Pascal Duffard - "Dieu Est Fou" {France} [1976] (zeuhl)

well i couldnt find english review, here is german one: "Passend zum soeben durchlebten Zeuhl-Spektakel in der Johanniskirche in Würzburg soll heute von einer Scheibe die Rede sein, die zeigt, bis in welche Bereiche der populären französischen Musik der Einfluss von Christian Vanders Kultband Magma Mitte der 70er vorgedrungen war. Ausgehend von den zahlreichen, hauptsächlich dem Jazz entliehenen Instrumentalisten, die nach Ende ihres Gastspiels die arrangementtechnischen und kompositorischen Eigenheiten des Vanderschen Oeuvre in ihre eigenen Projekte einbrachten, grassierte der Zeuhlvirus natürlich hauptsächlich im Jazzrock und allem, was man dafür halten konnte. Aber selbst im Folk und tatsächlich auch in der Vertonung von Poesie, in Frankreich als "Chanson" bekannt und geliebt, kam diese schwer beschreibbare Melange aus bassbetonter Polyrhythmik, flirrenden hypnotisch-repetitiven Klangmustern und neutönerisch gefärbten Melodiefetzen zu Ehren. Eine dieser allerdings nicht sonderlich zahlreichen französischen Scheiben ist Pascal Duffards "Dieu est fou". Er hatte sich zu seinem ersten und einzigen Album, 1976 auf dem Majorlabel CBS erschienen und von Giorgio Gomelsky produziert, einige Magma- bzw. ZAO-Mitstreiter der frühen Jahre geholt, um seine lyrischen Ergüsse mit einem 5stimmigen Chor, diversen Bläsern und dem üblichen Rock-Line Up zu vertonen. Quer durch die gesamte abendländische Musikkultur des 20. Jahrhunderts tobt der Komponist, Pianist, Arrangeur und Sänger mit Unterstützung von 18(!) illustren Gästen wie Francis Moze, Yochk'o Seffer, Claude Engel und anderen Größen der französischen Jazz(Rock)-Szene. 42 Minuten Spielzeit verteilen sich ziemlich gleichmäßig auf 6 Songs, deren Instrumental- und Gesangsanteile sich in etwa die Waage halten. Stravinsky und Zappa lassen grüßen, die Walkürenchöre drohen wagnerianisch und mutieren zwischendurch zu magmaesken Vokalgebilden, Bass und Schlagzeug lassen sperrige Rhythmik entstehen, und trotzdem wirkt das Ganze wie aus einem Guss. Wie fast immer bei solchen Hybriden - man kennt das ja zur Genüge aus dem Progressiverock - war dem Album kein kommerzieller Erfolg beschieden: zu rockig für die elitäre Avantgarde, zu schräg und sperrig selbst noch für Zeuhl-Gewohnte. Die kleine Auflage hat allerdings über die Jahre zu einem solchen Preisanstieg in der Sammlerszene geführt, dass eventuell zum Verkauf bereite Besitzer dieser Scheibe zumindest jetzt eine dreistellige Summe fordern können." (review by Charly Heidenreich)

thanks to my friend Zen :)







Máquina! - "Why? Máquina!" {Spain} [1970] (Psycho Prog) (@320)

Máquina! is maybe the very first underground rock group to have recorded in Franco’s Spain, their first single dating back to early 69, and the following year, their first Lp was out with a striking artwork depicting a clock coming out from a croissant meaning that it was time to wake-up (and have breakfast) in Spain: The album was called Why? Máquina! and it was clearly so rebellious under a dictature that fellow group Tapiman (and Barcelona crosstown rivals/friends) answered them with a track Don’t Ask Why. The five-piece group developed a high-energy Hammond-driven psych/prog rock with two lead guitarists, with many extraordinary musical moments given the context of those years. It is not known if Guitarist Paris is related to Pan & Regaliz’s singer Guillem Paris.
Two years later, the group recorded with a different line-up (both guitarists having left) their next album live with a much different bluesier sound complete with a brass section (and almost all new material) reminiscent of Chicago Transit Authority.
I am at a loss to explain what became of these guys, since Máquina! disbanded, but their legacy remains, with a superb and stunning debut album and a quite pleasant follow-up. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2383

01. I Believe (4:15)
02. Why? (11:51)
03. Why? (continuacio) (12:54)
04. Let Me Be Born (3:06)
Bonus
05. Earth’s Daughter (2:55)
06. Look Away Our Hapiness (7:05)

- JM Paris / guitars
- Luis Cabanach / guitars, bass
- JM Vilaseca / drums
- Enrique Herrera / keyboards
- Jordi Batiste / vocals, flute, bass

01. I Believe ....
02. Why?.....

Link for download "Máquina! Why? Máquina!" in comments ...

Saint Just - "La Casa Del Lago" {Italy} [1974] (Prog Folk)

SAINT JUST was a seventies Italian progressive group but not really reminiscent of the typical Italian sound. Influences from folk, psychedelic and classical can be heard in their music. The most remarkable instrument in their music is the vocals of Jane Sorrenti that float above the music. Her vocal delivery is definitely an acquired taste. The group released only two albums and the line-up is very different in these two albums. In the 1st album there were only three official members of which the saxophonist Robert Fix was not included in the 2nd album. For their 2nd album the remaining members Jane Sorrenti and Antonio Verde (classical guitar, bass) added electric guitarists Tito Rinesi and Andrea Faccenda as well as a drummer Fulvio Maras.
The first self-titled album, released in 1973, is more acoustic than the predecessor “La Casa del Lago”, released in 1974, which is more in the classic Italian tradition and therefore more easily accessible. Both albums are considered very good. http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=987

01. Tristana (6:41)
02. Nella Vita, Un Pianto (11:04)
03. Viaggio Nel Tempo (6:33)
04. La Casa del Lago (6:28)
05. Messicano (5:28)
06. La Terra della Verita (2:44)

- Jenny Sorrenti / vocals
- Antonio Verde / guitar, bass, vocals
- Robert Fix / sax (1973)
- Tito Rinesi / guitar, vocals (1974)
- Andrea Faccenda / guitar, keyboards (1974)
- Fulvio Maras / drums, percussion (1974)

Guests:
- Alan Sorrenti
- Gianni Guarracino
- Tony Esposito


01. Tristana ...
04. La Casa del Lago ...


Link for download "Saint Just - La Casa Del Lago" in comments ...

