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McDonald And Giles
Following the meltdown of the original King Crimson lineup, Ian McDonald and Michael Giles brought brother Peter Giles back, which helps to account, in some ways, for the resemblance of this album to the 1968 Giles, Giles & Fripp recordings -- though the songs here tend to go on at some length, combining prog rock's traits of length and multiple sections with some of the lighter feel of the GG&F days. The 20-minute "Birdman" tends toward self-indulgence, while "Tomorrow's People - The Children o…
Cueille Le Jour
"Once in a while, a piece of music jumps out of the loudspeakers and grabs me by the throat. The opening track Couleurs is one of these pieces of music. The twenty-two minutes of music is a blend of symphonic prog, Canterbury prog and jazz. The opening salvos of moog is just heaven and utter heaven. The rest is a mix of superb vocals and the above mentioned styles of music, pretty much dominated by Claude-Marius David's superb flute and sopransaxophon pieces. Couleurs is a creative triumph for t…
Live at Glastonbury Festival June 1971
Obscure British prog-rock band Mighty Baby evolved from a Mod group called The Action, but moved heavily into experimental psychedelia in 1969, when they cut an incredible debut for the Head label. Glastonbury Fayre Festival 1971 captures the legendary group in live action, ‘A Blanket In My Muesli’ being a free-form jam that remains their best-loved effort; ‘India’ is a similarly hefty instrumental mega-jam with lilting flute amidst the bluesy guitar work, and there are awesome renditions of ‘Vi…
The Impulse Session
For the first time on vinyl, these previously unreleased sessions by the British jazz rock band. Recorded live at the Impulse studios prior to their 1972 debut album on Blackey/Warner. With liner notes by bassist Colin Hodgkinson. Colin Hodgkinson first met Ron Aspery whilst the two were playing in Eric Delaney's Showband. The two began to talk about forming their own band around 1969, and eventually Back Door came to fruition in 1971, with Tony Hicks joining on drums. Hodgkinson made an innovat…
Skryvania
*Limited edition of 300* A true diamond in the pantheon of French progressive rock, Skryvania’s sole album that was released in 1978 is currently the scene’s most expensive artefact, with copies selling for over 3000 euros (if found). The album’s musical merit is hardly contestable. Although largely composed in the typically French symphonic prog vein, it is no stranger to hard prog and psychedelia, with fuzzed out guitar solos in constant dialogue with escalating moog assaults. This largely ins…
Yniverze
*2023 stock* This album can be considered Emma Myldenberger's epilogue or even their fourth album. Indeed after the third album Live (only released under the cassette format at the time (and recently reissued in Cd by the God label, the group sort of managed to survive a few months later but members were abandoning the ship.
Definitely an excellent album, Yniverse easily compares to Tour De Trance and in some ways is better. No doubt that the excellent people at Garden Of Delight will one day (r…
Odiszée Parck
*2023 stock* Radio Noisz Ensemble was the successor band to the more folk-oriented six-piece Emma Myldenberger, who released two LPs in the late 1970s, and followed those with a live cassette after the turn of the decade (all since released on CD). Three members (guitarist / mandolinist Michel Meyer, reeds player Biber Gullatz, and Topsi Tkacz on violin and contrabass) of Emma Myldenberger formed RNE in ’81, who along with percussionist Matthias Gassert and special guest Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru…
Weltschmerz
*2023 stock* Siddhartha, named after a novel by Hermann Hesse, were formed in 1973 in Korntal near Stuttgart. They performed an intelligent mix-ture of progressive and art rock influenced by psychedelia and folk. Although their 1975 album is called "Weltschmerz" all songs contain English lyrics except for "Weit weg". It was released in a limited edition of 400 copies and is now one of the most sought-after collectors’ items. A thirty minute demo tape by Siddhartha which was recorded after the re…
Thoughts
A very rare but strong 'Canterbury' release from Germany. Very pleasant, inspired and technical, Zyma cultivates the musical schema developed by Soft Machine and others but stresses the funniest and most optimistic emotional dialogue of it, thanks to very enthusiastic melodies and catchy improvisations. The opening track illustrates it perfectly. Mostly a jazzy rock composition punctuated by female voices and fantasist interludes.
Hamburg 1969
*2023 stock* "Xhol was one of the first bands who participated at the send of the 60s to the launch of the Krautrock movement in Germany. Nevertheless their music cannot be categorised. Their roots came from rhythm'n blues with soul tendencies. With their second album "electrip" they rapidly found their own style which can be considered as an original fusion of free jazz, psychedelic rock and electronic experimentations. Very dynamic their jazz rock can sometimes be compared with the spirit of t…
June 1975
*2023 stock* Epidermis were founded in Idstein, Germany, in 1971. They played some complex and sophisticated rock music, often compared with Gentle Giant, Yes and the Canterbury scene. 'June 1975' has not been released on any physical format back then, and has been made available for the first time. The 20-page booklet in LP size contains a long band history in German and English lyrics and a detailed discography.
