Edition Spéciale - Aliquante {France} [1977]

Hi PnF ! For my first contribution, I wished share with you Edition Spéciale's first album.

Aliquante proposes us a colourful music, goes out of typically French progressive jazz, quite at the same moment virtuoso and warm. Soloists and rhythmic musicians form a quite harmonious and terribly effective here to give life to a remarkable progressive ' seventies '.

Embarked on an indescribable rhythmic complexity, Edition Spéciale still improved its set for "Aliquante", a term particularly well adapted to this album because Mister Larousse explains it in his dictionary by " Whom is not contained an exact number of time in a whole ". A whole program! Digging between funk, be-bop, Brazilian music and rock, Edition Spéciale made for this time equal set with Weather Report and the other Return To Forever, except for the means. And placed us seven original tracks among which impressive "Vedra", "So Deep Inside", " La Ville En Béton " or " Alone Completely Unknown ", called to become very quickly classical authors of the French rock of seventies … In this faithful republication, Musea adds by way of bonus the models of "Camara" and "Aurore", two title that we shall find later on "Horizon Digital", the third and ultimate album of Edition Spéciale, an album which the messin label of will miss to propose us in a future who, hope, will turn out close. In the meantime, "Aliquante" will fill lovers of sophisticated and intoxicating musics … Magnificent!

Tracklist:
01/ Vedra
02/ A la source du rêve
03/ So deep inside
04/ Le temps d'un solo
05/ La ville en béton
06/ La fille du ruisseau
07/ Alone, completely unknown

Mosaïc - Ultimatum[1978]{France}(Zeuhl)

Listening exclusively to Mozart and Haydn, wonderful though they are, won't give you much of a handle on what Charles Rosen is on about in The Classical Style; there's more to Romantic opera than Verdi and Wagner, and bebop didn't conveniently die out when Charlie Parker did. Take progressive rock, for instance (and that must be one of the most spectacularly stupid monikers ever dreamt up) – if you find yourself having to teach a class in the subject one day and need just one album to illustrate the instrumental aspect of the genre, you could do no better than Ultimatum, recorded in a studio just south of Paris in 1978 by the group Mosaic (the brothers Brebion – Hubert and Yves – on drums and keyboards respectively, with Jean-Yves Escoffier on guitar and synths and Philippe Lemongne on bass and synths). All the prog trademark elements are there: the earnest and never-resolving augmented triads and self-consciously clever polyrhythmic riffing of the so-called Canterbury school (not to mention The Mothers of Invention), in yer face guitar embroidery à la Holdsworth / Beck, skittery showcase drumming (Wyatt, Bruford, Vander..), not too many vocals to speak of (does "Le torero d'alu I,II,III, IV" actually count as a song? As far as the bawling on "Mercenaire" goes, the less said the better..) but what there are come straight outta Henry Cow. There are also the obligatory doses of silliness (the garbled phone messages of "Rue Tabaga") and weirdness (the queasy strings of "Souvenirs, souvenirs"), and to top it all off – Meidad Zaharia has that obsessive record collector's passion for ultra-rare and preferably unreleased material – lots of bonuses: three tracks recorded as a demo in 1977, with a certain Valentin Bontchev on violin (very good he is too), one live take and a home studio job called "Spoutnik" from 1976. Unless you're a real prog nut, it's highly unlikely you'll have heard Ultimatum – it was released in an edition of 500 and only 200 copies of the three-track demo Cuvée 77 were made, on cassette only – but Bontchev's solo on "Bonjour Docteur" (forget Ponty and Lockwood!) is one of several reasons why you should.(http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/monthly2004/12dec_text.html)

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Lard Free Discography {France} (Avantgarde) (kindly submitted by Jeff)

Hello Prog Not Frog

here is my first contribution: all LARD FREE albums @ 320 Bps + Scans.

LARD FREE - Avant Garde (France). The name of the group is a joke cause it is pronounced in French as it was "L'Art Free" which means "The Free Art". LARD FREE was a bit the project of Gilbert Hartman much the same way that HELDON was Richard Pinhas's project. Both groups hold many common points namely highly experimental but yet accessible music that can be likened to Krautrock, a good understanding of minimalist music such as TERRY RILEY, constant personnel changes and the same musical influences namely CAN, ENO and Robert FRIPP. Both Pinhas and Hartman collaborated on each other's albums. LARD FREE's eponymous debut album is full of great spacey rock with searing guitars, superb drumming and great sax and bass playing. The follow-up "I'm Around Midnight" veered more towards electronics spacey layers sounding even more like they would come from the other the Rhine River. The last album called III but also known as "Spirale Malax" is yet even more Krautrock sounding and can be likened to some of the best TANGERINE DREAM albums of that era. Recently Spalax Records released a fourth album called "Unnamed" that was recorded well prior to the debut album around 71 & 72. It shows the band in yet another totally different mood this time close to RIO. Some real explicit moments and the music slaps you musically around a few times before you understand what is happening to you. Although all albums are different from each other, all are warmly recommended if you are into some adventurous mood for discovering experimental prog.