Jeffery Liberman - "Solitude Within" {USA} [1975]

Solitude Within LP. Rare private press 1975 psychedelic guitar rock from Illinois. He released a few different albums on his own Librah label, but this is often said to be the best of the bunch. http://www.rockadrome.com/superstore/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=1658

01 - I Can't Change (3:51)
02 - Springtime (2:37)
03 - Rock Or Roll Me (3:42)
04 - Life is Just a Show (2:34)
05 - A Myopic Euphoria (1:44)
06 - Woman (4:40)
07 - Solitude Within (2:43)
08 - Soft and Tasty (2:25)
09 - The Same Old Blues (3:31)
10 - Transition (3:29)

- Jeff Liberman / vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar,percussion, bass
- Phillip Uptemple / bass
- Dan Lomas / synthesizers, bass, horns
- Thomas Radlock / drums, percussion

Thanks to ZaXXoN for the rip & info

03 - Rock Or Roll Me ......
07 - Solitude Within ...

Link for download "Jeffery Liberman - Solitude Within" in comments ...

"Zontanoi Sto Kyttaro"{GREECE} [1971] (greek rock)


zontanoi sto kyttaro is one of the best records in the history of greek rock,recorded live in the club "Kyttaro" in athens,this compilation includes the best names from greek rock scene of the '70s.
tracklist :
1. Despoina Glezou - Aposmitika
2. Despoina Glezou - Ta Epikaira
3. Damon kai Fidias - Apogoiteusi
4. Exadaktylos - To Ksexasmeno Pigadi
5. Stella Gadedi & Bourboulia of Savopoulos - Mauri Thalasa
6. Socrates Drank The Conium - Ilektrikos Socrates
7. Damon kai Fidias - O Gero Mathios
8. Exadaktylos - O Aneprokopos
enjoy.....
link in comments

Morka - "There Was A Time..." {GREECE} [1973] (psy - rock)


Probably the best psychedelic band that ever came from Greece. With members coming from Greece, USA and Canada and with a british female vocalist, "There was a time…" is here to blow your mind away!!! The band begun in 1970 as STONE DEEP and is responsible for the production of the rarest greek private single nowadays. Followed by many line-up changes, MORKA presented 2 more singles for Greek POLYDOR in 1972 and the next year they made their 7-track magnus-opus demo. This album contains all their 3 singles plus the 7 tracks of the unreleased back in 1973 demo. All the elements that make an album to be a treasure for the psychoheads are present. Excellent male-female vocals (all but one sung in english), lots of harmonies and melodies, tons of fuzzy guitars and bombastic drum breaks. The late 60's american psychedelic and the early 70's british acid-folk influences are obvious in this album but MORKA play their own music.
enjoy......
link in comments

Orexis - "Inspiration & Reflection" {Germany} ['78 - '79] (jazz fusion)

Somewhere it says, "Six cuts are exquisite jazz-rock, top-notch in this area. Two cuts are stunning sitar-rock pieces with strong oriental leanings and they are worth the price ten times over!" One of the musician in these albums is Trilok Gurtu. Good work.

(Inspiration)LP SideA..

47 times it's own weight - "Cumulo Nimbus " {USA} [1976] (jazz fusion)

Well i couldnt find a good review to copy/paste. Nice fusion from Austin Texas. Informations for the band welcome.

March of the Gooper Hoppers..

Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - "Paix" {France} [1972] (avant)(kindly submitted by Jeff)

"Here is the translation of the first song;

I would like to love you one year, two years, ten years
To love you up to the point that I miss the energy to love you
That the happiness to love you disappears
And then I could love
Someone else than you
Something else than you
Love again without end
Love as I love you now
In spite of the frustration of your presence
In spite of the absence.
Unnecessary painful sorrow
Nevertheless, how necessary
Vital to our spirits of fools
What a mess that this so love poured to others than you
But perhaps ... what a superb resurrection of the life

I also have "La déboussole" and "Libertés" - Post a comment if interested"

Enjoy !

Our thanks goes to Jeff :)

Il Giro Strano - "Divina Commedia" {Italy} [1973] (prog rock) (kindly submitted by Jeff)


"IL GIRO STRANO explore the heavy depths of 70's progressive rock getting into some pretty heavy moments. They improvised symphonic progressive songs with nice driven and sometimes experimental and a nice mixture of hammond organ, heavy and emotional (almost hard rock) vocals, drums, electric guitar, electric bass, some sax and heavy flute."La Divina Commedia" is another one of those prog gems. For the adventurous ears of people who dig 70's prog, lovers open to hammond organ experimenting, heavy flute prog,...A great GEM from Italy !"

Enjoy!

Our thanks goes to Jeff :)

Urubamba - "En Vivo" {Peru} [197X] (psych folk) (as requested)

"You've heard this wonderful instrumental South American group if you've heard "El Condor Pasa" by Simon & Garfunkel or "Duncan" by Paul Simon. Known as los Incas when Simon first encountered them in 1965 while appearing on the same bill in Paris, the renamed quartet produced an appealing debut. "Kacharpari" was recorded during Simon's Live Rhymin' tour in 1973. Using traditional Andean instruments that can sound otherworldly to North American ears, Urubamba covers a wide emotional range, following the eerie "Death in Santa Cruz" with the joyous "Good News Pan Pipes." The group is named for the river that winds at the foot of Machu Picchu, the final fortified city of the Incas. (Mark Allan, All Music Guide)"

Para Pelusa..

related post: http://prognotfrog.blogspot.com/2006/09/urubamba-urubamba-peru-1974-192.html

well sorry, i couldnt find a coverart, also sound quality is not so good. Enjoy!

