Psych /
Empty Hands
Ihre Kinder, formed in 1968, and were the pioneers among the politically and socially engaged groups in Germany. Their second album 'Leere Hände' was originally released on the legendary Kuckuck label in 1970. The English version, called 'Empty Hands', has never been available on vinyl. There was a small number of white label copies pressed by Deutsche Grammophon in 1970/'71 to solicit releases by Polygram companies around the world, but as there was no interest, the label dropped the idea. So, …
Moon Fools / Eternal Rhythm
** "Moon Fools" LP Edition of 200 + "Ethernal Rhythm" Bonus CD ** Long awaiting to find its due place in the pantheon of 60s and 70s European progfolk, acid folk and psych folk gems that have been mushrooming over the recent years, Full Moon’s first release, Moon Fools, is finally brought back to life. Originally released in 1976, as a limited private pressing of 500 copies that were mostly sold in gigs, Moon Fools is a never-ending journey to the East, a constant interplay between darkness and …
Egg
** 2021 Repress. Thick card glossy sleeve, 180 gram vinyl ** The debut album of Egg ( nothing but Arzachel without guitarist Steve Hillage, who left to study psychology in Kent University) is a real early progressive gem. All Egg's releases stayed in the shadow, and it's a shame. Guitar less trio, heavily based on future on of the greatest Canterbury scene keyboardist Dave Stewart plays perfect mix of psychedelic jazzy symphonic progressive. Nearest comparison could be ELP, but Egg's music is mo…
Camel
** 2021 Repress. Thick card glossy sleeve, 180 gram vinyl ** In August 1972 Camel signed with MCA Records and their eponymous debut album Camel (1973) was released six months later. The record was not a success and the band moved to the Deram Records division of Decca Records. The roots of Camel go as far as 1964, when the Latimer brothers Andrew and Bryan form part of a band called The Phantom Four, after gaining some fame, the band changes their name to Strange Brew, a when the bass player Gr…
Senne Wędrówki
The Warsaw quartet, which in 1969 went skyward with a razor and discovered for the Polish listener psychedelic-soul sounds in the spirit of Vanilla Fudge, celebrates its 50th birthday. It's a perfect occasion to recall "Senne wędrówki" - originally released in 2011, a compilation with Klan music recorded on commission from the Polish Film Chronicle. The material returns now in a refreshed form. In February 1971, Klan recorded a number of songs for the Polish Film Chronicle, including new, surpri…
Memento z Banalnym Tryptykiem
The last album of the original SBB before a long break. A summary of the decade full of events and achievements, as well as a kind of a clasp - completed years later with the beginning of the story, i.e. the first version of the title track, still from the Silesian Blues Band times! When "Memento z banalnym tryptykiem" was released in 1981, SBB was already history. The album, recorded a year earlier, thus became a kind of summary of the decade, in which the band searched, demolished, built and c…
Nowy Horyzont
The pulsating bass guitar, frenetic drums and the aggresive guitar. Synthesizers, noises and rumbles. One of the most progressive records in the history of the Polish rock – cherished by Steven Wilson and members of Opeth – now returns in its remastered and definitive version. In 1974 the band went into talks with CBS. The cooperation did not get off, but tracks recorded with that LP in mind became the foundation for the first studio release of the band to be published in Poland. Known by then f…
Welcome
SBB's second album, originally recorded in 1978. Seven shorter, extremely varied compositions confirming the great inventiveness of the legendary trio - rushing, progressive themes and moving songs with ideas. Definitive CD edition with new booklet and bonuses. SBB spent most of 1978 on concert stages all over Europe, being, among others, the first Polish performer to take the stage at the Roskilde Festival. In September they found time to record their next studio album. Released both in Poland …
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, later expanded to include former Savoy Brown guitarist Martin Stone and keyboardist/sax player, Ian Whiteman. Moving heavily into experimental psychedelia in 1969, they cut this incredible debut album for the Head label, which is rightly hailed as one of…
Love Songs
Endless Happiness presents Love Songs by The Mike Westbrook Concert Band. Highly sought-after British Jazz-Rock with some vocals thrown in by Norma Winstone. Love Songs was recorded at Tangerine Studios, 1970, and it is sorefreshing, choral and utterly distinctive with a staggeringly good group ofmusicians led by Westbrook and Surman. A mix of the melodic and the wistful, backed by a groovy beat, reissue now available for this classic masterpiece.