Enjoy !Peace & Love, Jeff

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thank you Jeff :)

Fates Warning "A Pleasant Shade Of Gray" {USA}[1997]

well... this is the first post after some problems we have as a blog,i dont want to analyse how i feel or write something about that,also i dont want to write anything about this beautifull album or add a preview from a site etc...enjoy this album as i'm doing for almost ten years

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Donovan's Brain "Carelessly Restored Art" {USA - UK}[1998]

Donovan's Brain. Featured on my favourite band's website "MAN". I have like a TON of MAN. I think Spunkrocker gave me the rip (Another MAN fanatic). OK MAn had only 2 or 3 Progressive Rock albums with many Rock releases - They are still a brilliant Prog Rock band - Back Into The Future - Be Good To Yourself (At Least Once A Day) - Man - 2 Ounces Of Plastic (without A Hole In teh Middle) - Do You Like It Here Now (Are You Settling In Alright?) - Rhinos Whinos And Lunatics - Revelation - Well I could go on - But I believe ALL the above are ESSENTIAL albums. They are a head and shoulders above crass acts like Yes (who I cannot understand why they caught so much attention).

Oh yes - this is about Donovan's Brain = Ken Whaley and Richard Treece - Great guys (whom I have met) - Doubt they remember me.

LINK - http://www.manband.co.uk/CDs/rest_art.htm.

This is just Psych excellence - I have a review from http://www.i94bar.com/reviews/donovansbrain.html and am copying it here so you have no need to go there.

Some qualifying remarks: Psych is not high rotation at the I-94 Bar. We mostly prefer our drinks shaken vigorously, not stirred. In his younger days The Barman spent considerably more time at parties rolling around on the floor of the garage than hanging in the kitchen, mixing up mushroom omlettes. Plus, the quality of psychedelic bands in I-94 Bar home turf in the last decade or so wasn't that high (even if The Moffs were a Citadel signing). So if it's not namechecked on "Nuggets" it has to be something special to merit much airplay here. That said, these two discs have spent considerable time in the CD player lately, expanding the aural boundaries and freaking out Dr Zachary Smith, the resident Burmese cat.Donovan's Brain is the vehicle for singer-guitarist-keyboardist-producer Ron Sanchez, a well-travelled musical adventurer who grew up on the West Coast seeing, and hanging out with, the likes of the Flamin' Groovies, Chocolate Watch Band, Jefferson Airplane and Love. He now runs a radio program and recording studio in Bozeman, Montana (an isolated place by most people's standards) and visiting collaborators include people as diverse as Ken Stringfellow (of the Posies, who guests on "Carelessly Restored Art") and Scott McCaughey (REM alumni). Both The Nomads and Deniz Tek have recorded or mixed material at Ron's Gods Little Ear Acre (GLEA), the former putting down tracks for a forthcoming single and the latter doing re-mixes of the Passengers demos for a forthcoming release. The "Carelessly Restored Art" band is a floating cast of 15 musicians and much of it is drawn from a rock opera "Shambolic", while "Eclipse and Debris" was put down over a two-year period with a more settled configuration. Vocals are shared by Sanchez, Dave Walker, Paul Rose et al.
Donovan's Brain recall late 60s English psych of Pink Floyd (prior to the genre's defining points becoming laser light shows and inflatable pigs) but with firmer garage foundations. "Carelessly restored..." sprawls in parts, but in a way that draws you back. The guitar playing's exemplary. Stand-out cuts: The chiming trip and martial beat of "50,000,000 Years Before My Time" (also the single), the fuzzed-up drone of "Heavy Water" and the Beatle-esque "Tad's New Cymbal Stand" (reprised to good effect in a different form on the second album.)
I have a feeling guitarist Richard Treece was a big contributor to the way "Eclipse..." sounds. There's a contemporary feel to many of the tracks that sits well with all the sonic weirdness this crew collectively plucks out of the Montana air. The "creeping fear guitars" are well-named in the atmospheric "Central Services", "Moon Shines (Story of the Sticks)" recalls early Died Pretty (with Brett Myers on vocals) and the guitars are positively Stones-like (circa "Exile on Main Street") on "Underdose". The sound concoction on "Helium Eraser Bends" wouldn't be out of place on a '60s sci-fi soundtrack while "Tell Me" is a lesson in distorto-dynamics for that whole generation of SubPop would-be's.There's another album on its way to the plant as you read this (GetHip's release schedule being as it is, you might wait a while to see it on sale, so hunt down these two).

Tracks:
01 50,000,000 Years Before My Time
02 Kew Observatory
03 Everything I Know Is Wrong
04 Tad's New Cymbal Stand
05 Heavy Water
06 Dandelions Are Back
07 Holly Green
08 Anna Lee Page
09 Follow The Shining Path
09 Smothered In Hugs
10 Make A Noise Quietly

@192 with Scans.

If I had a preview option I would send Heavy Water.

Upload-Speed: 5.78 KB/Sec, 162.4 minutes remaining.

yes some of the albums here uploaded more than 2.5 hours and when you add the reviews,tagging,pictures covers that sometimes makes 4 hours work..the one who visits the site have ability to delete the links in seconds..and the one who visits the site also ability to download albums in minutes..

My deleter friend i love you as i love all the people.

