Getting it on with Prog

If we are "likely" unaware then how are we to have any "reviews" mini, or otherwise? Except, wait! Your use of scare quotes around "reviews"! Means you're not looking for actual reviews but something else. You've ruled out everything except... oh now I get it! You're one of these guys!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eBh6xipKYk

In the CD player is "Dance Of The Lemmings" by German psychedelic rock band Amon Duul II from 1970. Rare and better than Pink Floyd!

How about maybe the best prog rock guitarist : Allan Holdsworth? IOU, Metal Fatigue, UK ... I have several of his LPs and CDs.

It is unforgivable that an absolute icon like Holdsworth did not have the money to pay the cab that took him to the hospital where eventually he passed on.

...............
Amon Duul "Archangel's Thunderbird" from the first double set  rules.

But make sure you stay away from the commune "band" Amon Duul. I have their lp set "Disaster" and its exactly that.

I meant Amon Duul I.

(How do you edit your own posts here?)

If you're not familiar there's a website progressive ears dot com that although not as active recently as in the past, has a vast collection of knowledgeable prog heads.

Reviews, youtube links, opinions abound!

(How do you edit your own posts here?)

You have 30 minutes from posting to edit it. After that no edit but you could then delete it instead.

In your post you will see a little gear wheel icon. Click on that and will give you a drop down of edit ( under 30 minutes) or delete ( after 30 minutes)

progarchives web site is a goldmine for prog-rock.

Well thanks a lot,richmon & mapman. Ye wet blankets.

Right off the bat you certainly put the kibosh on my thread.

Let's have some reviews of things we've never heard... as long as they conform to my snobby standards.  Mmmkay.  Sounds fun.

IMO, richmond & mapman were trying to give the OP a site where he might find more like-minded listeners.
It was the OP that put the kibosh on his own thread with all of the stipulations for posting.

@slaw You conveyed my thoughts in a much nicer way than I could.  Kudos to you, you're a gentleman and a scholar!

Whatever. I’m always up for discussion on prog rock.

I did some reviews on prog archives years ago with same moniker. Might still be there.

In any case prog archives is a great place to find reviews of prog both old and new. Nowadays with music services like Spotify. It’s fun to find some thing different of interest then give a listen.

The UK private press scene is an interesting one. Lps were mostly limited to 99 press since anything over that faced taxing.(The straight folk ones were pressed in greater numbers - 300 to 500.)
Here folk music holds sway, but there are some rock/prog ones to be found:

CIRCUS -ONE Can you think of any earlier prog UK private?

BODKIN -SAME origionally came without a cover. Later an ex-manager devised a wrap-around cover

ENGLAND -SAME (not early -this is ’76, and not strictly prog. More towards heavy guitar rock. This has nothing to do with the "Garden Shed" band. good lead guitar, maybe 500 pressed.

PEGGY’S LEG -GRINILLA say no more, great lp (Apparently "Grinilla" is some Victorian book. I’m guessing this as I collects old book illustrations - or at least photocopies of said - and there is a beaut for a book of this title.)

SINDELFINGEN -ODGIPIG puissant time changes, complex shit. One of those you either hate or like. If you like Comus -and who doesnt? - Sammmmmy ventures to say, this is for you.

DON BRADSHAW LEATHER -2lp set R.G. Godfrey of Enid

WHITSUNTIDE EASTER - they usually call this folk with a symphonic bent. Not so sure the prog part is that evident. Really its basically a Dutch band who recorded this in UK. (Clear UK-sound with many an English-articulate Dutch band? Opo, Sunforest,....)

CHARGE-SAME wow! Here is a great stoned heavy prog guitar lp. Like a hard Hendrix. Wah-wah and guitar echoing.Primative. Vocalist that goes from screaming to melancholy. A sidelong track "Child of Nations". What else could you ask for? Origionally no cover. Then with white cover with "Charge" written in ink. Ive read the vocalist rated as sounding being close to the End (not the group!),ready to go hand-in-hand with Eternity. Well, to that I reply -you havent heard REAL stoned yet.Try Chico Magnetic or Mecki Mark Men.

