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