But the pity thing is some albums downloaded here more than 900 times without even 1 comment in time..At the beginning i knew what i am doing..A place to come together with peaceful melodies from all over the world and add something progressive inside. This is Prognotfrog. Visitors had a chance to taste music maybe more than 50 countries till now. The strange thing: hits shows daily 3-5000 visitors but maybe 3 or 4 comments daily..and most of the comments like: "No scans again!!" "This is 128k.dont download this!! (although it is in different bitrate or really hard to find album)" "This released in other blog!!" "F*ck You!!"..... No none of us collecting "thank you" bonuses here..it wont add a statue,money,charisma etc and none care this kind of things in here.. but the thing we were expecting is: this place be a place more than a downloading area..so that people can comment about what he/she think about the band..what he listened as similar artists..what she felt..maybe have some knowledge about the band..maybe he was searching the album for a long time....

Many good things happened too..i made some good friends with this site..some of the artists send their work to contrubute..some of them find us..some of the friends share the experiences with us..

however i am tired at the moment.. as i said at the beginning i knew what i am doing..but now i feel strange to the thing that i am doing.. it will be better for me to rest for a while.

So be well, stay in love.

Kevin Coyne & Achim Goettert "Opera For Syd"

Kevin Coyne has always had my respect. This is a very different outing for him.

Yes they do Floyd cuts and the Jazz Sax hits the trail real well, but I doubt if Syd would have loved it as we do.

Closer to Beefheart than Floyd this wonderful concert is exceptional for it's strange beats and interesting Jazz - Prog sounds with some exceptional solos too.

I realise that I have almost a complete collection of KC. And have been adding some of the Siren recordings recently - I assure you every song is worth a listen, I cannot express the joy (As a Kevin Coyne fan) That I have when listening - I just warn off the people thinking it has a lot to do with Syd. Introductions are in German and I do not speak - Kevin was BIG in Germany and ought to have been BIGGER in his native country - Good on you guys out there in Germany who supported him.

A 192 sampled content that came to me from Borlando - Thank YOU - This is one of my favourite Kevin Coyne recordings. Sorry I have had no time to support this place as I am back at work and it SUCKS - Both my time and my uploading options.

Skywhale - The World At The Mind End{UK}[1977]

The best way to describe this is progressive fusion rock. An all instrumental affair with songs in the 7 minute range played with the highest energy I've ever seen. These guys never let up: soloing after soloing, each time with a different instrument taking the stage. There is violin, flute, guitar, keys and the usual bass guitar and drums. It's instrumental progressive rock, but it does not sound like Camel, it is fusion, but it is not like Mahavishnu or Return to Forever. It is aggressive (in a good way) with constant time changes and high, high energy. It doesn't take too long for these guys to get in high gear: as soon as the needle hits the wax, they are up and running and with maximum speed(taken from gnosis)



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Laurent Thibault - ''Mais on ne Peut pas Rever Tout le Temps''{France}[1979](Avant-garde)

Laurent Thibault, producer, sound engineer, and Magma's first bass player, composed and recorded this solo album in 1978. He called on his musician friends to assemble an impressive group: Francis Moze (ex-Magma and Gong) on bass, Dominique Bouvier (ex-Transit Express and Rose) on drums, Amanda Parsons (ex-Hatfield and the North) and Lisa Bois (ex-Magma) on vocals, David Rose on violin, Jacqueline Thibault (his wife) on keyboards, Lionel Ledissez (ex-Ergo Sum) on vocals, and Richard Raux (ex-Magma) on sax.
Mais On Ne Peut Pas Rever Tout Le Temps is an all-instrumental work by the French artist, who combines the rhythm and symphonic style of Magma with a more refined approach, resulting in a work that alternates between quiet passages a la Asia Minor and the like, to full interludes with energetic percussion and chants that invoke the memory of Magma. This was originally released in 1979, and displayed a variety of musical influences from around the world, including Arabia, India, and Africa mingled with natural sounds, reminding at times of the Eno/Byrne collaboration, My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts.

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Pink Floyd - "We Did It For You" {UK} [1973]

Pink Floyd - We Did It For You (tour'73)

01. Cysta
02. Sweet Country
03. Tesa

Three long tracks composed and arraged by tour '73. Thanks Chris & Stavros for this one !


Link is in comments.........

Footch Kapoot - "Good Clean Fun" {USA} [1978] (Psych Prog Rock)

Another musical gem which somehow or other managed to completely bypass the musical scene of its time, only to languish undiscovered in the vaults of obscurity until now. Released on the Cornball label in 1978, Footch Kapoot (a silly name, admittedly, but don't let that deter you) this is an album of whimsical eccentricity which defies musical categorisation. From the opening bars of 'Don's Mom's Green Boiled Ham' you just sense you're in for something very different and every subsequent track simply confirms one's first impression. All six band members are virtuosos of their own chosen instrument, with several showing their multi-instrumental skills with consummate ease. The album rocks at times, then leans back and gives us a soft shoe shuffle a la Leon Redbone's 'Walking Stick.' There's incredible honky-tonk piano, crazy clarinet made stranger by the use of a reed modulator which gives the instrument a sound the likes of which the human ear has seldom, if ever, heard. The slide and lead guitars are slick and effortless, the drumming tight as it comes, and harmonies that just blend together into one angelic voice.

