As The Parlour Band brothers Craig and Mark Anders (guitar and bass respectively) and singer/lead guitarist Jonathan 'Pix' Pickford recorded an interesting slightly progressive-feeling LP - 1972's "The Parlour Band Is a Friend." Following the band's breakup the Anders brothers and Pickford continued their musical collaboration with A Band Called O. Signed by Epic, 1975's "Oasis" was the band's sophomore album. Musically it found the group (now expanded to include drummer Duck Ballard and keyboardist Pete Filleul) teamed with producer Nicky Graham. Clearly interested in courting a larger audience, material like the funky 'Amovin'', 'Foolin' Round' and 'Fine White Wine' found the band working in a more commercial mid-1970s AOR genre. With all five members and producer Graham contributing to the writing chores, the set wasn't bad. Powered by some nice lead vocals from Pickford, the collection was tuneful and occasionally fun (check out 'Bird of Paradise'). Most of this stuff would have easily slotted into top-40 radio along side other mid-1970s AOR acts like Pablo Cruise, Head East, Journey, etc. Doubt that comment then listen to 'That's Up', or 'Some People'. Unfortunately the album seldom rose above that pedestrian level. Professional, but largely forgettable this was a pretty good example of music as product, rather than art. Not bad product, but product nevertheless. So was there anything that actually stood out? Powered by some jumpy synthesizers the group composition 'Take Your Time' showcased a mild progressive feel. Similarly. complete with a pretty melody and weird reggae mid-section 'Sleeping' offered up a nod to their progressive roots and was probably the most atypical of the ten songs. Line-up / Musicians Pix/Vocals,Guitar Craig Anders/Guitar Derek Ballard/Drums,Percussion Peter Filleul/Piano,Clavinet,Synthesizer,Vocals Mark Anders/Bass Discography(Album) Oasis 1975
1.Amovin' 2.Foolin' Round 3.Sleeping 4.Morrocan Roll 5.Fine White Wine 6.Take Your Time 7.Bird Of Paradise 8.Ice 9.That's Up 10.Some People
A fitting name for this outfit as they play cookin’ rock-n-roll, the late-‘60s San Francisco variety. Riding the trend set by SF jam bands like Quicksilver, Moby Grape and The Grateful Dead, Cookin’ Mama rocks heavily with sure-footed crankin’ bluesy electric guitar riffs through nine original tunes like ‘New Day’, ‘Dice Of Life’, ‘What Will You Do’ and ‘2 A.M. Jam’. There’s a lot of background rhythm sax that also brings to mind the funkiness of Average White Band or the classic rock edge of Chicago’s debut. Parts even remind of Wilson McKinley and Joshua. Spiritual songs such as ‘I Don’t Fear No Evil’ (inspired by Psalm 23), ‘Feelin’ Good’ and ‘Little Children’ play alongside more secular slice-of-life musings like ‘Just To Pass The Day’ and ‘Out The Door’ (the latter with the lyric “stay away from the bitch outside, she’s gonna change our loving mind”). Real long-haired hippie-looking bunch as was often the case with these Way International folks (although it’s not stated anywhere on the cover, I’m assuming there’s a connection since the group played on the Way’s Rock Of Ages ’71 album). Original press bears the title New Day and shows a photo of the band on the front. There’s also a 1980 self-titled re-issue on Picc-A-Dilly with an illustration of a waitress serving a steaming record. Line-up / Musicians Sherry Fox/Vocals Paul Hann/Tenor Saxophone,Percussion,Vocals Jesse Harms/Organ,Piano,Congas,Vocals Vince Palazzotto/Drums,Percussion Lou Sarrica/Bass Kevin Smith/Vocals,Percussion Tom Thompson/Guitar,Organ,Bass,Percussion,Vocals Pat Thrall/Guitar,Percussion,Vocals Preston Thrall/Percussion Paul Trousdale/Tenor Saxophone,Flute Pat Thrall/Vocals Steve Nelson/Trumpet Miles McCleary/Tenor Saxophone Nancy Paris/Vocals Discography(Album) New Day 1972
1.New Day 2.Just To Pass The Day 3.Dice Of Life 4.Out The Door 5.I Don't Fear No Evil 6.Feelin' Good 7.What Will You Do? 8.Little Children