GRANNIE-SAME A goodun! Amateurish but full of surprizes, hard prog about 200 made.

ITHACA -GAME FOR ALL WHO KNOW Influenced by Moody Blues, as Sammmmmy supposes, was ALCO-THREADS OF LIFE.

SOFT SHOE -FOR THOSE ALONE why has this not yet been reissued??? progfolk

Most of these have been reissued on cd.

Sammmmy - that’s some obscure stuff there, never heard of any of them but youtube to the rescue. Here’s some that twirl my propeller:

Seven Reizh ’Strinkagenn ys’ from Brittany, a french/Celtic/folky/Prog thing.
Epidaurus ’Earthly Paradise’ for keyboard fans
Anekdoten ’From Within or Gravity’ love how sweden channeled 70’s prog spirit
Gila ’bury my heart at wounded knee’ - from the Krautrock side
All can be sampled on yubber tube.
btw love ptree so grain of salt here  -ye soggy quilt-

I collect Brittany folk. (I have maybe 15 different Stivell lps.) Also French bands like Malicorne which sound like they could come from the north.

...
Epidaurus is DUAL-keys, mainly instrumental (with some mere 5 minutes of female-voice vocalizing.)One side is sequencer-driven, making it sound Berlin electronics school-ish.

The second lp (CD) released some 20 years later - first lp was 1977 - is a let-down.

By the way, I always mix-up Epidaurus with another  German prog band, Epidermis "Genius of Origional Force", which is much better prog and one of the very few bands influenced by Gentle Giant.)

BTW - ' SOFT SHOE -FOR THOSE ALONE why has this not yet been reissued? '

I see this on SynPhonic's website for sale, the owner Greg Walker is a good dude and been at this obscure prog thing for some time.

http://synphonicmusic.com/catalogs-prog.html

Don't call anyone "dude".
Its disrespectful and low talk.

FROB-SAME '71  all-instrumental heavy guitar/organ tour-de-force with exploito feel to it,sort like Blue Phantom. Also  reminds of Deep Purple, Frumpy and Ache

EXIL. This reminds me of the Swiss(?) group EXIT-SAME. A super lp with real "German" sound on the English vocals. Although the vocalist is not near as bad as on Tyburn Tall, some might find him too quirky/emotive/amateurish. (But I LOVE that style of vocalist.) The lp starts off with about 20 seconds of guitar taken just about straight from Who's Pinball Wizard"! Great synth sound on this lp too. ...

TRITONUS   two lps in the ELP-school (also from Germany like: Triloy, Triumvirat, Rejoice, Sixty-Nine, Tetragon/Trikolon, Amos Key)
Not too origional  but good nonetheless.


...............

get down boy!

POHJANTAHTI - SAME  (Finland)

Your at once thrown into some North Eurasian shamanistic mindfeck, beating your great keure elk-skin drum, yelping chants, singing runes,casting incantations up onto the Aurora Borealised Lapp tundra.

 6 members - bassist and psychedelic guitar from Piirpauke, churchy organ (doesnt come in till halfway into lp), piano, percussion, sax, clarinet, Irish harp , what sounds very much like trad Finn kantele, you even get a short bit of kazoo played as if it were trumpet!

 its a '86 release -although it sounds very seventies.

 This lp is balls to the ground all the way,at the flip of a coin turning from somber almost Accadian folk music to wild, irreverent psych (where they are obviously enjoying themselves).
 Just what is this? Wyrd psychfolk? World music?-but from some ancient level, music totally desensitized to trhe modern age.

 Think Atman, or the weird imp-ish vocal histrionics of that Latvian (Estonian?) group that starts with the letter "I".(yeah, you have no idea cos your an audiofool.) 

 Parts of this have yours truely  feeling like he is drugged and sleepily, slowly falling down some demon-faced shaft -or have I been playing too much Tomb Raider game on the PC of late?

 Get savage. Get pagan. You NEED to hear this.