Don's Mom's Green Boiled Ham..
Sleepy Time Day..

Cardboard Village - "Sea Change" {USA} [1971] (Psych Folk)

Trio from Boston area, male/female vocals, great playing throughout. Songs include 'Too Many Footprints in the Sand.' Originally released back in 1973, this has become a big ticket original. I am sorry i couldnt find a good review, Thanks to my friend Cassandra to let me know about this band. Till i have it, i like to listen with pleasure. A true treasure for lovers of this type.

Go Back Blues..

Ouba - "Ouba" {Canada} [1968] (Psych Rock)

More than anything psychedelic (or North American, for that matter) from the era, Ouba sounds like something off the German Krautrock scene, perhaps Can without the structural discipline or the wealth of ideas. The lack of discipline is, more than anything, a matter of the recording's genesis. A1 Freak Out Total, as the title alone implies, was an off-the-cuff, in-studio, freak-out jam, a vamp on certain riffs and (especially) rhythms to which the music frequently returns like organizational motifs, rather than anything remotely resembling songs. On top of that, the four culprits -- all friends and outstanding instrumentalists but all members of different combos on the Quebec, Montreal rock scene -- were admittedly stoned on various illicit substances when the music was set down. The resulting clamor was recorded straight-through, live, and with no editing, overdubs, or extraneous mixing. Although there are two tracks on the record, it is really just two halves of a single freeform studio experiment, not really even meant for outside ears. But although there are quite a number of meandering, nonsensical, or plain painful-to-hear moments throughout said jam, there are also a good many amazing, isolated sections, especially when superb drummer Andy Shorter and guitarist Michael Pagliaro hit upon a funky groove like something off Tago Mago or Ege Bamyasi. Electronic artists could have a field day extracting excellent samples from this music (especially on the rhythmic end). As a pure listening experience, however, it's somewhat less a holy grail. Still, with only a couple extant copies floating around, the original LP is one of the most ridiculously rare Canadian psych pressings. And although it is certainly not worth mortgaging the house over, fans of rare or obscure acid rock should find the Gear Fab reissue a blessing. More fussy or fastidious listeners, on the other hand, can sleep easily without feeling the need to splurge for even the CD. ~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

Premiere Partie..

Ellufant - "Release Concert" {Netherlands} [1972] (Psych Prog Rock)

Ellufant's Release Concert has to be one of the weirdest Dutch obscurities, belonging less to the symphonic-influenced group of bands that would come later in the 70s and more to the psychedelic underground where bands like Ahora Mazda, Dennis and Ame Son reside. For 1972, Release Concert is a pretty dated album, with those late 60s organ and super wahed/fuzzed out guitar tones rambling on improvisationally. Ellufant mixed up this run of the mill, Iron Butterfly-like jamming by altering their tones, substantially at times, sometimes creating noises that sound like they originated from electronic equipment of years later. While some of these improvisations are occasionally interesting, they don't hold up too much over a full-length album, particularly because the music backing up the tonal manipulation varies very little. Surely, Soft Machine was an influence here at least in terms of the keyboards, although Ellufant don't have close to their level of chops. Not really a whole lot to say - plenty of reverb, mostly unexciting jamming, with only a bit of weird tone-tweaking to make it a bit better than average. Some obscurities were meant to be.(Mike McLatchey@Gnosis)

Ubiquinon..

R.M. Tocak - "R.M. Tocak" {Yugoslavia} [1976] (Hard Rock)

The one and the only 70's solo effort from the SMAK's guitar player, Radomir "Tocak" Mihajlovic is very similar in style and sound with the SMAK's albums from the same era. A very nice, emotional bluesy progressive rock. Musicianship is very good, actually is almost on the same level as usual SMAK setup. There are loads of interesting ideas here ("Modifans"), rocking moments ("Svrabez") and a nice diversity of styles, including some Mihajlovic's experimentation using drum sticks on his Fender Stratocaster.

This album, although it is an instrument-oriented one, is as very intimate reflection of author's state of mind - it was made in the year when Tocak's father died. So we have here a perfect blend of - let's say - Santana-style blues, Robert Wyatt's introspection and DEEP PURPLE rocking, all spiced up with LEB I SOL-like style of fusioning Balkan folk with rock music.

The tracks vary in the quality, but there are no weak songs on the album. Perhaps the highlight of the album is the opening track itself ("Oro"), because it's one of the first efforts in rock music to blend rock with Balkans' irregular time signatures in a very particular form of a dance called oro. Radomir's guitar really rocks here, and it's quit difficult to follow the song, since it's written in 11/8+11/8+11/8+14/8 !

The weakest point of the album is the sound itself. It's...well...bad. Sound production is very seventies and very raw, but both in the bad way. The instruments sounds distant, and one can get an impression that they tried to get sophisticated sound out of the raw material, and at the end of the day you have great instrument interplays, but all muffled and emphasised in the audio mid-range. Pity. I'm not sure if this issue has ever been re-publish onto digital format, and if so, I hope someone skillful did a good remastering.