MAGNA CARTA is an English 'folk' band, formed in 1969 in London by Chris Simpson, Lyell Tranter, and Glen Stuart. They were part of the early progressive wave, but without really fully stepping into the progressive realm. Magna Carta's music is largely inspired and influenced by the folk of Simon & Garfunkel, focusing on soft and gentle acoustic music, often with a traditional feel, augmented with orchestral arrangement and good vocal harmonies. Influences and similar artist include the already mentioned Simon & Garfunkel, Fairport Convention, Kevin Ayers, Moody Blues, Amazing Blondel, Caravan, Al Stewart, the softer folk/singer songwriter genre and Canterbury genre.MAGNA CARTA has gone through numerous personnel changes over the years, with the only constant factor being Chris Simpson. Most notable members include Glen Stuart, an amazing vocalist with a great range, Lyell Tranter, who soon departed for Australia to be replaced by Davey Johnstone on guitars (left Magna Carta to join Elton John as long time band member), and Linda Taylor who would later merry Chris Simpson.Between 1969 and 1975 MAGNA CARTA made some wonderful albums, with the beautiful "Seasons' and 'Lord Of The Ages' as absolute highlights. Also the live album "In Concert" recorded in 1971 in Amsterdam is not to be missed. With the leaving of Glen Stuart the magical beauty was lost, and for a while the band seemed to fall apart. Chris Simpson however managed to keep the band alive and MAGNA CARTA continued making nice highly enjoyable music. In 1983 Chris met Linda Taylor and they continued mostly as a duo keeping the MAGNA CARTA name alive. Studio albums became rare, but re-releases of studio albums, and new live recordings kept them performing throughout Europe until today (2006). Line-up / Musicians Chris Simpson/guitar,vocals Glenn Stuart/vocals Stan Gordon/guitar,vocals Guest musicians: Gordon Huntley/guitar Graham Smith/bass Danny Thompson/bass Gerry Conway/drums Discography(Album) Lord Of The Ages 1973
1.Wish It Was 2.Two Old Friends 3.Lord of the Ages 4.Isn't It Funny 5.Song of the Evening 6.Father John 7.That Was Yesterday 8.Falkland Grene
Alto was the name for the short-lived rock and fusion project fronted by former Kraan saxophone player Johannes "Alto" Pappert. They were never really a proper band, as Alto was really more of an ego trip for Johannes Pappert, showing off his talent as a multi-instrumentalist, and featuring a hoard of top musicians and Kraan friends as guests. Happy Ambrosia was the 2nd release after a self-titled record in 1978.The style is rather soft, relaxed vocals by Ellen Meier. Line-up / Musicians Johannes Pappert/saxophone,percussion,guitar Peter Wolbrandt/guitar,banjo,vocals Ellen Meier/vocals Hellmut Hattler/bass Micky Stickdorn/drums Jan Fride/percussion, drums Wolfgang Grasekamp/keyboards Lou Marignan/bass Bernd Kiefer/bass Zabba Lindner/drums,percussion Andy Göldner/vocals,guitar Discography(Album) Happy Ambrosia 1980
1.Dark Veils 2.She Knows it's Gone 3.Happy Ambrosia 4.New Mornin' 5.Nanga Parbat 6.Communication '79 7.Outside 8.Psychodelic Island 9.Flowers in the Garden 10.Fiery Orbits
In 1970, near Zurich, 20 teenagers founded the chorus les Amis. The chorus sung gospels and quickly became quite successful, garnering a following via its many live performances throughout Switzerland. Some of the members of les Amis grew tired of the chorus and began working on a project of their own: a progressive rock band, Alpha to Omega. Alpha to Omega recorded and performed over the next five years, with a chorus that grew at times to include over 100 members. Work on the band's debut album, the concept rock opera A Life, gradually appropriated much of its time and performances became rare, causing one after another of Alpha to Omega's members to exit the band. When recording was finally complete, the band had been whittled down to only one member: Fredy Baumann. He decided to spend all his money on a pressing of 600 records, one of which found its way to the only Swiss radio station in existence at the time, Radio Beromunster. As