rep>>> Bent Wind - Sussex (1969 canada, rough heavy fuzzed psych rock, bonus tracks 2001 digipak remaster)

Phenomenally rare, with those surviving copies fetching upwards of 3000 bucks a pop, the 1969 acid rock raver Sussex had its origins in a drug-addled house in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood. As guitarist Marty Roth "recalls" on his blog, "Myself and another friend from schooldays were running a boutique/headshop at the corner of Sussex and Robert. And, every so often...I'd hear a faint blur of something, close to what some might consider music. It was emanating from the basement of one of the houses beside the lane at 57 Sussex Avenue, almost a block away. 

As it turned out, the guitarist was Gerry Gibas, a close friend who I'd been jamming with while writing original tunes any chance we could. He dropped by the shop during their break and told me to drop over. That's where I met Eddie Thomas Majchrowski, the drummer. His mother owned the house at 57 Sussex Avenue and all the rooms on all three floors were rented out to a mix of students, freaks, druggies and musicians. To my surprise, the bass player was Sebastian Pelaia, a classmate from high school, two years earlier."

With the nucleus of Bent Wind now in place, the lads consumed copious amounts of acid, hawked psychedelic candles at the infamous hippie residence Rochdale College, gigged around the corner at several U of T frat parties, and somehow managed to record these eight stoner nuggets. Roth: "Until we finally made it to recording an LP, all of our songs were without real words. We would use a sort of skat gibberish that sounded similar to words but were muffled by the way we used the microphone and echo effects. Nobody cared." With the rock world in flux - Led Zeppelin had already played sold-out shows at the Rockpile venue in February and August of 1969 - the plodding, freeform guitar workouts and soaring harmonies on Sussex would have been standard-issue cool at the time, bridging the Woodstock nation with the brave new heavy-metal world to come. But the band was essentially broke (Roth: "You have to remember, we were "hippies". We didn't have or need any money."), so it is little wonder that even the well-crafted songs sound somewhat amateurish. 

The heavier tracks like 'Mystify', 'Riverside' and 'Hate' come off better here, cutting through with muscular chords and airy vocals, whereas the flowery ballad 'Look at Love', though well-intended, seems to lug its psychedelic baggage a little too awkwardly. Still, in a Toronto awash in hippies and draft-dodgers, with a little spit and polish - not to mention some financial backing - Sussex could have been a contender. 

by Michael Panontin

Tracks
1. Touch Of Red (Marty Roth) - 3:14
2. Riverside (Jerry Gibas, Marty Roth) - 6:13
3. The Lions (Jerry Gibas, Marty Roth) - 5:29
4. Going To The City (Jerry Gibas) - 2:52
5. Hate (Marty Roth) - 5:23
6. Look At Love (Jerry Gibas) - 4:02
7. Mystify (Jerry Gibas) - 3:38
8. Sacred Cows (Jerry Gibas) - 4:10
9. Riverside (Jerry Gibas, Marty Roth) - 6:20
10.Bent Wind (Marty Roth) - 4:01

11.The Chant (Marty Roth) - 3:45

12.Castles Made Of Man (Marty Roth) - 3:26
13.Sacred Cows (Jerry Gibas) - 2:23
Tracks 1-8 Original Album
Tracks 9-11 Unreleased
Tracks 12-13 Rare Single

Bent Wind
*Jerry Gibas - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Eddie Thomas -  Drums   
*Sebastian Pelaia - Bass Guitar
*Marty Roth - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Tracks 9-11
*Marty Roth - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
*Michael George Jones - Lead Guitar
*Bill Miller - Bass
*John Butt - Drums

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rep>>> Rough Diamond - Rough Diamond (1977 uk, good classic rock, feat. David Byron from Uriah Heep fame)

Sometimes it is all about timing. In 1977 all the music press was interested in was Punk and New Wave. Only Sounds (the UK Music Paper) was still rallying around rock music and the old guard. Even so, young rock fans (like me) were also very careful with our money. Albums were very expensive and could be a large percentage of your apprenticeship wages back then.

So hearing that David Byron the ex lead vocalist from Uriah Heep had formed a super group and was signed to Island records, was not really hot news.

David Byron had been sacked from Uriah Heep the year before for substance abuse (although musical differences was the reason back then). The last album High & Mighty had been seen as a very lightweight album and had been panned everywhere. I am sure Island Records (who had also signed the Ian Gillan Band) were thinking lets not spend too much on this.

It is a competent rock album from a bunch of musicians who obviously felt they had paid their dues. You can sense the bitterness in the lyrics from Byron in the opening track called Rock n Roll where he references his previous band. He was determined to get back in the rock first division, but alcohol and playing small venues with smaller audiences and press indifference would see the band fold before their star could shine.

The album actually cracked the Billboard top 200 in the USA, so the interest was there, but they never got the chance. I also feel the album was sequenced very badly. In the 1970s it was more common than you think to keep the best tracks until the end of side two. in more modern times you open with your strongest songs, not then. The last two tracks ‘The Link’ and ‘End Of The Line’ are epic, full of atmosphere and PROG overtones. David Byron is in fine voice throughout and he remains a very underated vocalist.

The interplay between keyboard player ‘Damon Butcher’ and Clem Clempson is terrific. Clem Clempson had auditioned for Deep Purple before this. The real find was Damon Butcher on Keyboards, this guy could really play. I do not own this on CD and I played it today to see if I should try and upgrade it, and my decision is made. I will.

by Phil Aston, 31st August 2019

Tracks

1. Rock 'n' Roll (David Byron, Geoff Britton, Martin Rushent) - 3:28

2. Lookin' For You (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron) - 4:06

3. Lock And Key (Clem Clempson, David Byron) - 4:59

4. Seasong (Clem Clempson, David Byron) - 7:35

5. By The Horn (Clem Clempson, David Byron) - 3:13

6. Scared (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron, Geoff Britton, Willie Bath) - 5:33

7. Hobo (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron, Geoff Britton, Willie Bath) - 5:45

8. The Link (Damon Butcher) - 2:19

9. End Of The Line (Clem Clempson, Damon Butcher, David Byron, Geoff Britton) - 5:46

Rough Diamond

*Clem Clempson - Guitar

*Damon Butcher - Keyboards

*David Byron - Lead Vocals

*Geoff Britton - Drums

*Willie Bath - Bass

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