This is very good album (design and inner sleeve of a LP are nice too) with no bad songs, but it's not a masterpiece. Chronologically, it fits perfectly in the era, both from the genre's and the band's point of view.

A decent record, but try a few SMAK albums first.(progarchives)

Aria Daimond..

Grupo Agua - "Transparencia" {Chile} [1977] (Psych Folk)

There has always been a faint and difficult-to-describe difference between the musical projects that become well-known and the ones which doesn't, and it isn't just about quality. Sometimes, the band has an already famous spreader (see the example of The Velvet Underground), a good marketing campaign (as it happens so often nowadays) or even a little bit of luck (as is the case of The Sonics, Nick Drake and another infinty of artists that achieved a good number of fans decades after their disband). The popularization of internet has shown to be the best friend of the members of this third group, because it made much easier the search for obscure bands from all around the world. Since than, the term "world music" is used with regularity when people are talking about musical genres that cannot be search anywere but in a particular region of the globe.

And, more than any other kind of bands, there are those which have been forgotten by the world. If not for some old vinyls, it is impossible to find any trace of their existance. Usually, it happens with mediocre, not-creative groups. But there are some rare cases when relative good, unlucky bands, suffer from this same disease. Those bands never had any kind of re-issue, and the remaining copys of their records are sold from a collector to another. Grupo Água is surely one of them. ...read more here

tRansparencia..

Mariza Koch - "Arambas" {Greece} [1971] (Psych Folk Rock)

In this record traditional songs are recorded for the first time with the accompaniment of electric instruments.Mariza Koch says: "i started recording with the desire to keep step with the progress of our time carrying inside me experiences,that affiliate straightly with the traditional songs,so I made an effort to perform traditional songs in a modern way.

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21.Peron - "21.Peron " {Turkey} [1975] (Prog Rock)

For my friend Lisa :)

...The Izmir College band was started in 1970 highly influenced by Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and even performed Tommy at some schoolshows back in 1972. They won the Milliyet contest in 1973 with a self written tune. After that the group members changed, (due to graduating), included a viola player and renamed their group into '21.Peron'. Their influences expanded and included Zappa, Genesis and Gentle Giant, with still sympathy for the Anadolu rock which they continued to develop. In 1974 they did a progrock jingle for a national radio show by Ümit Tunçag who supported jazz and progressive music. By 1975 they moved to an instrumental style of music with some Yes and Genesis influences, which was respected but hard to understand for the (Turkish) public. At that time they recorded 5 tracks themselves, but it was impossible to find a label to release this. Although Erkin at that time gave examples of oriental psychedelic heavy metal, and sometimes he played very Jimmy Hendrix-like, bands with Cem Karaca had even performed symphonic rock, Büyükburç had its hard rock band, and also Selda, and Edip Akbayram performed their own heavy folkrock style. There were bands like Oksijen, Tehlikeli Maddle and Tank, with a hard edged inventive style. Not many of such recordings ever made it onto record. More "experimental" or progressive music from small groups outside the Altin Mikrofon contest and... read more here

AnNe..

Enjoy!

Mu "Compilation" "Disk 1 - California 1971-1972" "Disk 2 - Hawaii 1974" {USA} [70's] (Psych)

A Merrel Fankhauser band that I prefer to love due to the Jeff Cotton days (aka Jeff Cotton of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band).

Disk 1 is great (lots of Jeff Cotton influences) 12 tracks of brilliance that hold beats similar to the Beef himself (imho Cpt Beefheart is the most inventive musician ever). I would say that Disk 1 of this is an Essential for anyone interested in Psych music.

Disk 2 however loses Cotton and (although ok) is not what I would call essential. By this time Mu had become more of a Merrel Fankhauser project and I am not truly a fan of his (although I have all the recorded works of his that I know of).
I remember my friend at school having an album Lemurian Legends and cannot find any references to this at all on the www so if anyone knows anything about the Lemurian Legends album I will be grateful. Hi "Tab" if you are out there and looking here - Thanks for all the sounds back then when we were 17 or 18.
We were at the Brinkburn Grammar School in England (oops - I forgot - This is about Mu - Not my checkered past).

Disc 1 (with Cotton)
01. Ain't No Blues
02. Ballad Of Brother Lew
03. Blue Form
04. Interlude
05. Nobody Wants To Shine
06. Eternal Thirst
07. Too Naked For Demetrius
08. Mumbella Baye Tu La
09. The Clouds Went That Way
10. You've Been Here Before
11. One More Day
12. On Our Way To Hana

Disc 2 (Merrel)
01. The Land Of Mu
02. Make A Joyful Noise
03. Haleakala
04. Blue Jay Blue
05. Showering Rain
06. I Saw Your Photograph
07. It's Love That Sings The Song
08. You And I
09. Calling From A Star
10. Waiting For The Sun
11. Children Of The Rainbow
12. Who Will Write This Song
13. Daybreak Sunshine
14. Drink From The Fountain
15. The Love We Bare
16. In Mu
17. You're Not The Only One
18. End Of An Era
19. Earth News Interview
20. The Awakening

Peter Lewis with David West "Live In Bremen" {USA}[2003](Rock)

Back in the sixties Peter Lewis played in the band Moby Grape and they did some great (Psych Based) Rock music.