In The Labyrinth - "The Garden Of Mysteries" {Sweden} [1994] (Prog Folk)

In May 1994, In The Labyrinth privately released a cassette called Mysteriernas Trädgård (i.e. The garden of mysteries), which soon led on to the CD production of The Garden of Mysteries. This cassette, for which they held no higher marketing ambitions than to have it distributed among esoteric book (and music) stores around Sweden, had initially been intended as an experiment in combining shaman drums with a variety of ethnical styles. However, the project evolved into a more complex format picking up influences from all over the world and moulding together impressions which the band members had gathered along journeys to both near and far. By the spring of 1995, the first phase of ITL had dissolved due to disagreements over economic and social issues, wherefore Peter Lindahl was left all to himself working for completion of the CD. Although quite a lot of the music had already been featured on the cassette, he added a bunch of new instrumentals and a couple of vocal tracks. Peter found great use of his mellotron, which throughout the eighties had been standing around virtually untouched. Other odd instruments that had not seen the light of day for a long time were picked out of the wardrobe, instruments such as his viola da gamba, the Turkish saz and all sorts of woodwinds.
The exploration of the mysterious garden just led on and on until the summer of 1996, when after a lot of postponing on the record company’s side, the CD was finally released. This actually meant that APM was putting out an album by a constellation now decimated to what had almost become a one man band! The Garden of Mysteries was received from critical fanfare by an overwhelming response even though it was advertantly admitted that the concept of ITL did not exactly fit in with the “orthodox” definition of progressive rock. More info ... http://www.inthelabyrinth.com/CD-GardenOfMysteries.html

IN THE LABYRINTH is an experimental musical project based in Stockholm, Sweden and is led by Peter LINDAHL. The main concern is to mix a wide array of styles to create a symbiosis quite unlike most music heard of today. You could define it as progressive rock with a strong ethnical element, almost like an early PINK FLOYD with both classical and oriental overtones.Three CDs and various compilation tracks have been released so far. The texture of these is mostly mysterious and melancholy, often broadened by rich arrangements that feature diverse instrumentation and sometimes vocals. There is an emphasis put on beauty but also on the haunting and the desolate. "Dryad" (2002) is the third album by this band, after "Garden Of Mysteries" & "Walking On Clouds". It took almost eight years to create this little masterpiece, and now, everyone can notice that the wait was truly worth it ! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=451

01. Gates of Andorak (3:51)
02. Karakoram Pass (3:10)
03. Escape From Canaan (4:10)
04. Hiram Abiff (3:40)
05. Kekova (The Sunken City) (3:03)
06. Ali Hasan (4:07)
07. Aslan (2:28)
08. Meditating Minotauros (4:34)
09. The Garden of Mysteries II (3:00)
10. Monsoon (2:54)
11. Andalucy (2:31)
12. Journey to Hel (4:49)
13. Moorish Waltz (2:31)
14. Trans Turkish Express (2:36)
15. Aral (5:49)
16. Moorish Waltz (2:31)
17. Desert Visions (2:08)
18. Ya Qader (3:00)
19. The Garden of Mysteries I (1:40)
20. La Dame Inconnue (2:00)
21. Almeria (4:50)
22. Palm-Cat (2:47)

- Peter Lindahl: Mellotron, Fender Stratocaster, saz, zither, acoustic guitars, bass, mandolin, samplers and synthesizers, melodion, viola da gamba, flutes, woodwinds, oriental and western percussion (darbouka, daf, tambourine, etc), tamboura, sound effects, vocals, background harmonies and narration.
- Helena Selander: Background harmonies and vocal improvisation.
- Ulf Hansson: Darbouka & Egyptian tabla.
- Mikael Gejel: Flutes, acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizers and samplers, tamboura, percussion, background harmonies and jojk.
- Karin Langhard-Gejel: Djembe, flute and background harmonies.
- Stefan Ottman: Narration.
- Helena Jacobssen: Background harmonies nad vocal improvisation.

06. Ali Hasan ...
09. The garden of mysteries II ...
10. Monsoon ...

Link for download "In The Labyrinth - The Garden Of Mysteries" in comments ...

Melodiya - "Labyrinth" {Russia} [1974] (jazz fusion) (kindly submitted by Serhiy)

This is the fifth album by Melodia Jazz Ensemble, 1974, which is said to be the very first jazz-rock effort in the USSR. Played in the big band setup, somewhat archaic and naive in the compositional dimension, the music is dense and busy, and at times twisted to a degree that I never imagined could be borne by the Soviet scene in the early 70s. One may draw a parallel between 'Labyrinth' and what Miles Davis did at approximately the same time, but that would probably be as questionable a comparison as any other I can make in this case.

Melodia Jazz Ensemble was one of the very renowned and successful 'official' jazz bands in the USSR in 70s and 80s. The band released over 20 LP records while active, repertoire ranging from jazz standards to pop music to soundtracks and children tunes. Apart from 'Labyrinth', however, there is only one more record by Melodia that features music entirely composed and arranged by the band members. That album is called 'Concert in Bombay', and will probably be posted one of these days if there's any interest.

Available for downoading is a rip of a vinyl kindly shared by Mr. A. Medvedev, Russia.

Line up:
Georgiy Garanyan - alto saxophone, keyboard
Alexei Zubov - soprano and tenor saxophone
Konstantin Nosov - trumpet
German Petrov - trumpet
Konstantin Baholdin - trombone
Leontiy Chernyak - bass trombone
Boris Frumkin - piano
Alexander Buhgoltz - guitar
Igor Kantuyukov - bass guitar
Alexander Simonovsky - percussion

River of Fire..

(Edit) (Tracklist) 1. Labyrinth / 2. Marina / 3. Lenkoran' / 4. River of fire

Our thanks goes to Serhiy :)

The New Age - "Neptuned" {USA} [1980] (prog rock)

Jordan Oliver and the NEW AGE Band back in 1980 set out and recorded this album at Stone Mountain Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Original "The New Age" (Band Name)with "Neptuned" the album name (Neptuned is the title track and the only instrumental track). This album was set out ot be a concept rock album about the New Age itself, distorted by the adolecent views of Jordan and set to music by his most progressive local Atlantin Counterparts. read more here.


