Pirana - Pirana-Pirana II (1971-72 australia, marvelous psych prog rock with blues and jazz touches, 2002 remaster)

Critics have pigeonholed Pirana as mere Santana clones, and while comparisions are understabdlble and the influence of Santana is obvious, this arguably did the group a considerable disservice. Its dynamic and rhythmic performance at the definitive Sunbury music festival in 1972 drew inevitable comparisons to the Latin-rock champions of Woodstock, due in no small measure to their superb performance of Santana's "Soul Sacrifice". But there was much more to Pirana than that facile categorisation allows

Let's acknowledge, then set aside for a moment, the band's obvious debt to Santana as their early musical template. Beyond that, we can hear examples of fine, melodic songwriting -- mainly from keyboardist Stan White on the first album, but consummately taken over by guitarist and vocalist Tony Hamilton on the second -- that displays a diversity of influences while still keeping the band's innate individuality. It's a bit like their contemporary peers, Sebastian Hardie or Sherbet, who also had a hard time living down copious (and mostly bogus) comparisons while they tried to forge an original path.

For a start, Tony Hamilton's guitar was never less than wonderful. He sang commandingly, with soul, atop Jim Yonge's fluid drumming, supported by the anchorage of Graeme Thompson's throbbing bass. Keyboards were vital to the Pirana sound, and Stan White and his successor, Keith Greig, provided rich Hammond organ reinforcement for the overall feel of the band.

In Pirana, members came and went, but it is essentially the core band comprising Duke-Yonge, Thompson, Hamilton and Greig (who replaced Stan White after the first LP), who made the records and sustained the bulk of the band's performing tenure, and must be most remembered as the definitive entity. Hamilton, Thompson and Yonge were all ex-members of Gus & The Nomads, a 60s R&B/pop band fronted by "the wild man of Sydney rock" Gus McNeil. Gus was executive producer on Pirana's debut album, and several others including the legendary A Product Of A Broken Reality for Company Caine, Greg Quill's early solo recordings (including the  Fleetwood Plain). Gus also set up his own publishing company, Cellar Music, which (besides Pirana) also handled publishing for Mike Rudd, Greg Quill, Ross Wilson and Gulliver Smith.

Pirana's first recordings were as the backing group for Greg Quill's 1970 solo album Fleetwood Plain. They signed to Harvest in 1971 and issued two singles. Here It Comes Again (May) was reputedly the first local single released in stereo, and can still be found on Raven's Golden Miles compilation CD; the same month they toured nationally as support band on the historic package tour by Deep Purple, Free and Manfred Mann's Chapter Three. Their second single was "I Hope You Don't Mind" (Nov.) Late in the year Stan White left to join pop band The Going Thing, and he was replaced by Keith Greig.

In concert they were always regarded as a top-drawer act; they went down a storm at the inaugural Sunbury rock festival, and their live version of Santana's "Soul Sacrifice" earned them a track on the Sunbury '72 album. EMI issued their second LP Pirana II in November 1972, by which time Richard McEwan had replaced Hamilton on guitar. Andrew James replaced Greig in 1973 and Phil Hitchcock replaced Graeme Thompson on bass in 1974. The band continued to work on the dance and pub circuit, but they didn't record again, and they eventually broke up in late 1974.

Duke-Yonge (aka Jimmy Tonge) went on to work with Corroborree, the Anne Kirkpatrick Band and Bullamakanka and in the late 1970s Keith Greig was a founding member of The Brucelanders, who went on to considerable acclaim in their later incarnation as The Reels (minus Keith).

by Paul Culnane

Tracks
1. Elation (Stan White) - 9:27
2. Sermonette (Stan White) - 5:54
3. Time Is Now (Tony Hamilton) - 6:28
4. Find Yourself A New Girl (Stan White) - 3:58
5. The River (Stan White) - 4:32
6. Easy Ride (Stan White) - 3:45
7. Stand Back (Tony Hamilton, Stan White) - 10:10
8. Pirana (Tony Hamilton) - 6:33
9. Then Came The Light (Tony Hamilton) - 3:57
10.I've Seen Sad Days (Tony Hamilton) - 6:11
11.Persuasive Percussion (Tony Hamilton, Jim Duke-Yonge, Graeme Thompson, Phil Hitchcock, Keith Greig) - 0:55
12.I've Got To Learn To Love More Today (Tony Hamilton) - 2:18
13.Jimbo's Blow (Tony Hamilton, Jim Duke-Yonge, Graeme Thompson, Phil Hitchcock, Keith Greig) - 1:01
14.Thinking Of You (Tony Hamilton) - 8:00
15.Here It Comes Again (Tony Hamilton) - 2:52
16.Move To The Country (Tony Hamilton) - 2:58