This is an interesting event which apparently almost never happened. http://www.taxim.com/items/tx2071.htm

A totally acoustic set where Peter Lewis plays many old songs from the Moby days.

The official CD has 18 tracks but that missed out a part of the concert. Here you will find the complete 27 tracks played at that event.


Official track list is as follows:
01. Journey to the Crossroads (Peter Lewis) 4:18
02. If You Can’t Learn From My Mistakes (Peter Lewis) 2:59
03. Fate Full of Shadows (Peter Lewis) 3:49
04. In Between the Lines (Peter Lewis) 4:51
05. Little Dreamer (Peter Lewis) 3:38
06. Right Before My Eyes (Peter Lewis) 4:26
07. Beyond the Storm (Peter Lewis) 3:51
08. Set You Free This Time (Gene Clark) 3:35
09. When You Walk in the Room (Sharon Lee Myers) 2:59
10. It’s Late (Dorsey Burnette) 2:25
11. Pictures of the Past (Peter Lewis) 3:31
12. Murder in My Heart for the Judge (Jerry A. Miller Jr./Donald J. Stevenson) 5:20
13. Black Moon (Peter Lewis) 3:05
14. Johnny’s Garden (Stephen Stills) 4:02
15. Just the Way Things Are (Peter Lewis) 3:53
16. If Life Was Just A Game (Peter Lewis) 5:41
17. In This Place (Peter Lewis) 3:09
18. He (Peter Lewis) 4:40

Our version adds
02. Motorcycle Irene (Skip Spence) 2:24
04. Hey Grandma (Jerry Miller/Don Stevenson) 3:14
08. Shape By The Window (Peter Lewis) 3:37
09. Aint No Use (Jerry Miller/Don Stevenson) 4:53
16. 8-05 (Jerry Miller/Don Stevenson) 5:15
19. Silver Wheels (Peter Lewis) 3:11
22. Lost Horizon (Peter Lewis) 5:22
23. For You (Peter Lewis) 4:45
27. Fall On You (Peter Lewis) 2:16

Of course this skews the "official" track order around a bit and makes for a double CD rather than a single one. The sound is great VBR avg (on the samples) around 190.

Peter Lewis - guitar, vocals
David West - guitar, mandolin, banjo, background vocals
Radio Bremen-Sendesaal

Thanks go to Huck for the Extended Version.

Secret Oyster {Danmark} (Progressive Rock/Jazz-Fusion)

Secret Oyster is probably my favorite Scandanavian prog band (they're Danish) and also in my top twenty bands overall. Formed by members of Burnin Red Ivanhoe (Karsten Vogel on sax, Jess Staehr on bass), Hurdy Gurdy (Claus Bohling on guitar) and Coronarias Dans (Kenneth Knudsen on keyboards, Ole Streenberg on drums; Bohling was also a member of Coronarias Dans at one point). Unfortunately, I've only had the pleasure of listening to one Burnin Red Ivanhoe album from early in their career (W.W.W.) but Secret Oyster seem a logical extension to the jazzy prog of BRI . I have four Secret Oyster albums, their eponymous first, Sea Son, Straight to the Krankenhaus and Astarte. A broad comparison for all albums would be something like Soft Machine meets Pink Floyd. Secret Oyster play a very spacious blend of fusion, jazz and prog that calls to mind bands like Carpe Diem, Edition Speciale, bits of Thirsty Moon and, of course, Burnin Red Ivanhoe. ~Mike Taylor~GERP

Secret Oyster - 1973 - Secret Oyster

01 Damexpressen 4:24
02 Fire & Water 5:34
03 Vive la Quelle? 8:50
04 Blazing Lace 4:45
05 Public Oyster 10:46
06 Mis(s) Fortune 1:28
07 Ova-x 4:56

Secret Oyster (released in the USA as Furtive Pearl is their first release and it's an auspicious debut. Bohling's guitar is featured heavily along with Vogel's saxophone across a backdrop of organ. While Hurdy Gurdy was a blues-rock trio, Bohling demonstrates his adept chops in a progressive style with occasional blues references. However, the strong guitar presence gives Secret Oyster a much more active, rockier feel than later albums. The opening cut has organ, sax and guitar simultaneously playing licks of blazing speed. Other times they trade licks round-robin fashion. I wish this were the case for the entire album but it is not so. Many songs feature Bohling's electric excursions while organ and sax take a secondary role. On some of the extended instrumental workouts, the band falls into improvisational jams over a single chord. Despite the excellent playing, this lack of rhythmic diversity gets to be a might tedious. On the 10+ minute "Public Oyster" we are treated to some spacy improv that would become prevalent on later albums but again there's the "one chord jam" problem and no interplay among instruments. It's organ, sax, guitar, each in turn. The closing track calls to mind the first half of Pink Floyd's Saucerful of Secrets with horn. In all, Secret Oyster is a very good album if a bit primordial.