Neptuned..

thanks to progdog :)

Second Hand Rose - "Second Hand Rose" {China} [2004] (folk rock)

Rock scene is quite new in China, like most of the asian countries (except a few countries like Japan, Korea, and Mongolia with names Soyol Erdene, Bayan Mongol for 70s) rock never become mainstream style on asia. Traditional folk has its full power (as a folk lover i am happy with the situation :) ) Second hand rose (band) gives a good answer to that question: "what if traditional chinese folk meet with rock form?" if you ask that kind of wierd questions to yourself, one of the answer could be Second Hand Rose..i like to listen some songs in the album over and over while drinking my red cay (tea) :) and here is some copy/paste:

Second Hand Rose, which claims to be "the most seductive" folk rock band in China, has become one of the most popular among rock fans. The band is well-known for its bold combination of traditional Chinese instruments with solid rock and roll fundamentals. The influence of traditional Chinese folk music, especially Errenzhuan, a kind of comic theatrical duet popular in northeast China, can be clearly felt in the singing. read more here

track6..

thanks to alejandrito :)

Dionne-Bregént - Et le Troisième Jour{Canada} (1976)

Review:... The first side of this thematic album (great artwork, BTW) is very close to a cross of TD’s best symphonic works (from Ricochet to Force Majeure) and TD’s earlier Pink-era albums (Zeit) to Kraftwerk Man-Machine-styled minimalism, yet in many cases, D-B is very much superior to those. Do this sound incredibly good? You betcha!!! It even trounces some of the genre’s best works, slapping most of Krautrock silly for not coming up with such evident, implacable and astounding (yet so simple) music. The first side of the vinyl is made of the self-titled suite and approaches perfection that even the best could NEVER match. From the two parts Chant D’Espoir (with the tears of joys guaranteed with Pauline Vaillancourt (a superb soprano in its second pazrt) abd the very evolving Resurrection (start from percussive to end up symphonic), this album is simply awesome and flawless. Burt let’s face it, there is part of reconstruction because the master tapes were simply not well kept and parts had to be taken from the vinyls.

How can a second side succeed to such a perfect predecessor? By being completely different, of course, and D-B makes sure they did that right. The mood is more dedicated to free (almost improvised) percussions with gloomy nightmarish electronic ambiances like Eno, Schulze and Froese, or even Ralf And Florian (Kraftwerk) or the other Florian (Fricke of the early Popol Vuh albums). This album is certainly schizophrenic, and if on the first side Vincent was at the service of Michel Georges, on this other side, M-G is at the service of Vincent. And while again, not really groundbreaking, they manage to take the musical genre to perfection. The music is often gothic and cosmic-psychedelic (the way Floyd was in the UmmaGumma studio album), and is as strong as Zeit or Affenstunde.(Hugues Chantraine)

Link in comment.

Alrune Rod - "Live i Aalborg" {Denmark} [2002] (hard prog psych)

Couldnt find a review for the related album, however this review may give an idea: "Alrune Rod is a band from Denmark who released about half a dozen albums from the late 60s to the mid 70s. Their first three albums were released on LP on the Sonet label. These three albums have been released on a double CD under the name Sonet Årene 1969-1972. The CD also includes an early single added as a bonus. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1969. It features five tracks, of which four tracks are between 10 and 13 minutes in length. On this album they sound somewhat similar to The Vanilla Fudge, and during the spacier, more psychedelic parts, early Pink Floyd is a reference point. After repeated listens I still can't get excited about their debut album. There are a handful of good instrumental breaks, but mostly the music does doesn't come off the ground at all resulting in rather anemic psychedelic progressive. I get the impression that they might have been better off if they had condensed their musical ideas in shorter songs, as their long compositions often lack the critical minimum amount of good ideas to be interesting all the way through. Overall, a quite disappointing album.
Their second album Hey Du features three long tracks. The 21 minute "Perlesøen" proves to be the most convincing track on the album. It is a fairly interesting mixture of psychedelic music (early Pink Floyd), dark organ-based progressive (Ache) and space rock (early Hawkwind). The vocals could have been better though. The shortest track, "Du taler og si'r" (still at 8 min.), is fairly straightforward, typical early 70s rock with only a few interesting breaks. The title track is more engaging. The music is a slightly improved continuation of the style on the first album. Again the composition as a whole is not completely convincing, but the track has a pretty good energetic section with some wild drumming and nice guitar-organ clashes. Definitely an improvement over their first album, but still pretty average overall.

The title of the third album, Alrune Rock, would prove to be an indication for a more accessible and rocking style of music. It is a livelier, less dark album mostly consisting of "proggy" mid-tempo rock songs, which are actually fairly good. Significantly, electric and acoustic guitar are mostly in the forefront on this album at the expense of the keyboards. The music is not directly comparable to another band, but there are some elements that recall Old Man and the Sea, Aunt Mary and Quicksilver Messenger Service (some of the guitar playing). Like on the previous albums, the vocals are a bit odd in the sense that they vary from pretty lousy to quite good. Alrune Rock is a decent album, but still nothing out of the ordinary." review taken from gnosis.

Natskyggevej..

Thanks to mountainhigh :)

Alia Musica - "Alia Musica" {Italy} [1979] (folk)

"With no less than 12 musicians involved, including Mauro Pagani as guest and producer, this group only released in 1979 a rare album of medieval tunes with traditional instruments." info from here. Sorry couldnt find a good review, and no track info on this.

Mouro Pagani; "Very popular artist in Italy, both as a solo artist and as session musician, Mauro Pagani had a good solo career after leaving Premiata Forneria Marconi in 1976, tired of the long hard work on the road.His love for the world music strongly emerged in his 1978 first album, simply entitled Mauro Pagani, featuring many of the best italian musicians of that time, among which Area's members Demetrio Stratos, Patrizio Fariselli, Giulio Capiozzo and Ares Tavolazzi, PFM's old cohorts Franco Mussida, Patrick Djivas and Franz Di Cioccio, singer Teresa De Sio. The album is very far from his old band's works, with strong oriental folklore influences, but definitely a very good one.
In 1980 Pagani took part in the Carnascialia project, a new group formed by Pasquale Minieri and Giorgio Vivaldi (both also involved in the 1978 solo album) to revive the traditional central and southern Italy folk sounds they had already rearranged as Canzoniere del Lazio. In the same field was the first and only album by Alia Musica, that Pagani had produced in 1979.
Second album came in 1981, Sogno di una notte d'estate was first intended as soundtrack to a theatre play by Gabriele Salvatores. This later became a film, and a new soundtrack was released in 1983, with the same title.
Also in 1981 Mauro began a long collaboration with popular singer songwriter Fabrizio De André, and in 1984 they released what many consider one of the best De André albums (and among the best italian albums of the decade), Creuza de mä. In the 80's he's mainly worked as session musician with many popular italian artists, among which Ornella Vanoni, Roberto Vecchioni and Gianna Nannini, releasing his third proper solo album in 1991.
Other soundtracks followed in the 90's, again for Salvatores movies, Puerto Escondido in 1992 and Nirvana in 1997. In 1999 Pagani has rejoined PFM for a single concert in Milan, as he did again in the summer of 2003.
The last studio release by Pagani has been in 2004 the remake of Creuza de mä, a popular album by Fabrizio de André in which Mauro himself played a very important role."

track 1..

Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - " Ame Debout" {France} [1972] (avant) (kindly submitted by Jeff as requested)

"As requested, another great (IMHO the best) album from Catherine Ribeiro
+ Alpes (1971). This is the third album made in collaboration with Alpes
- a master piece. In a near future I will post Catherine Ribeiro chante
Alpes - her 2005 concert in Valenciennes - Be patient, I have directly
order the CD to her a few days ago.



Peace & Love, Enjoy!"


Alpes1..

Thank you Jeff! :)

**Update for "John Fahey - America" album



From one of our friend:

John Fahey - AMERICA - Mark 1:15 (complete version from vinyl)

"It wasn't well-publicized, but when Fahey's 'America'was expanded and released to CD by Fantasy, almost three minutes of 'Mark 1:15' were edited out to make the album fit on one disc. This is pretty inexcusable, especially considering Fahey was at somepoint quoted as saying that 'Mark 1:15' was one of his most important epic tracks. Myself, I could never figure out who the hell could possibly think they had the right to do such a thing, and why they thought that fans wouldn't spend an extra few bucks to own the whole shebang on two discs. Anyway, I have a decent sounding vinyl copy of the album, so I've ripped the original-length version of 'Mark 1:15', encoded it to 320 mp3, and submit it here with a smile. Enjoy!"

Related post: here

You can download from here:

Thank you for sharing with us!

New York Rock & Roll Ensemble - Faithful Friends (1969)

New York Rock & Roll Ensemble - 1969 - Faithful Friends
[vinyl rip]

01. I'm Too Busy
02. City
03. Asking Too Much
04. Trio Sonata No. 2 In G Major
05. Kite Song
06. Wait Until Tomorrow
07. Sing Lady Sing
08. Nel Cox
09. Thinking Of Mary
10. Faithful Friends (and Flattering Foes)
11. Aria
12. Lazy Man
13. Brandenburg


Members
* Michael Kamen - Keyboards, Oboe, English Horn, Synthesizer, Vocals
* Μartin Fulterman - Drums, Oboe
* Βrian Corrigan - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
* Clifton Νivison - Lead Guitar, Vocals
* Dorian Rudnytsky - Bass Guitar, Cello, Piano, Trumpet, French horn

Liner Notes For The New York Rock & Roll Ensemble's Faithful Friends
By Richie Unterberger here

Link in Comments.....

True Myth - "True Myth" {Canada} [1979] (prog rock)

True Myth was formed in London, Ontario as an offshoot of a class project by students at Fanshawe College -- a music school. Tom Treumuth was the brainchild and keyboardist who helped the band secure a deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979. Their debut album was the first digital album recorded in Canada and the second in the world (the first being Stevie Wonders' 'Secret Life Of Plants'). Treumuth soon opened his own record label, Hypnotic, and the band switched for their follow-up album 'Telegram' in 1981. In the meantime, Treumuth had been moonlighting with another Toronto studio project The Fictions on their debut album in 1980. Treumuth would go on to produce the likes of Honeymoon Suite and dozens of other Canadian acts during the 1980's many of them on his surviving indie label Hypnotic. Line-up: Malcolm McGuigan (vocals) Tony Cook (guitar) Bob Stirajs (guitar) Steve McKenna (bass) Tom Treumuth (keyboards) Kirk Devereaux (drums)

Reach for the heavens..

René Joly plays King Crimson

here is a very funny French version of KC songs (in French) from René Joly

When René Joly, a pop French singer, was interested in King Crimson first album, it gives these two French speaking versions of ... guess what !
Enjoy !



thank you Jeff :)

Laurelie - "Laurelie" {Belgium} [1970] (psych folk rock)

Somewhere it says "First group of Pierre Rapsat. Released on the legendary Belgian "Triangle" label in 1970.Together with Irish Coffee and Waterloo one of the most sought after progressive groups from the early seventies Belgian rock scene." well i called it psych folk rock, maybe prog jazz rock is more true..whatever it is good..there is a 21minute version of the sample track..that i like to listen. from Cassandra Witch's selection ;)




Remember Ronny..

Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes - "Le Rat Débile et " {France} [1974] (avant) (kindly submitted by Jeff)

"Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes is an essential act in the French area during the 70's. Their first 6 albums are gems from this great musicians: mainly Catherine Ribeiro and her partner-composer Patrice Moullet. This some times xhat we could call "French avant-garde" but not at all "à la Magma": this is another stream.After 1975, Catherine starts a solo carrier and produces very very great solo work - for instance a cover of the great French singer Edith Piaf. Recently, CR & Alpes reformed and had a couple of concerts and I had the opportunity to see them in Valenciennes (France), a few kms from my town in Belgium. A tremendous show.


If interested by some other works, tell me in the comments.256 Rip + Biography + Covers. Enjoy!" -Jeff


thank you Jeff! :)

Oisin - "Oisin & Over the Moor to Maggie" {Ireland} ['76/'80] (irish folk)

Well i couldnt find a good review, Somewhere it says: "Cosmic “traditional” Irish folk music - just beautiful! An original 1980 LP release from perhaps the top CELTIC group from the era. Includes the stunningly beautiful The Bonny Light Horseman, Over the Moor to Maggie, The Connaghtmans Rambles, The Flogging Reel and more" One of my favorite from irish folk music scene.