it so happened, at the very same time, the Swiss government had sponsored and released a rock opera of its own, and A Life was not simply favorably compared to that project, but was instead declared far better by the station. Within days, Radio Beromunster received bags full of fan letters concerning Alpha to Omega, and the small pressing of records sold out in mere days. More records were not pressed due to an odd occurrence. An agent of Cat Stevens had heard the airplay being given to A Life. Impressed and intrigued by the story and music, he attempted to buy the entire rights to the story from the band. The band was unwilling to sell, so the words and music were slightly changed, and, six months later, the "Alpha to Omega" project was released in England "by" Cat Stevens, with additional help and appearances from Elton John and other notable recording artists. A similar "Alpha to Omega" project was released in Australia. Black Rills Records officially reissued A Life in 1997. Many of the former members of Alpha to Omega re-formed in 1997 and began playing as Mu, recording new songs in a style similar to their former outfit. Line-up / Musicians Fredy Baumann/Vocals Fritz Beerstecher/Vocals Priska Weidmann/Vocals Erica Laederach/Vocals Pierre Laederach/Piano J.C. Laederach/Flute,Vocals Peter Ohno/Guitar,Vocals Werner Homberger/Guitar Jurg Gallo/Bass Renaud Suter/Drums Rene Liniger/Drums Discography(Album) A Life 1977
1.Alpha 2.Easygoing Childhood 3.The Grey City 4.The First Day At School 5.The Tiny Difference 6.King Michael 7. One Thousand Arms 8.The Woman 9.I'm In Love With Life 10.Happy Time 11. The Breakdown 12.And He Doesn't Know What The Preacher Says 13.Awakening 14.The Rich Man, Yet So Poor 15.Temptation 16.Guilt 17.My Friend Death 18.Omega
As one of the two most important bands to blend traditional British folk music and rock - the other being the legendary Fairport Convention - STEELEYE SPAN represented both the revival of this music in Britain and its ventures into contemporary times. Completely authentic but with a modern spark their peers never quite matched, the ensemble's development was one of the most evolving in popular music. By 1969, an electrically charged Folk scene had fully emerged in England. That year after a road accident in which their drummer was killed, singer Sandy DENNY and FAIRPORT CONVENTION recorded 'Liege and Lief', a project led by bassist Ashley HUTCHINGS and Richard THOMPSON's startling electric guitar. The album would influence an entire movement though the group was divided about this direction and split, FC proceeding without HUTCHINGS or DENNY. Ashley HUTCHINGS carried on and after a good first rehearsal with established Folk duo Maddy PRIOR & Tim HART and husband and wife team Terry & Gay WOODS, a first incarnation recorded STEELEYE SPAN's the group's name is taken from a character in Lincolnshire ballad 'Horkstow Grange' debut in 1970, 'Hark! The Village Wait'. Comprised of trad. Folk with the added dimension of HUTCHINGS's bass and guest drummers Gerry CONWAY and Dave MATTACKS, the album is also noted for the dual female vocals of PRIOR and WOODS. Terry and Gay WOODS were replaced that year by veteran guitarist/singer Martin CARTHY and violinist Peter KNIGHT. This line-up recorded 'Please to See the King' (1971) and 'Ten Man Mop, or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again' (1972), LPs unique in their use of hard rock colors. By late 1972, CARTHY and founder HUTCHINGS left to pursue more purist Folk avenues. Guitarist Bob JOHNSON and bassist Rick KEMP were brought in and provided an expanded hard-blues sound to Steeleye, and the group secured a new contract with Chrysalis which released their fourth, 'Below the Salt' in late '72. Further cultivating electric blues but always showcasing traditional Celtic and folk, some numbers dating back over a hundred years, 1973's 'Parcel of Rogues' was released and later that year the band drafted rock drummer Nigel PEGRUM [GNIDROLOG,URIAH HEEP,SMALL