Get down boy!

CWT - THE HUNDRED WEIGHT
An aggressive brass section has no place in hardrock? Think again. This '73 lp with its Sabbathy bass riffage and gruff Sen.Alex/Rod Steward vocalist steamrolls over you, lays about your ass like grapeshot/ blackbriarroot-cudgel whomping.

 Is Ohrwaschl record label a division of Munich's Kuckuck? (Its on both.) Anyways, UK'ers going heavy Kraut whiteboy Motown funksoul heavy.

 Produced by Andrew Loog Oldham.

 They deem it heavyprog, but  I dont see much prog here -maybe on the track or two where the flute is present instead of the driving horns. Not sure if you can even call this proto.
 Dont know -mebbe think Heaven (the UK group, not US), Colosseum...

 Anyone for Minnesota, Fresh start, White Chocolate?

........

GET DOWN BOY!

GOBLIN - BACK TO THE GOBLIN  (2005)
Afraid not.

 Not back to the prog of "Baga..", nor the fusion jabs of "Suspira". And if we have the hardrock of "Roller", its a mellowed hard muted with programmed melody.
 In a word or two: utterly predictable composition. When it comes to this cd, you CANNOT say that it takes repeated resolve to get your ears around it. Sure ,it sounds okay first listen, but you just know that when you can see the next note coming throughout the cd, it bodes poorly for longevity. First go will be pleasant, but there's no reasonably drawnout shelflife to this - its bound to be downhill from the first listen. Its basically that tired old school of layering of basic simple short compositions on each other to give the sham of complexity.
 Start dissecting and this falls apart quickly.
 The worse culprit here is track number 5. Wallace deems Yanni would be content with playing this. Think composition along the lines of Tangerine Dream "Melrose" or "Rockoon".
  Oh yeah -return of the rather noxious "pig-squeal" guitar.  How come you didnt really notice that tone of guitar in the 70s prog - or did you? (Oldfield for one had a bit of it in him.) Is it because the old pig-squeal sounds ridiculous when put alongside truely psychedelic, unhinged playing?

Cummon then!

EVEN on an audiofool forum I figure there must be a handful of prog aficionados.

Affirm yourself, by gum!

I did not set up this thread merely to hear myself jawing.
Lets have some of YOUR reviews.

COGWHEEL - SIGHTSOUND

Guitarist Paul Vincent Gunia of Missus Beastley,Subject ESQ,Niagara, Motherhood and Hallelujah.
Great foc art hinting at Middle East-sound. So...i had high hopes for this.

 Big letdown though.
 No Middle East -sound.
 Pedestrian compositions.
Maybe think Sky or Blonker -no, not Blonker.Wouldn't wish Blonker on anyone.

 '78 private press (Hastings). This lp was never commercially released, but was put out as a promotional vehicle for a glasses company called Optyl. (One of the three figures on the front cover is sporting glasses suspended off the edge of his hat!)
 First track is promising with backwards drum and what sounds like mellotron. Sort of Harmonia-ish.

 Some strings on the lp. Dual electric guitars. Acoustic. Flute. Keys. Dismal, robotic drumming. 10 short and simple tracks.

........................

BIB SET - IT WASN'T MEANT TO HAPPEN

Where have you been all of my life??
 This has just been propelled to the top of my wantlist.
Good luck in snagging a copy though - its one of the three rarest Swedish 70s prog lps .

Sounds like Hansson & Karlsson (only the drummer is more interesting than Karlsson.)
 '69 lp by a trio.
 The name comes from one of the members: Bjorn Ingvar Bjornsson.
  
Mainly lazy vocals are in good English.
 Insane drumming spills over churning, wailing organ mayhem.
You can hear this music is coming out of R'n'Bs. The organist does those jerky organ jabbing moves like Bo, or Spencer Davis Group.
Just a touch of guitar -not much.
 Invigorating. Indispensible.
 Why lick  a toad's back when you can get instant high off this?

