Indio -"Big Harvest" [1989] @256 Excellent and very rare Art-Pop

Indio can be classified under your One Hit Wonders folder. No one knows for sure why Indio’s leader, canadian Gordon Peterson, disappeared from the face of the earth after making such a fantastic album. Some have compared this work to the likes of Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, but that comparison could be misleading. Certainly he used World Music elements in the song-building process as they did in the late 80's but his marvelous voice and exquisite arrangements make this album a unique listening experience. Indio was not a band but a gathering of virtuosos, under peterson's command. That differs from the above mentioned artists' way of making music.

Big Harvest is Pop oriented, yes, but don’t let that scare you. There’s good Pop around and this is certainly one of the best examples ever of what good Pop should be. Excellent lyrics, great song writing, edgy progressive and eastern elements here and there.

Un fortunately Peterson never resurfaced. It an very short statement (perhaps apochryphal) he said that he couldn’t cope with the pressures of the music industry. (nervous breakdown, maybe?). Anyway he’s alive and kicking and rumours of new songs float in the air.

Read the line up of the album and you’ll wonder, like myself, why this guy never got to be a superstar:

Gordon Peterson: Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background), Choir, Chorus, Producer, Chant, Art Direction, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Strings

L. Subramaniam: Violin
Vinnie Colaiuta: Drums
Alex “Neciosup” acuña : Percussion
Brenda Russell: Chorus
Bill Dillon: Chant, Guitar, Mandolin
Adrain Brett: Wood winds
David Bottrill: Engineering
Larry Klein: Bass
Manny Elias: Percussion, Drums
Tony Pleeth: Cello
Van Dyke Parks : Accordion
Produced by David Rhodes, who also played guitar

I believe this album is one of the great mysteries of the history of Good Music.

Highly recommended.

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Indio - The Grinding Wheel...

John Abercrombie - Straight Flight [1979] @ 224 (jazz guitar)

Abercrombie is one of the elite electric guitarist in jazz, along with McLaughlin, Bill Frisell and John Schofield. He has had a long association with ECM records making a many beautifully recorded landmark albums. If you don't have "Timeless", get it.

This is an odd release in 2 respects. Firstly, you only need to look at the cover (I wish albums still cost $5.98!) to see that it's a world away from the crafted artwork of ECM. Secondly, he plays a standards in a mainstream trio setting, assisted by George Mraz on bass and Peter Donald on drums.

I would assume that is why it is on this obscure label, it just would not fit the ECM image. In many ways it is a precurser to the albums he would make with pianist Andy LaVerne in the late '80's and '90's.

The point about musicians such as Abercrombie is that not only can he change stlye from the modern to mainstream , but can do it better than most seasoned practitioners. As such, it is is an excellent example of the guitarist craft, supported noteably by Marz, who played with Bill Evans on so many classic recordings.

Nardis (Miles Davis) 6:44.

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Keep listening !!!

Arti & Mestieri - "Quinto Stato" [1979] @ 256 (Italian Jazz Fusion)

One of the groups of the Italian Cramps label, Arti & Mestieri of Turin were form you around to the 1974 from the former drummer of Trip Furio Chirico (who had previously also played with the Boys of Sole and Martò and the Judas) with other musicians with various musical experiences. Gigi Venegoni (guitar, synth), Giovanni Vigliar (violin, voice, percussions) and Arthur Vitale (sax, clarinet, vibraphone) played with the Dream of Archimedes, a progressive rock/jazz fusion group. Often playing with Area, they shared their interest towards a fusion of jazz-rock with elements of progressive music, and the first album, Tilt, is an optimal result, even if the limited vocal parts were their weak point. The album comprised of only two vocal tracks, the rest were instrumentals.

In 1975, their second album, Giro di Valzer per Domani, saw the income of a singer, Gianfranco Gaza from Procession, and the album has a much better sound and production than the first one, of which it resumes the style but with some jazzy elements. Two of the better songs of the album, the instrumental Valzer in order tomorrow and the sung brano To know to feel exited also like 45 turns. After some years of interruption, in 1979 they released a third album, Quinto Stato, with the always guided group from Chirico but with a various formation and in a more traditional style jazz-rock, while the album seemed to be headed more and more clearly towards a kind fusion.