In the Court of King Crimson
** Hardback book, 632 pages, 624 + 8 pages of photos ** Sid Smith’s In The Court Of King Crimson: An Observation Over 50 Years traces King Crimson’s career from the 1960s underground scene to the present day, featuring interviews with all the principal musicians and people associated with the band, a track by track analysis of studio output and an extensive annotated gigography. A significantly expanded follow-up to the acclaimed In The Court Of King Crimson from 2002, Smith’s book is an essenti…
Skin Alley
Skin Alley were a British progressive rock band founded by Thomas Crimble and Alvin Pope in the autumn of 1968. The original lineup consisted of Crimble on bass guitar and vocals, Pope on drums, Max Taylor on guitar, and Jeremy Sagar on lead vocals. Taylor and Sagar left early in 1969, and were replaced by Krzysztof Henryk Juszkiewic on Hammond organ and Bob James on saxophone, flute, guitar and vocals. The band, comprising Thomas Crimble, Alvin Pope, Krzysztof Henryk Juszkiewicz and Bob James, …
Asylum
After a very promising debut album, Cressida proceeded with a stunning artwork on their sleeve, but somehow I feel that it does not work fully either as the backside of the gatefold is the same but reversed shot of the front. Heyworth had left (but not completely) but was replaced by Culley and flute player McNair also joined (but his interventions will be few). With this jacked-up sound, it is no surprise that Cressida sounds even more enthusiastic, more instrumental, and their melancholy reach…
Evening Colours
** 2021 Stock ** Laurence Vanay is the pseudonym for Jacqueline Thibault, wife of music producer and musician Laurent Thibault (Magma). The first ever reissue of her second album, originally released twice in 1975: a version on Galloway credited to fictitious English band Gateway, and once as a CAM label library LP—and incredibly rare in both incarnations. Pure genius: almost all instrumental, with gorgeous keyboards of many types (Hammond, Fender Rhodes, etc.), acoustic/electric guitar, even a …
Vida e Obra de Johnny McCartney
* 2021 Stock* Leno’s “Vida e Obra de Johnny McCartney” was intended as the next musical step after Tropicália, it’s full-blooded rock and roll approach intended to link the music that had already been made to the music that would be played a few years later. This record just might have been that bold step had CBS released it in 1971. But censors banned most of the tracks, and Leno was fortunate (thanks perhaps to his string of innocent sounding Jovem Guarda number one chart hits in Brazil as hal…
Sidewalk Talking
* 2021 Stock* I love this record. For me, it has a trace or two of Arthur Lee and Love at their best (‘Krishna Dov’ would not sound out of place on “Forever Changes,” for example), with dashes of maybe Terry Callier in some of the jazzier tunes. I also like that Hollins & Starr wrote a gentle tribute to one of my favorite old-time bluesmen, Mississippi John Hurt. At times this album is a gorgeous, ethereal blend of psychedelic folk and offbeat pop; but there are some funk and avant-garde moves t…
Iceman
** Edition of 500 numbered copies, 180 gr. vinyl ** Rare and sought after 1979 opus by Italy’s I Signori Della Galassia. “Iceman” was released in 1979 and has been long out of print for over 40 years fetching very high prices on the collector’s market. I Signori Della Galassia (translated as The Men Of Galaxy) is best described as a sonic hybrid of space disco/cosmic meets Italian progressive pop/rock. They were founded in Savona in the late 70s. Played with analog gear such as a variety of synt…
Peace On You
**Deluxe Edition, Numbered. Gimmick style gatefold cover which opens in the middle** Sheathed in obscurity following its 1972 release in Italy, Peace on You – the sole long-player from Ghana’s Mack Porter–is a true outlier gem of blues, soul, and psychedelic rock. With its dramatic David Axelrod-esque arrangements and Porter’s blurry, mirage-like lines between Hendrix soul and doomy Sabbath riffs, the record exists on a plane of rarity entirely its own.... "An African artist, born in Ghana (194…
On the Way to Eden
* 2021 Stock * It might be easy to think of Eden Rose as simply the first version of famed French progressive band Sandrose. Both bands had the same musicians; both existed at nearly the same moment in time (c. 1970). But Eden Rose is now seen, quite rightly, as something unique, a chimera from the misty past, a time during which the winds of change were blowing on the fixed universe of music. Rules were blown away, stagnant structures were swept aside, and musical conventions emancipated, this …
Dino & Montevideo Blues
Among the greatest artefacts of 1970s Latin American music, Lion Production’s first ever vinyl reissue of Montevideo Blues lone, self-titled LP, stands as a rare document of revolutionary music being made in Uruguay, and a crucial counterpoint to the sounds of Tropicália from Brazil. Fusing the rawness of rock with indigos Uruguayan rhythms, not to mention plenty of heavy grooves, it’s easily one of the most captivating records of its day.