Umsonst Und Draußen – Vlotho 1977
*2023 stock* Before the Munich krautrockers turned more strongly in the direction of world music in the following years, at this gig they once again delivered their mix, moving between funk and jazz, as it defined the mid-70s. Fixed song structures never played a role with Embryo. Apart from the - despite difficult meter - extremely loose-floppy 'Getalongwithasong' (from the 1977 studio album Apo-Calypso), they mainly played new improvisations in Vlotho."
Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee
*2023 stock* Originally based in Stuttgart Conny Veit’s Gila had already recorded a more rocking psychedelic first album with a different line-up when Veit was invited to Munich to record “Hosianna Mantra” for Florian Fricke’s Popol Vuh. Hanging around frequently at Amon Düül’s commune in Kronwinkel he met Daniel Fichelscher who played and recorded with Amon Düül II at that time. Veit was impressed with Fichelscher’s drumming and decided to revive Gila with Fichelscher on drums, Veit playing gui…
Father, Son And Holy Ghosts
*2023 stock* This album is a bit difficult to pigeonhole, as most of the early Embryo work is. The opening number sounds if anything, like an outtake from Miles Davis' Jack Johnson soundtrack, but with lead guitar sound more prominant. Then, gears are switched, and you are listening to acoustic folk guitar and sitar, which melts into a cool ostenato riff flanging around, that just builds and builds, with countermelody on Violin (or Veena?) and guitar weaving in and out, along with the drum parts…
Mice And Rats In The Loft
*2023 stock* Originally released in 1971-- a particularly ripe vintage for freewheeling progressive folk-rock-- British trio Jan Dukes De Grey's second album Mice and Rats in the Loft ranks alongside Comus' First Utterance as one of the wildest relics of the era.
Comprised of three lengthy tracks, Mice and Rats in the Loft amply showcases the formidable talents of multi-instrumentalists Michael Bairstow and Derek Noy, joined here by drummer Dennis Conlan. Throughout these pieces, the musicians …
Quatermass
"Quatermass' only album is a must-have for prog rock enthusiasts, especially lovers of the keyboard-dominated style which flourished in the early '70s. Although there are only three members of the band, their histories are just as colorful as the music they produced. Keyboard player Pete Robinson and bass man Johnny Gustafson met drummer Mick Underwood and founded Episode Six, a band which included Ian Gillan who later fronted Deep Purple. Underwood was also involved with the Outlaws as well as …
Milano Calibro 9
2023 restock This album represents the intersection of a number of trends going on in Italy at the time it was made. One was for rock bands to adopt Classical forms, sometimes even involving actual orchestras (New Trolls, Rovescio della Medaglia). Another was movies about gangsters. Another was for movies to have soundtracks by rock bands (Goblin and so on). So here you have a rock band doing music in a Classical form (prelude, theme, variations) with an orchestra as the soundtrack to a gangster…
Senza Orario Senza Bandiera
* 2023 stock * “Senza timetable senza Bandiera” was releasedo on October 23, 1968. It is the long-distance debut of the New Trolls and is also the first concept album in the history of Italian rock. A work born from the encounter between a group then considered avant-garde, the New Trolls, a singer-songwriter used to going in a stubborn and opposite direction like Fabrizio De André, the visionary poet Riccardo Mannerini and Gian Piero Reverberi, a cultured musician and arranger and prepared. A c…
Per... Un Mondo Di Cristallo
* 2023 stock * The Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno (also called RRR) were a Roman group dedicated to progressive rock in the years in which the genre, in Italy and in Europe, lived its best years with enthusiasm. Formed by Luciano Regoli (vocals, acoustic guitar), Francesco Froggio Francica (drums, percussion), Manlio Zacchia (bass), Damaso Grassi (flute, sax), Nanni Civitenga (guitar) and Stefano Piermarioli (keyboards) they released only one album in 1972 - "Per un mondo di Cristallo" - and then…
Intorno Alla Mia Cattiva Educazione
* 2023 stock * That the vast majority of Italian prog groups, in the '70s, was inspired by the great English groups is a certain fact. But there are many groups that have been able to produce discs with personal elements, thanks to the use of warm Mediterranean sounds, typical traditional classicisms and, above all, an Italian feeling, a touch that distinguishes the product. The result was that of a total and worldwide appreciation, so as to make the Italian progressive almost a genre in itself.…