FACES]. Having supported fellow Chrysalis act JETHRO TULL several times, it was fitting that Ian ANDERSON helped produce Span's sixth LP 'Now We Are Six' (1974) which included an appearance by David BOWIE on saxophone. After 1975's 'Commoner's Crown' (featuring Peter SELLARS on ukulele for one cut), STEELEYE SPAN's next record 'All Around My Hat' would yield their biggest chart success with the title song reaching #5 in the U.K. Their eighth studio effort 'Rocket Cottage' was released in 1976 and by '77 Bob JOHNSON and Peter KNIGHT had left. For 'Storm Force Ten' earlier member Martin CARTHY rejoined on guitar and after this period, members tended toward other projects, solo outings or different ventures entirely.Since their glory years the band has reformed several times; 2002 saw the classic line-up gather to release 'Present', a 2-disc set of new re-recordings, and 'They Called Her Babylon' was released in 2004 which featured a return of Maddy PRIOR. In 2008 there was a UK tour and a new album in 2009 to commemorate STEELEYE SPAN's forty years making music. Line-up / Musicians Tim Hart/vocals,guitar Maddy Prior/vocals Peter Knight/violins,mandolin,banjo,piano Rick Kemp/bass Bob Johnson/guitar Discography(Album) Below The Salt 1972
1.Spotted Cow 2.Rose Bud In June 3.Jigs: The Bride's Favorite, Tansey's Fancy 4.Sheep-Crook And Black Dog 5.Royal Forester 6.King Henry 7.Gaudette 8.John Barleycorn 9.Saucy Sailor
I Pooh, or Pooh for short, are like the Rolling Stones of Italian popular music. One of music's longest continuously running acts, they formed in Bologna in 1964. Like other groups of the 'beat' generation their music consisted of American and English pop covers sung in Italian. The original band was composed of # Valerio Negrini (Drums)Bob Gillot (Keyboards), Gilberto Faggioli ( Bass Guitar ), Mario Goretti (Guitar), and Mauro Bertoli (Guitar). As the 60's wore down and the Italian music scene began to find it's own voice Pooh gravitated toward a more... melodic pop. The group had some line-up changes during these years with the the definitive Pooh line up taking form. Roby Facchinetti (voice and keyboards) joined in 1966 replacing Gillot. Red Canzian (voice and electric bass joined 1973 replacing Riccardo Fogli who had replaced Faggioli in 1966. In 1967 , Mauro Bertoli left the group. In September 1968, Dodi Battaglia (voice and guitars) joined the group, when Mario Goretti left the band. Finally in 1971, following Valerio's departure, the band recruited Stefano D'Orazio, the drummer of the Naufraghi. The line-up of Facchinetti, Battaglia, D'Orazio, and Canzianhas been together since 1973 with exception of some albums in the early to mid 70's staying in the vein of pop music. Much of the Pooh's music is not really of interest of proggresive rock fans. However there was a period when even the most successful of the purveyors of melodic pop where drawn in the progressive rock boom that swept all of Italy in the early 70's. The Pooh's detour into prog was brought on by the addition of Canzian who had a keen interest in progressive rock and had been guitarist of Capsicum Red before taking over the bass chair in Pooh. Pooh released a series of albums in the 70's that are of keen interest to those who have a deep interest in progressive rock. In fact.... some of their albums have been hailed as 'masterpieces' OF Italian progressive rock and for years were HIGHLY sought after by collectors of Italian progressive rock recordings of the 70's in the dark days before many of the albums were available again for us relatively easily. Albums such as Opera Prima, Parsifal, and Un po' del nostro tempo migliore are where the prog fan's should look first. Line-up / Musicians Roby Facchinetti/vocals,keyboards Dodi Battaglia/vocals,guitars Stefano D'Orazio/vocals,drums Red Canzian/vocals,bass Discography(Album)
Un Po' Del Nostro Tempo Migliore 1975
1.Preludio 2.credo 3.Una Storia Che Fa Ridere 4.Oceano 5.Fantasia 6.Mediterraneo 7.Eleonora Mia Madre 8.1966 9.Orient Express 10.Il Tempo Una Donna La Città