Secret Oyster - 1974 - Sea Son

01 Oysterjungle 3:01
02 Mind Movie 9:16
03 Pajamamafia 6:13
04 Black Mist 3:38
05 Painforest 5:35
06 Paella 8:13

Sea Son came next and shows the band advancing the style developed on their flagship release. The writing is more mature and Bohling's guitar, though still very evident, is better balanced against the other instruments. The nine minute "Mind Movie" is another long guitar feature though with slightly more interesting chordal work behind it. There are more acoustic moments (piano and guitar) and better dueling of guitar and electric piano ala Chick Corea's Return to Forever. While "Mind Movie" would fit on the previous album, most of the other songs show a stronger fusion aspect. "Black Mist" begins with an excellent but brief moog section before sax breaks in across the top. Up to this point, the keyboards had been organ and electric piano. The use of the moog synth adds more depth and dimension to their overall sound which they would exploit on later albums. The presence of a string quartet on "Painforest" is a beautiful juxtaposition of classical music and spacy fusion over soft waves of deep moog. The final eight minute track is an excellent duel among sax, moog, electric piano, guitar and guest trumpet by Palle Mikkelborg. Sea Son is a definite improvement over their debut.


Links in comments....

Hansford Rowe "No Other" {Canada} [1999] (Progressive Jazz Rock)

Looks like everything in the New Year is all about HANDS on Prog Not Frog. And i give you this little masterpiece from Hansford Rowe. A solo album from a Bass Player who grace many a Gong and Gongzilla album and even Mike Oldfield - Platinum.

I love to listen to music like this. Truthful, honest and accurate. Every track is a Gem. Of course Hansford is accompanied by Bon Lozaga his long term friend and that all helps to create a tight sound.

I am reminded of my dearest internet friend Elevator Tech (Canadian). I hope one day he reads this as he is a good person and lifted my heart ABOVE the dross that most of us live out. HAIL Don Potter and Phil Keaggy!

Sorry for that - But you only meet people you really care about occasionally on the net and you got to call them into your heart occasionally. This album seems to have drifted out of sight but I think it is worth remembering. I like the way it moves.

Well - All I can say is that THIS is wonderful music that is thought out and performed to perfection. I am happy to be questioned. Love Above Gold friends.

Show Of Hands "Formerly Anthrax" {USA} [1970] (Jazz Rock)

Heavy on the keyboards there. Well certainly on their cover of Van Morrison's Moondance there are some wonderful Jazzy sounds from Jack Jacobsen.

This USA band only released this single album and it is excellent. Reminds me a bit of Brian Auger. However, there some nice surprises in store - lovely acoustic guitar on No Opportunity Neccessary - No Experience Needed (AKA C,S,N) with the song being very EXPRESSIVE too.
Or I want to Fly which is gentle and full of beautiful riffs that carry you to higher places.
Try "Mount Olympus Breakdown" that carries acoustic guitar with a prominent banjo and almost touches on Bluegrass.
This band had much to give yet we only have a single album to remember them by.
Tracklist:

01 - No Words Between Us (Jack Jacobsen) (4:15)
02 - Stanley's Theme (Jack Jacobsen) (3:08)
03 - Moondance (Van Morrison) (3:44)
04 - These Things I Know (Jerry McCann) (3:15)
05 - I Want to Fly (Jack Jacobsen) (6:47)
06 - No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (Richie Havens) (3:39)
07 - May This Be Love/One Rainy Wish (Jimi Hendrix) (3:21)
08 - Mount Olympus Breakdown (Martin Lanham) (2:08)
09 - Like a Child (Jerry McCann) (5:05)
10 - Toy Piano and Goodbye (Jack Jacobsen) (4:50)

Trio Personnel:
Rick Cutler - Percussion
Jack Jacobsen - Keyboards and Keyboard Bass
Jerry McCann - Vocals, Guitar and Flute

Just a treat to listen to.

Lothar And The Hand People "Presenting" & " Space Hymn" {USA} [1968 & 1969] (Experimental Psych)

Lothar and The Hand People. Where to start?

They were the first band to use synthesiser's on tour.

They were possibly being checked out by Chas Chandler when he was caught in traffic and missed their first show. He promised he would stay for their second show that evening but left after signing up Jimi Hendrix and being blown away by his show that evening.

At that point the world gained a Mind Blowing guitar player but lost an experimental group that would eventually give up after 2 albums.

These 2 albums are available as a single release these days but that is not what I have. I have 2 seperate rips for these.

So - Who is Lothar? Well Lothar is an IT. An instrument called a Theremin (An early electronic music instrument, invented, in the early decades of the 20th Century, by Russian engineer Leon Termen ("Theremin" was a French transliteration of the Cyrillic, IIRC). You play it by moving your hands around it - the spatial location of one hand controls pitch, while the other controls volume. It was used to create weird sound effects in radio dramas and sci-fi films. Some play it as a proper instrument - e.g. Clara Rockmore, when she was alive. Still sounds weird.) PHEW.

Tracks that stand up really well are 01 - Machines from Presenting (sort of King Crimson ish) and 10 - Space Hymn from "Space Hymn" about which I read one person saying on the net that they used to take acid and if ever they listened to Space Hymn they always had a sweet trip. Hehehe - that is the FIRST song and the LAST song. I assure you there are some great ones in between.