---taken from a review @ www.italianprog.com

Highly Recommended!

Lineup:

Gianfranco Gaza (voice)
Gigi Venegoni (guitar, synth)
Beppe Crovella (keyboards)
Giovanni Vigliar (violin, voice, percussions)
Arthur Vitale (sax, clarinet, vibraphone)
Mark Welsh (bass)
Furio Chirico (battery, percussions)

Track 6 - D'essy

Track 7 - Arti

Keep Listening!!!!

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Pyg - "Pyg (First album)" [1972] @224 (japanese prog rock)

Hello Friends!! for one week or more when i enter to have a look to the blog (at 7:00 am Uk greenwich time) i see 1 japon flag on neocounter everyday.i dont know he/she is the same person (if he/she is i am saying him/her a big hello :) he/she remind me some great and rare japan bands.and i feel happy for that :) as you know my english no good to tell whole story of bands.so a light copy paste is here: PYG (Pyg) was Japan's first rock super-group, made up of members of the most famous bands of the Group Sounds era, The Tempters, The Spiders and The Tigers.The members were (keyboards) Katsuo Ohno, (guitar) Takayuki Inouye, (drums) Hiroshi Oguchi, (lead vocals) Kenichi Hagiwara, (bass) Ittoku "Sally" Kishibe and (lead vocals) Kenji Sawada. Session man Yuji Harada, a non "Group Sounds" star, was also added to the line-up as a second drummer. The band were a seven piece ensemble on stage.Formed in 1970, the unit was fronted by the two biggest stars of the era, lead singers Kenji Sawada of The Tigers and Kenichi Hagiwara of The Tempters. The musical director of the band was guitarist Takayuki Inouye of The Spiders. Review was taken from wiki. happy listenings :)

Love of Peace and Hope/Pyg .....

Nothing Free/Pyg......................

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Barry Goldberg (w Bloomfield) - And Friends @ 192 (Bloomfield blues)

This is a Michael Bloomfield album in all but name. Released on the obscure Record Man label sometime in, I think, the first half of the '70's, in Goldberg's name so as to avoid contractual problems, this is electric Bloomfield in a rough & ready live blues jam.

But its Bloomfield that commands attention. A true gunius and the most powerful guitarist around at the time.

Don't forget that it was Bloomfield who provided the guitar to Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone" and to the Butterfield Blues Band ( if you don't have "East-West", get it)

As I said this is a jam, so much soloing from Bloomfield and Goldberg and that's fine by me. When the musicians are this good, why not let them go for it? Somewhere in the mix is Harvey Mandel (I'm not convinced that he really is there) and I think a bass player, but really this is the Bloomfield Show warts and all.

Do yourself a favour and get this obscure little gem.

Mess "A Da" Blues

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David Bromberg - David Bromberg [1971] @ 192 ( American guitarist, singer -songwriter with a bent)

Not many artists get requests from established musicians to appear on their first album. So why did George Harrison (you can hear his slide guitar on "The Holdup"), Bob Dylan and bluegrass legend Norman Blake offer their services to this unknown? Because of the fact that he'd already been on dozens of albums as a session player and shown extraordinary talent.

This is, quite simply, one of the best and most confident first albums ever made, and that's saying something.

Lots a humor, great musicians having a ball with terrific songs is probably a good description. I add the ryder that the last song "Sammy's Song" is none of these, explicit and tragic and "Last Song From Selby Jean" isn't all beer and skittles either, just class.

The live version of "Delhia" is, in my view, the definitive one while the aforementioned "The Holdup" co-written with Harrison is brilliant, an unknown gem from the former Beatle.

Truly essential, so do yourself a favour.

The Holdup


Keep listening !!!

Jonas Hellborg & Glen Velez - "Ars Moriendi" [1989] @256 Superb virtuoso ethnic flavored fusion. Do Not Miss It.