One of the Folk Crusaders Kazuhiko KATO - quite immersed in British Glam Rock scene led by David Bowie or Marc Bolan - and his wife (and his eternal fan) Mika KATO have founded an as-it-is-said modern rock project named SADISTIC MIKA BAND (it's said the project name was a parody merged with Plastic Ono Band and Mika's sadistic movements of a knife upon her cooking) with Hiro TSUNODA (drums), and Masayoshi TAKANAKA (guitar) later soon. Although Hiro's left after releasing a single "Cycling Boogie" for founding his own band, Yukihiro TAKAHASHI has replaced Hiro as a drummer and has taken Rei (Ray) OHARA into the project as a bassist. In 1973, the new SADISTIC MIKA BAND released their eponymous debut album, that could be much appreciated in UK (especially in London), not achieve enough success in Japan though.Chris THOMAS, already renowned as a recording engineer for The Beatles or Pink Floyd, had been so immersed in their first album that he offered them production of their second album "Kurofune (Black Ship)". They spent over 450 hours for recording and producing the second creation in collaboration with Chris, and finally released in November 1974 all over the world. This album has been estimated as one of the most important Japanese rock albums by Rolling Stone Magazine. Sadly, owing to Mika's falling in love with Chris during their UK tour in 1975 and being divorced with Kazuhiko, SADISTIC MIKA BAND were disbanded after replacement of bassist by Tsugutoshi GOTO and releasing their third album "Hot! Menu" in November 1975.After disbandment, Kazuhiko reformed the project with the collaboration of another vocalist some time - in 1989, as SADISTIC MICA BAND with Karen KIRISHIMA, and in 2006, as SADISTIC MICA BAND REVISITED or SADISTIC MIKAELA BAND with Kaela KIMURA. Two single records "Boys & Girls" (1989) and "Time Machine (rerecorded by the new lineup)" (2006), one studio album "Narkissos" (2006), and two live albums "Seiten" (1989) and "Live In Tokyo" (2007) have been released. On the other hand, a documentary film "Sadistic Mica Band" (by a director Kazuyuki IZUTSU) has been shown in Autumn 2007. Line-up / Musicians Kazuhiko Kato/guitar,synthesizer,vocals Masayoshi Takanaka/guitar,synthesizer Mika Kato/voices Rey Ohara/bass Yukihiro Takahashi/drums,vocals Discography(Album) Kurofune (Black Ship) 1974
1.Sumie No Kuni E 2.Nanika Ga Umi Wo Yattekuru 2.Time Machine Ni Onegai 3.Kurofune (Black Ship) (Second June) 4.Kurofune (Black Ship) (Third June) 5.Kurofune (Black Ship) (Fourth June) 6.Yoroshiku Dozo 7.Dontaku 8.Shiki Shoka 9.Hei Made Hitottobi (Suki Suki Suki) 10.Typhoon 11.Sayonara
Oxford band DIABOLUS is an early predecessor for symphonic rock to come in the middle 70's. Members: John Hadfield (lead guitar, vocals), Anthony Hadfield (bass, vocals), Philip Howard (flute, tenor sax, organ, piano, vocals), Ellwood von Seibold (drums, percussion) and Peter Cornel (role unknown). Band was considered not commercial. Disbandment and reunions keep the band playing under the name SUNFLY. Their only LP, "High Tones", was recorded in 1971, in London, produced by Hugh Murphy and Shel Talmy (THE WHO); but never released because of 'commercial' reasons. An unauthorized edition was released in Germany by Bellaphon. When the members found out about this, in the mid 1990's, they legally fought back property and re-released the album with Sunrise Records, Europe). Music runs from folk tunes to excessive instrumentation, including flute, sax and chorus sang by three of the members of the band, passing through jazz-fusion and complex time composing. GENTLE GIANT's choruses run similarly to DIABOLUS'; flute sound takes them close to JETHRO TULL. Sax prefigures later PINK FLOYD sound, but while in PF sax is "invited" in DIABOLUS it comes as part of the whole. Some of the tunes approach electric jazz through the use of broken times and an open drumming, with moments of total free improvisation. Line-up / Musicians John Hadfield/guitar,vocals Anthony Hadfied/bass,vocals Philip Howard/flute,keyboards,saxophone,organ,piano Ellwood Von Seibold/drums Discography High Tones 1972