Lady LeRoy..
Over the moor to maggie..

The Peace - "Black Power" {Zambia} [197X] (Afro Psych)

This is not my rip,nor my friends..This is also sent to another blog akwaba sound system in time..i believe many afro psych rock lover friends missed that post..so i wanted to share this album again, because it is one of the best ,unknown, afro psych album i have listened..i uploaded the files as is..thanks to the ripper friend.hope you like it too..and here is the copy/paste:

"And time for me to contribute to our blog. I thought it might be nice to start out with The Peace, an obscure band out of Zambia's Copperbelt. If you visit Ndola these days, it is a rather quiet town, even a bit depressing, and certainly not a place that makes you think of funk or rock, but in the 1970s Ndola (the administrative capital of a once flourishing Copperbelt) must have been a rocking place, with bands like this one or The W.I.T.C.H. (aka We Intend To Cause Havoc - I'll get to them in a later post). Then, the Copperbelt had recording studios and at least one vinyl pressing plant. Edward Khuzwayo owned one of them: he's credited as musical director producer for Black Power, recorded at Malachite Studios in Chingola. I know little about them: someone told me that this was a band from the Zambian Air Force. Who knows?
I found it in Ndola through Khuzwayo's (grand)son and then only after we tracked down one of the former studio engineers (who's now handling truck engineering). It's one of those records I simply got because of the cover and track titles; after finally listening to it, for me, it's become one of those gems from Africa's diverse music scenes in the 1970s."


Ubalwa ne chamba..

Boomerang - "Ornament" {Kazakhstan} [1984] (jazz fusion) (kindly submitted by Serhiy)

"The second album by Boomerang, the prominent Kazakh jazz band of early 1980s that fused post-bop with elements of traditional eastern music in a very organic and thoughtful way. No covers or jazz standards on this one, all titles are composed by the band's trumpet player. The music, not especially expressive on the surfase, is intrinsically tense, and features agile trumpet work at the forefront and intelligent support by Rhodes piano and inventive rhythm section. Released in 1985 in Tashkent in the meager amount of 3,000 pieces, this record barely reached the listeners beyond the Soviet Cental Asia, and is a rarity now. Some of the Boomerang's material got reissued later on a CD by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in the US, but I never managed to find out anything about that effort. Available for downoading is a rip of a vinyl kindly shared by Mr. Arkadiy Medvedev, Russia." friends who like oriental touches on free jazz will enjoy more.

Line-up:
Yury Parfionov - trumpet
Victor Nikolayev - soprano and tenor saxophones
Lev Lieplauk - fender piano
Tahir Ibragimov - percussion
Farhad Ibragimov - bass, tabla
Konstantin Lee - guitar

Thanks to Serhiy :)

Hydravion - Stratos Airlines (1979)

Hydravion - 1979 - Stratos Airlines

Tracks
1. Pasadena Airport (4:04)
2. Telecom (5:12)
3. Singaraja (7:53)
4. Ligne Equateur (4:15)
5. Carolyn Sud (4:51)
6. Santander (5:11)
7. L’amour Charter (3:45)

Line-up/Musicians
- Philippe Besombes, Cooky Rhinocero & Christ Saint Roch / all instruments



Said to be similar to Jarre, albeit more exotic. Music by Philippe Besombes (Pole).


Review from Head Heritage

Link in Comments.....

Davey Graham - Midnight Man 1966 @320


Name checked by all the great guitarist, noteably Bert Jansch and even Paul Simon, as the father of the acoustic guitar, this is his follow-up to his landmark album " Folk, Blues & Beyond".

This from his record companies website:

"When Davy Graham's previous album, "Folk Blues and Beyond…", was issued by Decca in 1964, it collected praises from many people and for many different reasons. The Folk press (almost to a critic) hailed its release as an event of major importance; but then, so did most of the Rhythm and Blues publications. Guitarist brought it, listening to the solos and accompaniments with considerable excitement - and some of the even began to follow Davy around, studying his methods and technique. (So far being able to emulate him). Meanwhile, copies of the record were usually to be found lying in the backs of those dusty, message- covered vans that beat around groups used to travel round from one job to the other. And finally, and certainly the most satisfying praise of all, a general audience of fans brought it in sufficient quantities to make the need for a second album an inevitability.

Since making the first album, Davy has been actively changing and extending himself musically - several results of which can be heard within these newer performances. He has been travelling again (to Ibiza, then through the Aegean and on to Constantinople), listening carefully to all the musical sounds en route. He has been deeply engrossed in the writings of Ouspensky. And - in bizarre contrast - he has been experimenting with an amplifier to put a different sound in to two or three of his solos. Also, he has been absorbing some unusual (for him, at least) sources of inspiration (i.e. The Beatles, Oscar Brown, Jnr. and Jimmy Hughes), lettings his own imagination first of all combine with, and then gradually take over from and initial curiosity. I think such involvements have been, if somewhat surprisingly, a great success; as have his experiments with conventional blues and modern jazz pieces, and - of course - the incredible excursion with Lalo Schifrin's "The Fakir", which seems fairly certain to be the instrumental 'hit' on this album… just as "Maajun" was on his previous one.

If anything and in conclusion, I would say that the second Davy Graham album (here enclosed) is more extrovert and more aggressive, musically, than the first one was; although I realise that this could be the logical result of his increased experience and growing maturity as an artist. However, I don't believe it will disappoint any of his original fans; and it ought to bring him plenty of new ones…together with several more guitarists who want to know how to manage to do all he does during "The Fakir"!

Take a listen to a true legend.

Enjoy!

Link in comments.

have a piece of cake for pnf :)

a piece of cake to;

algarnas, blplus, b-manco, beau heem,
blackwatchplaid, cabinboy, canapial, cassandra witch,
chapinfloyd, ealafree, el tiempo, endewi, faugn, firthy, flowerjewel,
guadalupe, foe, isabelbc, kadehim, le fou, lisa, lpelo,
micaus, mr wolf, mountainhigh, manelis, nahavanda, oiz, opa-loka, patas,
philty phucker, poor, pietjes, progeloquence, progressive_r,
rational gaze, roomx, quinnie, seebaer, shivering, sir winston, skaarse,
songing, supreme echo, the herbalist, zaxxon

..and a piece saved for you!!
our frog turned 1 years old :)


Christy Moore - Prosperous 1972 @ 192


The album that started it all, the revival of traditional Irish music (which assumes, of course, that it needed reviving) and most importantly, led to the formation of the great Irish traditional band, Planxty.