Those of you who have been following this blog from its beginning a few months ago, probably downloaded an extraordinary ethno fusion album by Trilok Gurtu called Usfret. If you did, no doubt you found out a great bass player, the Swedish Jonas Hellborg, amazing virtuoso of electric and six stringed acoustic bass.

On this work Mr.Hellborg is accompanied by Glen Velez, master of ethnic drumming and one of the most famous session musicians of the contemporary ethno jazz scene.

One of many Hellborg’s biographies states that…
”Jonas Hellborg was born 1958 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He taught himself to play the bass at age 12. Influenced by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Cream, and Deep Purple, Hellborg played mainly blues and Heavy Rock. In 1972 he heard a record that changed his perception of music. This album, The Inner Mountain Flame, by the Mahavishnu Orchestra (Featuring English guitarist John McLaughlin) would not only influence his music, but his career as well.”

So, as we can see, Mr. Hellborg, contrary to many virtuoso musicians, started with rock and since the mid 80’s has been moving to… jazz?, classical?, avantpunk?… who knows?

Anyway his playing skills are truly mind boggling. He can do things with his bass that no one else would wven dare to try c. In the above mentioned Gurtu album we can hear how Hellborg is able to follow even the most intrincate hindu rhythmic constructions without any hint of hesitation or any sign of even the slightlest flaw. And that my friends is quite a compliment for a bassit, because hundu music complexity is way beyond our most difficult jazz or rock masterpieces. I read somewhere that he assumes the bass is a keyboard instrument. Maybe that's right.

His delightful collaborations are many. John Mc Laughling, Giger Baker, Anton Fier, Bill Laswell Michael Shrieve and many others.

Be prepared. I believe he is second to no one and Jaco is waiting for him in Heaven to share his place with him.

But hey... hellborg plays with another guy...! Glen Velez deserves more than a few words himself. Texan of Mexican origin, he ‘s one of the most outstanding percussionist alive. His mastering of all kind of frame drums have created around him a sonic aura that resembles nothing else but Velez. No one, nothing, sounds like him. The beating of the Bodhran and many other framed resounding skins fill the space with a solid phonic fluid that gets deep into one’s ears and mind. He sounds Arabic, or hindu, or celtic or something among and beyond all those words.

Actually he’s recognized as the highest authority of this instrument in the world. Considering that the history of the frame drum is dated as back as Ancient Mesopotamy, that’s a great achievement.

He reminds us that the first musical thing we humans ever did was beating something against something. He seems to be a messenger of antiquity and also a dweller of the future, calling us to an ocean of flows and counter flows of pure drumming. Glen Velez collaborations with Oud maestro Rabih Abou Khalil, for ECM records, are not to be missed. He has also played with Steve Reich (crossing thus the classical boundaries), John Cage, Zakir Hussain and Paul Winter.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the result of a magical moment in history of modern music.
The collaboration between two giants. This album is absolutely, strongly, undoubtedly recommended.
Please give this work what it deserves…

Headphones. A nice chair, a quiet intense listening while drinking something exotic. It is that good. Believe me.

Keep Listening…!!!


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Stars of the Morning Sky...

Triumvirat - "Mediterranean Tales" [1972] @256 (prog rock)

Here is a copy paste from progarchives: Triumvirat have always been referred to as an ELP clone band a view which I have failed personally to adopt... sure there are some strong similarities but also a number of differences... "Mediterranean Tales" is certainly one of those differences ! The opening side long title track is simply killer with heavy 70’s keyboard and German underground sensitivities. Cleverly energized epic track with some breathtaking instrumental-passages and instrumentation. "Mediterranean Tales" is a strong mix of classical and rock genres including overtures, fugues, thematic restatements and many different styled movements. Make no mistake this album is full of Jürgen Fritz’s killer keyboard work (a classically trained musician). The rest of the band include Hans Bathelt (drums, percussion) and Hans Pape (bass, vocals). Re-mastered CD edition also includes four bonus tracks previously appeared on singles. A Classic Recording from a great progressive rock band ! Happy lisyenings :)

Across the waters/Triumvirat ......