1.Lonely Days 2.Night Clouded Moon 3.1002 Nights 4.3 Pieces Suite 5.Lady Of The Moon 6.Laura Sleeping 7.Spontenuity 8.Raven's Call
Royal Servants, the forerunners of the more widely known Eulenspygel, were formed by a couple of schoolboys from the town of Reichenbach in Swabia. Since 1964, they had been playing together as the Sounders, changing the name to Royal Servants in 1965. In the early years, they played beat like everybody else. The actual founders were Matthias "James" Thurow (8/25/1949, Tübingen) on guitar and Gerhard Schlotz (8/3/1948, died in 1997), on bass. The line-up was complete when Helmut Bescherer (9/25/1948) on drums and Klaus Schwagerick on rhythm guitar joined them. In 1967, the band bought an electronic organ, Gerhard Schlotz switched instruments and his school friend Ronald "Ronny" Libal (5/4/1948, Plochingen) replaced him on bass. The latter came from the Ambassadors, a band from a neighbouring town, which had also played beat since 1965 and was now breaking up. Gerhard Schlotz had been their guest musician for a short while in 1967. When Gerhard Schlotz, Klaus Schwagerick and Helmut Bescherer left the Royal Servants in 1968, in came drummer Wolfgang Zimmermann (2/16/1948) from the Buttons and, later that year, singer Manfred Maier from the Swallows as well as rhythm guitarist and organist Michael Scheibner, also ex-Buttons. When Wolfgang Zimmermann quit in early 1969, Alex Alecke took over the drums. It was with this line-up that, in May 1969, they recorded the single 'Burning Region'/'Help Me Please' (Juke Box JB1) at the Meilhaus studio in Munich. The lyrics were written by Ronald Libal, the music - by Matthias Thurow. The edition was 1,000 copies. Some time later, Detlev Nottrodt (1/6/1946, Stuttgart) on guitar and organ and Günther Klinger, a talented drummer joined the Royal Servants, replacing Michael Scheibner and Alex Alecke. On 4/4/1970, they recorded their single, 'Still I Belong'/'The Blues Comin' My Way' (Royal Corporation RC1003) at an excellent studio in Stuttgart. That very year saw the release of yet another single, 'Work Part II'/'Someone To Be With Me' (Royal Corporation RC1004), their third, which was again written by Detlev Nottrodt and recorded at the Jankowski studio. It even got to No.2 on Radio SWF3. The band were now busy playing gigs in the area and even went on tour of Austria. In the Summer of 1970, they decided to release an LP and won over keyboard player Reinhard Hetzinger of the Speeders as guest musician. In the middle of the recording, singer Manfred Maier announced he had to quit the band for 'work' reasons. Their new singer Rainer "Mulo" Maulbetsch, who had been with Mulo & The Misfits and the Hardships before, was not able to acquaint himself so quickly with his new task, and so Detlev Nottrodt sang most of the songs. As for the vibraphone (some sort of amplified metallic xylophone), they engaged the best musician in the Stuttgart area, Peter Mayer, who had been playing with Detlev Nottrodt on several occasions before. The tracks were recorded in October 1970, again in the tried and tested Jankowski studio, and mixed shortly afterwards. The LP was released under the title of "We" (Elite Special PLPS 30130) in an edition of probably one or two thousand copies, and has meanwhile become a quite sought-after collectors' item. It includes the two tracks from the third single. Played on the radio, their singles, "Still I Belong" and "Work Part II", made not only fans prick up their ears but also well-known record companies. On this first LP, where they had all the free reign they wished for, they offer no sterile perfection but spontaneous improvisation and sounds, 'studio live', so to speak. The arranged tracks, as well as all the lyrics, attain a level of quality one simply wouldn't have dared to think an amateur pop band was capable of. As the music of the Servants (all songs were written by Detlev Nottrodt) is so varied, this mixture of progressive and melodious will surely earn them a lot of new fans. Line-up / Musicians Detlef Nottrodt/guitars,vocals Manfred Maier/vocals Reinhard Hetzinger/organ Günter Klinger/drums,percussion Matthias James Thurow/guitars Ronald Libal/bass Peter Mayer/keyboards Cornelius Hauptmann/flute Discography We 1970