A bunch of mates collect in a hotel, how Irish, and record, crudely, a belter of an album. Truly a great album.

1 - The Raggle Taggle Gipsies; Tabhair Dom Do Lamh
2 - The Dark-Eyed Sailor
3 - I Wish I Was in England
4 - Lock Hospital
5 - James Connolly
6 - The Hackler from Grouse Hall
7 - Tribute to Woody
8 - The Ludlow Massacre
9 - A Letter to Syracuse
10 - Spanchillhill
11 - The Cliffs of Dooneen
12 - Rambling Robin

Dave Bland - Concertina
Kevin Conneff - Bodhran
Andy Irvine - Organ, Mandolin
Dónal Lunny - Bouzouki, Guitar
Christy Moore - Guitar, Vocals
Liam O'Flynn - Whistle (Instrument), Uillean Pipes

Enjoy!

Link in comments.

John Fahey - America 1971 @ 192


More guitar magic from the late Mr Fahey.

This is the CD re-release, so this All Music Guide review is appropriate:

"In some respects this was Fahey at his most ambitious; two of the four songs ("Mark 1:15" and "Voice of the Turtle") clock in at around the 15-minute mark, and one of the others is entitled "The Waltz That Carried Us Away and Then a Mosquito Came and Ate Up My Sweetheart." It's actually typical of his work of the period, however: inventive acoustic guitar instrumentals that draw from folk and blues, with a sedate presentation that has a relaxing effect. The CD reissue, however, transforms it into an entirely different work. America was originally envisioned as a double LP, but around half of the material remained unreleased when it was cut down to a single disc; the CD restores the other nine songs that would have been included on the original program, pushing the length of the album to 79 minutes. The additional tracks are pretty similar in feel to the ones chosen for the original release, though perhaps more eclectic, including a Skip James cover, the third movement of Dvorak's "Eighth Symphony," and "Amazing Grace." The song "America" (oddly omitted from the original America album) is a rare example of Fahey on the 12-string, and includes some pleasing passages of muted notes."

Enjoy!!

Links in comments.

Leo Kottke - Live At The Sydney Town Hall 1976 @320



In the Fela Kuti post I made a blunder, I posted the wrong link to part 2, it was this instead of the second part of Kuti. Firstly apologies to all and secondly, the correct links are now in comments.

To make amends, I decided it best to now post the Kottke in the correct place!

This is a concert recording and not released. It was recorded by ABC FM and broadcast uncompressed, as they do.

I helped promote this tour in my home town and can say that he is totally charismatic, a great story teller and dymanic performer.

Did I mention that he is also a great 12 string guitar player? He aslo possesses a deep resonant voice, which he once described as being like "geese farts on a muggy day"!

I am particularly fond of this show, Kottke at his best. Beware, he is fussy about keeping his guitar in tune, especially as he constantly changes his guitar tuning, so he does spend some time on that chore. The upside is that it gives him the opportunity to tell some of his stories, they are worth hearing on their own (in fact I have a collection of them!)

You will note that he performs a version of Paul Siebel's "Louise". This is a great version.

One point to note, when I ripped this, I did not note all the track titles, so if anyone goes to the trouble, please put the track listing in comments.

A great show.

Enjoy!

Links in comments.

John Fahey - Live In Tasmania @256


The inventor of the acoustic guitar genre all of its own, Fahey is one of the most important guitarist, period. Great technique and invention, he was a rare talent.

He also founded Takoma Records and brought the world's attention to such talents as Leo Kottke. Sadly, he was also not really stable and there are many stories of crazy antics. This album, recorded in my home county, is a rare thing, Fahey live.

In case your wondering, Tasmania is an island state, located south of the continent.

All Music Guide:

" John Fahey was well known as a perfectionist who played concerts for over two decades without releasing a live album. It was therefore something of a surprise when he not only recorded a full album in front of an audience, but did so at a concert booked on four days notice, at a hall he had never seen much less checked for acoustics, and with almost all material written on the spur of the moment. Fahey hadn't even planned on visiting Tasmania, but during an Australian concert tour he got drunk on an airplane flight and decided on the spur of the moment that he wanted to record an album there. A hall was booked, an audience rounded up, and the resulting show was recorded. The results were fantastic. The notoriously unpredictable Fahey was in a cheerful mood, playing an outstanding set and genially favoring the audience with a rambling monologue about the strangeness of finding Tasmania less wild and esoteric than he expected. A thoughtful version of "Waltzing Matilda" was a predictable crowd-pleaser, but so were more, er, esoteric pieces like The Approaching of the Disco Void." The transcendent moment of this album, and one of the finest pieces of Fahey's career, is "Indian-Pacific R.R. Blues," a complex work that has elements of ragtime, blues, and Americana strung together into a magical whole. It was a marvelous gift to an audience that had probably never heard of him five days before, and it is fortunate indeed that this concert was not merely recorded, but captured brilliantly so that not a note was lost."

Enjoy!

Link in comments

Mr Brown - "Mellan Tre Ögon" {Sweden} [1977] (prog rock)

"The album is made up of eight tracks, three of which are instrumental compositions. One of those coming with lyrical content, Tornet, features only slow synthesizer passages in the instrumental department (if it's possible to say so in this situation) and is too short to be regarded a real song or a full-fledged composition either. That said, the other songs aren't too impressive either. Suicide and Liv I Stad Utan Liv are both mellow Art-&-Space Rock heavily influenced by Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", especially the former, while Universe and I'll Arise are just ballads. The instrumental compositions are much more interesting, even though one of them, Resan Till Ixtlan, is nothing more than a little symphonic concerto for solo piano. Recall the Future is the longest and, at the same time, the best track on the album. It begins and develops like '70s classic symphonic Progressive with no derivative features, and only the last section sounds like a dedication to Mr. Brown's principal benefactor, Pink Floyd. Kharma 74 is nearly on par with the previously described piece, shining with originality during the first three quarters of its duration as well. The fundamental style is symphonic Art-Rock with distinct elements of folk music, while the finale is intense and quite eclectic quasi Jazz-Fusion, strongly resembling "A Passion Play" - the only Jethro Tull album on which Ian Anderson plays saxophone apart from flute. Finally I'd like to mention that the primary soloing instrument on "Mellan Tre Ogon" is piano." more info here Some songs remind me kebnekaise, good coverart :)

Recall the future..