Not something that I listen for decades now, but still got my high school records. Hope that somebody might find them interesting, in random order

https://youtu.be/uXm-Xco5BWA

https://youtu.be/PXw9AnIvzoE

https://youtu.be/w-Yyq-HB5WI

https://youtu.be/YWT6k64XBl0

https://youtu.be/KpaDFnNaqgM

https://youtu.be/ogVJ29Iiqqw

https://youtu.be/AHUfAQIVUS4

https://youtu.be/dPAinPA4Fxw

https://youtu.be/QGwiSqJIrso

https://youtu.be/oEtJCE6OKYc

Fireballet...now that’s one I wish I still had. Gotta look for that on Spotify.

Still have all the VDGG, Nektar, and various others.

Been picking up on Dream Theater somewhat in recent years.

Spocks Beard does a nice and interesting cover of George Harrison’s "Beware of Darkness" along the lines of the early Yes cover of "America".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cCbiiIbVsw

dillinger - don't lie to the band


'76 Toronto rock/prog.Their second effort.
 Some similarity on guitar to fellow Daffodil labelmates, Foot In Cold Water. Sammmmmy noted the flute on one track sounds exactly like that on the first Hunt lp. Since Hunt were also on Daffodil ,it had to be no coincidence. Indeed, I later learned, half the band became The Hunt. Where it differs from FICW or The Hunt, is that its more organ- orientated. (Also there is mellotron, harpsichord.)
 Side one is marred by a ballad. The cover of The Beatles' "Taxman" is nothing to write home about but the cover of Spooky Tooth's "Munchkin Men" (from "The Mirror") is quite adequate. The slow start is salvaged by the second side of the lp which is solid with 3 longish tracks - one of which, what with the vocal harmonies and organ, reminds of the band Gypsy.I had this lp in the 80's and, despite the striking silver and black foc art, traded it off. Heard it again now and then, and wasn't too impressed. Now, on revisit,I've come to the decision its a keeper.Either I'm  mellowing or certain lps take a while to appreciate. Late growers and all that. Persevere and you might grow to enjoy it, but then again you just might prove yourself correct in your origional valuation.

Mapman said:
"Fireballet...now that’s one I wish I still had "



Sammmmmmy has  trade copy of both lps. Vinyl is in m- shape ,but bear in mind that both lps were released on the shabby, low quality  Passport label

Yup Passport label as I recall.  

Mine was picked up in the $1.99 budget bin (lots of Passport there) at Cheap Thrills REcords in New Brunswick, NJ circa 1979 or so.

Japanese bands with some touch of Canterbury-mimicking:
 Pochakaite Malko
Bondage Fruit
Happy Family

much research listening to do from this thread, fortunatly time abounds.

Who woulda guessed we'd have Toad licking and the band Toad mentioned on the same thread? Anywave from the recent past:

KVAZAR S/T from Norway, vocals in english, haunting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQm41Qy7TaQ

Metrognom 'Twangyluck' more Norwigian wood, sax reminds me of Starless era Crim.
Guest appearance by Gollum on vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T67mG0NgRQ&list=PL419E53DA3C209611&index=3&t=0s

Trettioariga Kriget 'I Borjon Och Slutet' say that three times fast. Viking Prog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSx5h2OxL2g

And throw one in from Brazil - Tempus Fugit 'The dawn after the storm' symphonic, instumental, good guitar and keys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFX82EJuS5c&list=RDhFX82EJuS5c&start_radio=1&t=37

ZOG - DO ZE FUNKIE WIF ME
 
'79 Dutch private.
After Het Pandora Ensemble. (Later Grin)
Didnt do that much for Sammmmmy, likely down to fact there is basically no keys and I am  no big fan of King Crimson post-Red guitar.
Probably would have taken it in better had the production not been so poor.
 Seems to be live concert.

 Deranged vocalist is going at it all the time -and it IS a long haul. Not much by way of instrumental relief.