1.Work Part II 2.We 3.Someone To Be With Me 4.Latin Underground 5.Here's Where I'm Gonna Stay 6.Private Man 7.Doomsday Up To Date
FLIED EGG / STRAWBERRY PATH was a series of Japanese progressive rock projects in early seventies carried out by two key players Shigeru NARUMO (guitars, keyboards) and Hiro TSUNODA (drums). In the late sixties, Shigeru has already been famous and charismatic on Japanese underground rock scene. Woodstock Festival could notify him of a need to hold Japanese rock festivals and let him give some reasonable concerts (called '10 yen concert') in Hibiya Open-Air Concert Hall with great players ... Shinki Chen (ex-Food Brain, Speed Glue and Shinki), George Yanagi (ex-Power House), Hiro Yanagida (ex-Apryl Fool, Food Brain), or Hiro Tsunoda (ex-Sadao Watanabe Quartet, Food Brain). This experience might be the basis of a project named STRAWBERRY PATH.STRAWBERRY PATH shot only one album - 'When The Raven Has Come To The Earth' (1971). In this work, Shigeru could play multi-instruments at the same time (a keyboard by his left hand, a guitar by his right hand, a bass pedal by his feet!). Influenced of Jimi Hendrix or lots of British progressive artists, he tried to shoot the psychedelic and progressive style with Hiro's jazzy and freaky drumming. At an opening performance of the Pink Floyd Japan tour, Shigeru and Hiro persuaded Masayoshi TAKANAKA (bass) to join them...after a month, these three talented players changed their outfit name from STRAWBERRY PATH to FLIED EGG.FLIED EGG produced two album - 'Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine' (1972) and 'Good Bye Flied Egg' (1972). (Anyway, Dr. Siegel is of course Shigeru NARUMO himself.) They turned up the colours and influences of British rock. Masayoshi, an only 17 year-old bassist, could evolve and dignify the works with his heavy and steady bass plays. The novel project could impress strongly Japanese rock fans and broke up in 1973. Line-up / Musicians Shigeru Narumo/guitar,organ,piano,harpsicord,vocals,sound effects Hiro Tsunoda/drums,percussion,vocals,vocal,harmony,toy instruments,jokes,noise Masayoshi Takanaka/bass,guitar,vocals,harmony, Discography(Album) Good Bye Flied Egg 1972
1.Leave Me Woman 2.Rolling Down The Broadway 3.Rock Me Baby 4.Five More Pennies 5.Before You Descend 6.Out To The Sea 7.Goodbye My Friends 8.521 Seconds Schizophrenic Symphony
Terry Riley was born on June 6 1935 in Colfax California. He attended various California universities and finally earned a masters in composition from UC Berkeley. One of the earliest electronic composers, Riley was one of the initial participants in the renowned San Francisco Tape Music Center. He also studied classical Indian music under Pandit Pran Nath and became professor of Indian music studies at Mills College in 1971. During the 1960s, Riley performed all-night solo concerts by playing a harmonium and saxophone through tape loop echo devices. When he needed a break he would play back the tape loops by themselves. His composition 'In C', composed in 1964, is often given credit for pioneering the musical style that became known as minimalism.Although Riley started his musical career in the company of fellow future minimalist composers such as Steve Reich and Pauline Oliveras, over the years his musical career often veered towards a more rock or jazz like setting in which he was more an improvising performer than composer. His 1969 electronic composition, 'A Rainbow in Curved Air', had a massive effect on the then still developing world of progressive psychedelic and avant-garde rock music. While most early electronic music centered around bizarre sound