★Trading Places
Mona The Carnivorous Circus
The adventurous singer, guitarist and music journalist Mick Farren launched his solo career after being sacked by his fellow Deviants, the protopunk band he fronted from 1967-69. Suffering from depression and other mental health issues, Farren teamed…
Prayer For Peace
Big Tip! While stationed in Germany in the RAF during the late 1950s and early 1960s, York-born alto and soprano saxophonist Trevor Watts met the drummer John Stevens, with whom he would form the Spontaneous Music Ensemble upon returning to the UK in…
Gipsy Blood
Japanese country rock act Gypsy Blood must be heard to be believed. Released on Vertigo in 1971, their sole LP showed the group simply bursting with talent, Kiyoshi Hayami’s mandolin exceptional and the masterful soft-rock production courtesy of Miki…
Snafu
Reissue, originally released in 1970. By the time of East Of Eden's sophomore set Snafu, future Wings drummer Geoff Britton and Scottish bassist Andy Sneddon were in the fold, furthering the tough blues rock underpinning beneath Dave Arbus's electric…
Mercator Projected
Reissue, originally released in 1969. Experimental prog act East Of Eden's daring debut album Mercator Projected was released by Deram in 1969. Former Graham Bond Organisation bassist Steve York and drummer Dave Dufort supply the tough rhythmic backb…
Changes
Trading Places present a reissue of Catapilla's self-titled album, originally released in 1971. Jazz-infused prog rock act Catapilla began in London in 1970, with saxophonists Robert Calvert (who later worked with Daevid Allen in various Gong spin-of…
Catapilla
Trading Places present a reissue of Catapilla's self-titled album, originally released in 1971. Jazz-infused prog rock act Catapilla began in London in 1970, with saxophonists Robert Calvert (who later worked with Daevid Allen in various Gong spin-of…
Jade Warrior
After backing future Mike Oldfield producer Tom Newman and playing in psychedelic outfit July, percussionist/flutist Jon Field and guitarist Tony Duhig joined forces with bassist Glyn Havard to form experimental prog act Jade Warrior, their non-stand…
Live In Ankara
Recorded in November 1969 at the US Embassy, Live In Ankara saw the adventurous jazz trumpeter Don Cherry performing with saxophonist Irfan Sümer, bassist Selçuk Sun, and drummer Okay Temiz, with arrangements by trumpeter Maffy Falay, who had introdu…
My Brain Collapsed
The roots of 80s English psychedelic freak band The Tryp lie in a hoax perpetuated by Steve Lines’ indie mag Mardenbeat, based in the town of Calne in the Marden Delta, which reviewed a gig by a non-existent band; former JP Sunshine main man Rod Good…
Death May Be Your Santa Claus
After their excellent Polydor debut suffered from lack of promotion, Second Hand’s sophomore LP surfaced on Mushroom, the noncommercial label formed by Vic Keary, Mike Craig, and Neil Richmond, allowing for unfettered experimentation. With George Har…
Reality
Obscure prog rockers Second Hand began as the Next Collection, formed at a south London secondary school; engineer/manager Vic Keary scored them a contract with Polydor as the Moving Finger, but their legendary debut LP was credited to Second Hand, d…
A Jug Of Love
Originally released in 1971, Mighty Baby's second and, for nearly a quarter of a century, final release is a deft, understated, and often magical synthesis of any number of musical strains. Stepping further away from the group's louder roots in the A…
Samurai
Trading Places present a reissue of Samurai's self-titled album, originally released in 1971. In 1971 the group called WEB changed its name to Samurai and started working on their eponymous studio album released on the obscure Greenwich Gramophone la…
Fantabulous
Roman saxophonist and clarinettist Sandro Brugnolini began his long recording career in the Junior Dixieland Gang in the early 1950s and came to greater prominence as chief composer in the Modern Jazz Gang, awarded best original composition for his ‘…
Mighty Baby
The obscure British prog band Mighty Baby evolved from an earlier group called The Action, a London Mod act that signed to Parlophone after building a strong live reputation, with guitarist Alan King, bassist Mike Evans and drummer Roger Powell, late…
Heron
Trading Places present a reissue of Heron's self-titled album, originally released in 1970. Short-lived British folk-rock band Heron was formed in the suburban town of Maidenhead, Berkshire, in 1967, when guitarist/pianist Roy Apps and singer Tony Po…
Thank You For...
The English singer and guitarist Bridget St John was introduced to the London folk scene by guitarist John Martyn, her rich and unusually deep voice making John Peel one of her greatest champions, and when Peel formed the Dandelion label in 1969 with…
Ben
Canterbury-based progressive jazz-rock act Ben only released one obscure album, issued on Philips’ prog subsidiary Vertigo in 1971, but it’s a lovely collective of extended instrumental jams, worthy of discovery for those that missed it the first tim…
Sound Trek
Pioneering space music duo Emerald Web, comprised of Bob Stohl and soulmate Kat Epple, made some of the most ethereal, divine and healing sounds between 1979 and 1990. Crafting their debut album in a haunted mansion in northwest Connecticut, their se…