) was a part of. The band was called Symon Grace & The Tuesday Blues. From that I learned he later formed a prog group named C.J. Brie in the early 70s based on Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Not sure if any recordings survived. Would be most interesting to hear.

Ownership: CD: 2001 Magna Carta. Got this in a bulk buy last year, which I forgot all about. Just now digging into the stack.

Ouba ~ Canada ~ Montreal, Quebec

"Freak Out" Total (1968)

With a subtitle of Freak Out Total, and the promise of a psychedelic instrumental tour-de-force, Ouba can only rate as a disappointment. Which is not the same thing as saying it isn't any good. For the time and place, it's a pretty fascinating record. Basically a rambling jam with organ, guitar, and a busy drummer (who manages to get in a four minute drum solo on a 26 minute album). There were a handful of these loose psychedelic groups out  there in the late 60s and early 70s, many of them tied to the sound library industry. Ugly Custard, Blue Phantom, Hungry Wolf, The Free Pop Electronic Concept, and Roland Kovac Set are but a few examples. But while those groups managed to break up their premise-of-songs, Ouba goes with one theme for the duration. In some ways it recalls Maquina's 'Why' instrumental, or even Beat of the Earth - but without the gravitas the latter brings. So a lot of groups to digest here, and Ouba is in that mix. Don't expect anything revelatory though.

Former ownership: 2001 Gear Fab (CD). Lengthy liner notes and interviews. Acquired in 2002. Downsized in 2026.

2002; 9/3/16; 8/13/20 (review / new entry)

Blessed End ~ USA ~ Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Movin' On (1971)

Ah, Blessed End. Hoo boy, was this album ever hyped back in the catalog daze of the late 1980s. The ultimate bar band at the edge of the Twilight Zone, if I recall right. There's always been this fascination, I think, with American bands trying to make a go of it - any possible way they could. Especially lounge crooners crossing over to then modern forms of rock, in particular psychedelic. One could put Damon in this category honestly. But for every Damon, there's a Blessed End, or worse, Arcesia. In reading the liner notes, the band members call out various influences, including progressive rock (namely Yes - which is absurd if Movin' On is the end result of that). So when I finally got a chance to hear it some ten years later, I just sat there quietly and mumbled "huh?"

In retrospect, it's actually not a bad album. It very much has all the charm of being in a dive bar in Philadelphia, without dealing with the additional smell and drunken patrons. The vintage instrumentation deployed would be considered old for 1966 much less 1971. The lead singer croons in baritone, on top of the creaky organ, thus leading to the inevitable Doors comparisons, which are ultimately inaccurate.

Basically Blessed End appeals to a certain type of collector, one that isn't that far removed from what I like myself - but this is far too straight-laced to truly embrace. It's not the wonderful freaky underground, but rather the desperate need to get noticed. For those who call it a masterpiece, they are of a different mindset than myself. But is it good? Yea, I'll cop to that.

Ownership: 1998 Gear Fab (CD). Booklet with liner notes, lyrics, and photos. Acquired in 1998.

1998; 2/26/15; 8/13/20 (review / new entry); 6/18/26

ExCubus - Lagauchetière. 2011 Canada-Quebec

Incubus were a prog band from Canada during the early part of the 1970s. Some 35 years later they reformed and issued their recorded - but unreleased tracks - plus new recordings of older compositions. They changed their name to ExCubus to avoid confusion with another, more famous, Incubus. The reunion was a success, so they went forward with a new album. I have not heard their "debut" but dived right in with this sophomore effort a few years back.

I'm not going to have a lot to say about the music here (do I ever?). It's a strange phenomenon sometimes on when and where we hear something. For whatever reason, my initial reaction to this album was lukewarm. A revisit proved enlightening and added +2 to the score - and a place in the collection. It's pretty much tried and true progressive rock without a lot of surprises or jaw dropping moments, but the compositions are well written, and the performances and sound are excellent. Pity they stopped here just as they were getting going.

Ownership: CD: 2011 ProgQuebec. Nice new album jewel case layout.

Svarte Pan - Nattvandring. 2000 Sweden

Following up on my ExCubus review, here's another that found its way into a drawer marked "to sell". Hmmm... how about one more listen? And like ExCubus, I had another +2 moment (mind you I'm weeding out albums in my collection at a fairly healthy clip (and not reported here on UMR), so it's not the best environment to be successful - I just have too many CDs of the same type). I've said this before, but it seems every hard rock band from Sweden is trying to be the next November, a relatively obscure early 70s outfit that defines the movement for many musicians back at home. The problem here is that most bands from Sweden cannot eliminate modern influences - if even they are trying to. So what most of the hard rock bands from Sweden I've heard sound like are November meets... Stoner. Yeeuckk. I just cannot absorb that style no matter how hard I try. There's a pattern, and what seems like unbendable rules, to stoner music. The part that sounds like November is the lyrics are in Swedish - and that's about it.

For whatever reason, I think I was predetermined to put Svarte Pan in that bucket. But that's not right. These guys really do make a sincere attempt at a 70s Swedish hard rock sound. Language plays a key role, as does the analog production. It's a bit heavier and meatier than November, but that's not a problem at all. Certainly it's not metal though. Albums like this are going to only draw a certain kind of fan, and it's understandable why it rates lower (and probably sold less) than other bands who did embrace more modern sounds and techniques. Naturally I have to be the oddball. Story of my life.

Ownership: CD: 2004 Ant Nest. Not sure why they reissued this title as it never was really out of print or hard to find. Ah, I just remembered I'm the one who added it to Discogs. In any case, I picked this up in a bulk buy about 5 years ago, and it just now found its way into the collection.

Anacrusa - El Sacrificio. 1978 Argentina

Prior to this release, Anacrusa had primarily been an acoustic Andean folk group. After relocating to France they added many electric instruments to great effect, especially guitar. Some of these tracks had appeared on prior albums in acoustic form, including their masterpiece 'Los Capiangos'. El Sacrificio is arguably their finest album.

Ownership: LP: 1978 Philips (France); CD: 2003 Rayuela. The LP comes in a fine gatefold cover that I've owned since the mid 90s. I've never been entirely sure that the Rayuela reissues are legit. They certainly don't have the markings of a legit release in any case (no provenance, or liner notes). On the plus side, the Rayuela reissue does include as a bonus track 'Los Capiangos' from their 1976 Global album. This version of the song is my favorite and features a completely surprising - and beautiful - Moog solo in the middle of an acoustic album. I wish for a better reissue, but they must include this bonus track! (doesn't look like the Acqua version does - though that would be difficult to do legally given they are on different labels).

On the Raw - Climbing the Air. 2019 Spain

Modern albums who make a claim to jazz fusion usually don't interest me much these days. But On the Raw play a type of instrumental progressive rock with jazz fusion influences. It's interesting that I had just digested the Scope albums again via the new CD reissues, as On the Raw takes a similar approach. They used to call this music "Euro Rock" back in the late 70s and 80s. The compositions have a focus on melody as well as complexity. On the Raw are a full five piece including saxophone and flute, along with some guests on trumpet, violin, and female vocals, so the palette set is varied. While certainly a retro mindset prevails, and the instrumentation is decidedly from a past era, the album doesn't really sound like it's from the 70s. I'm scrambling to come up with a modern band that has traversed the same territory as On the Raw has done here. It rocks harder than fellow countrymen Herba d'Hameli for example. Maybe the debut album by Ingranaggi della Valle is a good guidepost. Sure, we're in obscuroland, but that's where On the Raw resides.

Ownership: CD: 2019 Redphone. Nice digipak with cool industrial photography in the booklet.

8/6/20 (new entry)