LOST AARAAFF - SAME

What the feck? Keiji Haino, guitarist of Fushitsusha, collaborator with Magical Power Mako, Boris, Fred Frith and later in Sanhedolin (with member of Ruins).
 '71 .
 Indeed a "hell of screams". Sparse - electric guitar, drums, "vocals" (in japanese), repetative banging on the piano, some crude sax??
 Haino is said to be influenced by Blue Cheer and Guru Guru but you dont hear any of that here. This is free jazz/noise improv.
 Feckin' 61 minutes of it.  Feck'd if Sammmmy  gonna waste any more time on this abysmal avant-shite.
 First track (of three) has him sawing away on the feedback-laiden guitar making vocalizations of a confined ape being abused/tormented with sharp sticks.
 Absolutely unstructured.
 Need Sammmmy say more?
 Not sure if this is on the NWW list, but if it is, this is the BAD side of the "sound".

I'll take a shot in the dark. 
Lucifer's Friend, Great album Banquet

N

"Banquet" is their only lp that is close to prog (the two tracks on side one).

Atmosphera, Lady of Shalott

N

Israel band.
Pretty decent.
I believe there were two versions made.

I had Fireballet - "Night on Bald Mountain" but just sold it to my LRS during "the great cull purge" of 2020. Vinyl quality was not great and the music was even worse.... Well, unless you like that sort of thing..... ;~)

Fireballet is the bee's knees.

Creamcorn from the socket of Sammmmmmy.

2nd lp is great also - that is if you disregard the front sleeve.

DANDELION


(Not to be confused with Canadian Daffodil label)



Beautiful logo label put out by John Peel.  '69-'72:

Bridget St John - Ask Me No Questions
Beau - Beau
Principal Edwards Magic Theatre: Soundtrack
Occasional Word Ensemble - Year of the Great Leap Sideways
Gene Vincent - I’m Back and I’m Proud
Siren - Siren
Mike Hart - Mike hart Bleeds
Medicine Head - New bottles Old Medicine
Lol Coxhill - Ear Of the Beholder
Siren - Strange Locomotion
Principal Edwards Magic Theatre - Asmoto Running Band
Way We Live - Candle For Judith
Medicine Head - Heavy On the Drum
Beau - Creation (with members of Tractor)
Bridget St John - Songs For the Gentle Man
Burning Red Ivanhoe - W.W.W
Supersister - To The Highest Bidder
Stackwaddy - Stackwaddy
David Bedford - Nurses Song With Elephants
Bridget St John - Thank You For
Clifford T Ward - Singer Songwriter
Tractor - Tractor
Kevin Coyne - Case History
Stackwaddy - Bugger Off
Various - There Is Some Fun Going Forward

GET DOWN BOYS!

Pekka Pohjola: "Harakka Bialoipokku", a jazz rock fusion masterpiece featuring gorgous brass section, composed by the Finnish bass virtuoso. In 1974 after a session played with Frank Zappa visiting Finland, Pohjola politely refused to join Zappa´s band and continued to concetrate on his own work and compositions. Having listened to his work one will understand why he rejected Zappa."Keesojen lehto" from 1977 is a collaboration with Mike Oldfield, another (minor) masterpiece.

Yep. "B, The Magpie" is a masterpiece.
Use of woodwinds on that lp is totally unique and , I’d say, anti-US jazz. Finnish Broadcasting Co. voted it best Finnish lp of the year in ’75.
Pekka’s first lp is even better.

Pekka was in Jussi & the Boys, Wigwam and for a while in the Swede group, Made in Sweden.
Humor & sadness are a part of his composition.

Indeed, anti-US in everything I´d say. That´s why Pohjola rejected Zappa. Sadness is part of human life but I find Bialoipokku´s simple life quite happy and above all, free : ) The woodwinds echoe the life in large forests of the North.
Piirpauke´s two first albums from 1975 and 1976 are other etcnic jazz fusion masterpieces, just listen to "Konevitsan kirkonkellot"... It was the incredibly versatile 70´s.

Wots going on here?

That's twice now that I posted on Don Shinn and twice that my post has been removed!