This band are Turned On. I have the scans for "Presenting" but not for "Space Hymn" which is a pity but not a disaster. This final image is from their website and has a touch of Eye Candy. :o)

Don Bradshaw-Leather - ''Distance Between Us''{UK}[1972]

Who the hell is Don Bradshaw-Leather? Not much is known about him, but his self-released LP Distance Between Us (Distance Records, 1972) is certainly one bizarre egg. It's on the infamous Nurse With Wound list of Steven Stapleton's favorite weird records, so it's no wonder that this was brought to my attention by David Late Tibet of Current 93 (and sometime NWW collaborator). David sent me a copy and described it as a strange DIY horror symphony beyond words, and it indeed is dificult to describe. There's hardly a thing about this double LP on the web besides want lists and offers for sale (it seems to be averaging around $200 for original vinyl), though rumor has it that Don was a wealthy hippie (some say a member of Barclay-James Harvest, which David refutes) who was squatting around London in the early 1970's, whereabouts unknown now. The four lengthy tracks here ("Distance Between Us" Parts 1 & 2, "Dance of the Goblins", and "Autumn Mist") are dense, swirling, and hellish tapestries of blurred instrumentation, squawking voices buried in the mix, and seemingly no layout of progression from point A to point B in various movements (i.e. it's all a giant progression, but almost like a dog chasing its tail in a mad frenzy). Tracks have the leanings of some epic Messaien pieces in some ways, though imagine Bradshaw-Leather taking his symphony and filtering it through some kind of lo-fi source like a boombox or something and then just went bananas in the post-mix.(taken from Here)

Bran - "Ail Ddechra" {UK} [1975] (Wales Prog Folk) (Pre Pererin) (@224)

Bran were a Welsh singing prog band in the early part of the 1980. After their 3rd release, the band evolved into the Welsh folk-rock band Pererin http://www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBArtist.asp?txtArtistID=7725

Nest Howles assumed the Welsh language singing-drummer position in Bran’s three LP career. Instrumentally, the first is arguably the best to leave the in-house Sain studios at Rockfield. The track ‘Breuddwyd’ is an unsung prog masterpeice with a hip-hop break, classical fender rhodes passages and malnourished fuzz, while the ‘haunted house’ cover art is as prog as it gets (even without an egg).
http://www.factmagazine.co.uk/da/25763

01 - Y Ddor Ddig (3:30)
02 - F'Annwyl Un (3:01)
03 - Y Gwylwyr (3:00)
04 - Wrth Y Ffynnon (4:19)
05 - Myfyrdod (2:27)
06 - Rhodiaf Hen (2:19)
07 - Lwybrau (2:44)
08 - Mor Braf (2:54)
09 - Caledfwich (3:03)
10 - Blodyn (3:45)
11 - Y Crewr (3:36)
12 - Breud Dwyd (4:04)

Line-up
- John Gwyn / Guitars, Vocals
- Nest Howells / Vocals, Keyboards
- Gwyndaf Roberts / Guitar
- Dafydd Meirion / Drums, Flute

08 - Mor Braf ....
12 - Breud Dwyd ...

Link for download "Bran - 1975 - Ail Ddechra" in comments ...

The Quarter After "The Quarter After" {USA} [2005] (Psych Rock/Pop)

Rob Campanella is the leader of The Quarter After. More known in the for being a Producer than a band leader I guess.

Here you will find Psychedelic songs that herold influences of the Byrds - as well as UK Kinks and Beatles, at times the sound is like Tom Petty. Mostly I feel the Byrds 12-string guitar however, there is plenty of Fuzz Guitar and even Wah Wah.

The opening cut "So Far To Fall" is typically Byrds - and I have seen references on the net that draw similarities on this track to the Monkees - Pleasant Valley Sunday - this is the Psych Pop area.

"Your Side Is Mine" determines to catch your ears with a great Guitar riff leading the way. Fuzzed guitar sounding as if it belongs in the sixties leads the way. If this was a sixties release I guess it would have been a hit.

"Always Returning" starts of acoustically and picks up quickly into something very close to Tom Petty - the whole song sounds closer to TP & The Heartbreakers than any of the other influences. This is great music for playing whilst driving. Nest is "A Parting" and back to the McGuinn Byrdsy sound - It is polished and sharp.

My favourite is the 12 minute "Too Much To Think About". This track has some excellent guitar work and reminds me of many a 60's classic (Eight Miles High). The song has various mood changes as it plays which equals excellent listening.

Rob produced the Quarter After's debut record with the help of the band. Almost all of the records basic tracks were recorded "live" in the studio with the musicians in the same room. The only overdubs were the vocals, keyboards, percussion and acoustic guitars. This captured the vibe and energy of the band on stage. Guests on the record- Anton Newcombe (BJM)- echoplex noise Farmer Dave Scher- lap steel guitar Miranda Lee Richards, Mara Keagle- backing vocals Twink (Tomorrow, Pretty Things, Pink Fairies)- tambourine. The record was mixed by Rob and Nick Walusko of the Brian Wilson band as well as the Wondermints.

Tracks:
01 - So Far To Fall
02 - Your Side Is Mine
03 - Always Returning
04 - A Parting
05 - Too Much To Think About
06 - Know Me When I'm Gone
07 - Mirror To You
08 - One Trip Later
09 - Taken
10 - Everything Again