Rasa - "Oasis" {Sweden} [1979] (psych indian)

"The word rasa, means mellow, the smooth, uninterrupted taste of a higher nature. The group Rasa, taking off on the ancient melody and lyric of timeless India, illuminates the anxiety filled recesses of our hazy minds and cleanses the mirror of the inner heart." This is what it says in backcover. Nice atmosphere, good vocals, easy playing.
_/\_ Om :)

Where?..

Atrium Musicae De Madrid - "Musique Arabo-Andalouse" {Spain} [1976]

"A Madrid ensemble specializing in all kinds of ancient European music, the Atrium Musicae De Madrid was founded in the '70s by Gregorio Paniagua, a Spanish monk. It also classifies as a family band, as membership at times included three additional members of the Paniagua klan -- Eduardo, Carlos, and Luis Paniagua. Like many family bands, some members were drawn in at tender ages. Luis can brag that his debut as a performer was, at 15, onstage at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Perhaps the group's most famous recording is Musique de le Grece Antique, in which they performed ancient Greek music carefully taken down off scattered fragments of still existing papyrus, and even a tiny snatch of Roman music as next to nothing remains of the sheet music from this once great Empire. Presumably there was a lot of sheet music lost to the fire when Rome burned. Performing the ancient compositions also meant the reconstruction of an arsenal of ancient instruments. This certainly was a fascinating aspect of the group's life performances during a series of acclaimed international tours. It also provided an unmistakably fresh sound for the recording, although some Greek history scholars have accused the Panigua brothers of overdoing it. The success of this 1978 recording is not the only feather in the group's collective cap. The 1976 Musique Arabo-Andalouse delves into Hispanic-Moslem music, and is credited with creating a whole new interest in this fascinating genre of southern Spain. From the late '70s into the early '80s the group began a series of recordings dealing with 15th and 16th century popular Spanish songs, then sailed to the New World for the fascinating Las Indias de Espana, a recording of Pre-Colombian music collected from archives. The decision to dissolve the group was no doubt based on some of the younger brothers' interest in beginning solo careers. Luis Paniagua has established an extremely succesful presence as a composer and performer, leading ensembles as well as creating projects for dance, theatre and film. He is an accomplished sitar player and is known for blending ancient and modern instruments. This seems to be an interest among all family members, as founding member Gregorio Paniagua's lengthy catalog of original compositions includes "La Folia" in which a harpischord and chainsaw meet in the ensemble, although hopefully there is no direct contact. Gregorio continues the musical life he helped his younger brothers embark on, and is also active as a performer and composer of works for concert, theater, and film. One of his most interesting collaborations was done in 1995 with Rita Marley, wife of the legendary reggae performer Bob Marley. In 1994, Eduardo Paniagua formed a new ensemble, Musica Antigua, and the Pneuma label to document its projects. The back catalog of the Atrium group continues to be in demand, and additional commercial success has been achieved through the use of the group's material on gimmicky compilations such as Greatest Hits from the Last 20 Centuries." ~ Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide

Inshad - Baitain & Insiraf..

Fela Kuti - Black Man's Cry 1988 @256


Time to return to World music, here's the originator of Afrobeat in fine form. Note the appearance of Cream's Ginger Baker on this one, although you'll be hard pressed to notice.

Here's an informed review:

"Fela Kuti was the Nigerian born purveyor of funky tribal beats which continue to shake the world's foundations. A recent casualty of the AIDS virus ravaging all of Africa, Kuti lived and played hard. Like Bob Marley, his music had strong consciousness raising power mixed into its heavy afro-funk rhythms. His political messages were not lost on the Nigerian military dictatorship he often sang about, and Kuti was imprisoned on several occasions. Still, he never lost sight of the fact that the music was as important as the message, and his bands were always tight and talented enough to muster much groove. A disciple of James Brown, Kuti masterfully used horns as part of his rhythm section to great affect. He added a strong dose of African percussion, fat bass lines, and some electrified instruments like pianos, organs, or guitars to complicate the rhythm hypnotically. On this live recording, the newly formed Africa '70 is joined by former-Cream drummer and fan, Ginger Baker. Baker, amazingly, fits right in, showing a restraint and intensity seldom found in showy rock drummers during his single solo on "Ye Ye De Smell." But Baker's presence is little more than a side show here, as it is the cumulative power of the band as a whole that really shapes the album's thickly layered grooves. Kuti's prowess on the keyboards is in strong evidence throughout, adding the necessary color and melodic voicing over the throbbing rhythm. His voice is raw with soul power. The band behind him is relentless, pushing forward into some of the hardest funk territory ever explored in the African continent, particularly on Kuti's hit, "Black Man's Cry." As a newly formed unit, this band was out to prove just how bad-ass they really were, and this jamming performance from Kuti's early days demonstrates just how well they succeeded."

John Ballon

1. Let's Start 7:51
2. Black Man's Cry 12:12
3. Ye Ye De Smell 12:35
4. Egbe Mi O 12:15
5. Alu Jon Jonki Jon 12:44
6. Egbe Mi O 7:08

Fela Kuti: Vocals, Keyboards, Saxophone
Ginger Baker: Drums, Percussion
Tunde Williams: Trumpet
Eddie Faychum: Trumpet
Igo Chiko: Tenor Sax
Lekan Animashaun: Baritone Sax
Peter Animashaun: Rhythm Guitar
Maurice Ekpo: Bass Guitar
Tony Allen: Drums
Henry Koffi: 1st Conga
Friday Jumbo: 2nd Conga
Akwesi Korranting: 3rd Conga
Tony Abayomi: Sticks
Isaac Olaleye: Shekere

Enjoy!

Links in comments.