constructions and totally serialized twelve tone music, Riley's Rainbow on the other hand was beautifully tonal in Indian influenced mixolydian keys and featured a rock like pulsing rhythm that caught on with the young avant-psychedelic crowd that was also digging Soft Machine, Pink Floyd, Amon Duul and Can. Soon the sound of pulsing electronic synthesizers and organs became a standard part of many young adventurous performers culminating in the German experimental collective known as Tangerine Dream.While performing as an improvising soloist, Terry struck a chord with many young rock performers including the Velvet Underground's John Cale. Cale and Riley would later record together creating a rock/Indian/fusion masterpiece called 'Church of Anthrax'. All through the late 60s and early 70s Riley's influence is present in progressive rock: from Soft Machine's obvious tributes on their third album, to The Who's 'Who's Next' album with its arpeggiated Arp figures and a song called 'Baba O' Reilly' that is a tribute to Terry and Indian guru Baba Maher. Early progressive rockers Curved Air paid tribute by adopting Riley's signature composition as their band name. Line-up / Musicians Terry Riley/Organ,Electronics,Saxophone Discography(Album) A Rainbow In Curved Air 1969
1.A Rainbow In Curved Air 2.Poppy Nogood And The Phantom Band
CASA DAS MÁQUINAS (meaning 'house of wonders') are a mid-70's Brazilian band from São Paulo borne out of the disenchantment of two musicians from glam/dance pop band OS INCRÍVEIS, namely drummer/percussionnist Netinho and guitarist/vocalist Aroldo who wanted to take a less commercial route. Recruiting three other musicians, they recorded 3 albums between 1974 and 1977; a compilation disk was also released in 2000. Their material is mostly heavy, bluesy hard rock with complex arrangements and thick guitar leads. The vocals are in Portuguese. Their debut and self-titled album, released in 1974, is plain old hard rock. Their second, "Lar de Maravilhas" (1975), however, is considered a national prog classic. Donning a slick production, it incorporates the intensity of the first album with more sophisticated elements such as stronger melodies, better arrangements and an emphasis on spacious, multi-layered symphonic keyboards (particularly the synths). It is a strange collection of tunes in that it ranges from superb symphonic flights to some very banal pieces. Their third album, "Casa de Rock" (1976), reverts to their more primitive hard rock style, featuring two drummers and no more spacey keyboards. The compilation CD "Pérolas" is made up of 16 tracks taken from the second and third albums (tapes of the first are lost forever). Line-up / Musicians José Aroldo Binda/guitar,vocals Carlos Geraldo Carge/bass,vocals Luiz Franco Thomaz/drums,percussion Mário Testoni Jr./organ,keyboards,piano Mário Franco Thomaz/drums,vocals Carlos Roberto Piazzoli/guitar,organ,bass, Discography(Album) Lar de Maravilhas 1975
1.Vou Morar No Ar 2.Lar De Maravilhas 3.Liberdade Espacial 4.Astralização 5.Cilindro Cônico 6.Vale Verde 7.Raios De Lua 8.Epidemia De Rock 9.O Sol/Reflexo Ativo
Another of those mystery groups that were so common in Italy at the end of the 60's, Fourth Sensation only appeared on an album released on the Ricordi International label, as if they were a foreign group. No names are mentioned on the cover though there are four musicians pictured on the back, but two of the band members may have been Vince Tempera (later with The Pleasure Machine and Il Volo) and Ares Tavolazzi (Area).All the tracks are composed by Massimo Catalano (that was one of The Flippers, a very popular beat band of the early 60's).Musically speaking the album has the same style as The Underground Set or Blue Phantom, a totallly instrumental psych-influenced acid-jazz sound, with the Hammond organ in evidence. The ten tracks have all women names. Line-up / Musicians Vince Tempera/organ Ares Tavolazzi/guitar Angelo Vaggi/bass Ellade Bandini/drums Discography Fourth Sensation 1970