E Minor 59 Minor 5/Triumvirat .....

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Kaleidoscope - Incredible Kaleidoscope [1969] @320 (US prog rock)

Hello Proggers! well this album is a must for all who addicted to progressive rock! i dont write a review for that album..all i want to tell is a song from this album..Seven Ate Sweet! this song is one of the greatest song i have ever listened..Song starts with traditional scales of north part of turkey karadeniz..and continues with greek bouziki! most of these scales were using in wedding tunes..all i can say about is..if one day i become married..i will play that song in my wedding :) its really hard to express music..better you listen decide. here you can find a lightweight info for the band.

Seven Ate Sweet/Kaleidoscope ...

Banjo/Kaleidoscope ...................

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Sohail Rana - "Khyber Mail" [1970] @256 (pakistan psychfolk)

Hello everybody! i remembered the day i first listen this album! i am sure you will like that album..i am not good on writting so copy paste here: Sohail Rana, who is the son of renowned Urdu poet, Rana Akbar Abadi, was born in his native city, Agra, Uttar Pardesh, India, to a highly literary, academic and respectable family. They all migrated to Pakistan after partition. Years passed by and Sohail Rana successfully completed his primary and secondary school education in Hyderabad, Sind, Pakistan. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the university of Karachi through D.J. Science College initially. Later he received his final B.A. degree from National College, Karachi. Sohail Rana met read more here This album is like a candy :)

Harvest Time/Sohail Rana ....
Cobra Away/Sohail Rana .......
Saat Maatray/Sohail Rana .....

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Patch - The Star Suite [1973] @128 (Aussie prog)

Firstly, apologies for the bit rate, but this is the only copy of this that I know of. If anyone has a better one, I'd love to hear from you. It is, to say the least, rather rare.

My comments on this one are brief, for one very simple reason, I know very little about it.

It is basically the brainchild of Peter Dawkins, drummer of New Zealand origin and later an Aussie producer, including for Spectrum (see Millesago, May archive in this blog)

Dawkins conceived, co-wrote and produced the whole thing, a concept album based on, rather obviously, astrological themes.

The band is made up mainly of Ariel personnel, this band being Spectrum in pop diguise, guitarist and fine singer - songwriter, Mike McClellan and others. It is not hard to pick out Spectrum / Ariel's Mike Rudd's guitar in the mix.

The music is entirely instrumental and is prog at its best. Despite being made up of only 4 tracks and being over 40 minutes long, it is by no means boring. It has an ethereal, dreamy feel, building to great climaxes, all rather good, really. The music, by the way, is rather better than the awful cover.

I can recommend this wholeheartedly, so do yourself a favour!

Air

Keep listening !!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/23571191/P_ss__1973.rar

Steve Goodman - Jessie's Jig And Other Favourites [1976] @256 (American singer - songwriter)

The comments that I made in the Danny O'Keefe post apply here also. Again, Goodman did have some success at the beginning of his career with "City Of New Orleans", a hit for Arlo Guthrie in the late 60's. Also, he had major label support (Asylum Records) that enabled him to record with the best musicians the label could muster.

That's where the similiarities with O'Keefe end. Goodman was a fine songwriter, frankly, one of the best. His albums contain a mixture of the serious and the flippant, with perhaps an emphasis on more lighthearted material, with a few covers tossed in, for example, "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" and reference to old time music, here represented by "Jessie's Jig", with Vasaar Clements and Jethro Burns.

As far as I am aware, he made only half a dozen or so albums before he was cruely struck down with luekemia when still young. He continued to released his own material through Red Pajamas Records after he became seriously ill, mostly cobbled together from what he had recorded and live shows, although his last album "Santa Ana Winds" was made up of unreleased songs.

He died in September 1984, just 36 years old.

A fine songwriter and one that should not be forgotten.

This Hotel Room

Keep Listening !!!

http://rapidshare.de/files/23457914/sg.rar