Pirana
*Stan White - Keyboards
*Keith Greig - Keyboards
*Jim Duke-Yonge - Drums
*Tony Hamilton - Guitar
*Graeme Thompson - Bass
*Richard McEwan - Guitar, Vocals

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Graham Parker And The Rumour - Howlin Wind (1976 uk, splendid pub guitar rock, bonus track edition)

For most intents and purposes, Graham Parker emerged fully formed on his debut album, Howlin' Wind. Sounding like the bastard offspring of Mick Jagger and Van Morrison, Parker sneers his way through a set of stunningly literate pub rockers. Instead of blindly sticking to the traditions of rock & roll, Parker invigorates them with cynicism and anger, turning his songs into distinctively original works. "Back to Schooldays" may be reconstituted rockabilly, "White Honey" may recall Morrison's white R&B bounce, and "Howlin' Wind" is a cross of Van's more mystical moments and the Band, but the songs themselves are original and terrific. 

Similarly, producer Nick Lowe gives the album a tough, spare feeling, which makes Parker and the Rumour sound like one of the best bar bands you've ever heard. Howlin' Wind remains a thoroughly invigorating fusion of rock tradition, singer/songwriter skill, and punk spirit, making it one of the classic debuts of all time. 

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracks
1. White Honey - 3:32
2. Nothin's Gonna Pull Us Apart - 3:20
3. Silly Thing - 2:53
4. Gypsy Blood - 4:36
5. Between You And Me - 2:24
6. Back To Schooldays - 2:53
7. Soul Shoes - 3:13
8. Lady Doctor - 2:50
9. You've Got To Be Kidding - 3:28
10.Howlin' Wind - 3:56
11.Not If It Pleases Me - 3:11
12.Don't Ask Me Questions - 5:38
13.I'm Gonna Use It Now - 3:11
All songs written by Graham Parker

Personnel
*Graham Parker - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Fender Rhythm Guitar
*Brinsley Schwarz - Guitar, Hammond Organ, Vocals
*Bob Andrews - Lowrey Organ, Hammond Organ, Piano, Vocals
*Martin Belmont - Guitar, Vocals
*Steve Goulding - Drums, Vocals
*Andrew Bodnar - Fender Bass
*Stewart Lynas - Brass Arrangement
*Herschel Holder - Trumpet
*Dave Conners - First Tenor Saxophone
*Brinsley Schwarz - Tenor Saxophone
*Danny Ellis - Trombone
*John "Viscount" Earle - Saxophone
*Paul Bailey - Guitar
*Dave Otway - Drums
*Paul Riley - Bass Guitar
*Noel Brown - Slide Guitar, Dobro
*Dave Edmunds - Guitar
*Ed Deane - Slide Guitar
*Stewart Lynas - Alto Sax

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Albert King - I'll Play The Blues For You (1972 us, impressive blues funk soul, 2012 bonus track remaster)

It's not as if Albert King hadn't tasted success in his first decade and a half as a performer, but his late-'60s/early-'70s recordings for Stax did win him a substantially larger audience. During those years, the label began earning significant clout amongst rock fans through events like Otis Redding's appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival and a seemingly endless string of classic singles. When King signed to the label in 1966, he was immediately paired with the Stax session team Booker T. & the MG's. The results were impressive: "Crosscut Saw," "Laundromat Blues," and the singles collection Born Under a Bad Sign were all hits. 

Though 1972's I'll Play the Blues for You followed a slightly different formula, the combination of King, members of the legendary Bar-Kays, the Isaac Hayes Movement, and the sparkling Memphis Horns was hardly a risky endeavor. The result was a trim, funk-infused blues sound that provided ample space for King's oft-imitated guitar playing. King has always been more impressive as a soloist than a singer, and some of his vocal performances on I'll Play the Blues for You lack the intensity one might hope for. As usual, he more than compensates with a series of exquisite six-string workouts. The title track and "Breaking Up Somebody's Home" both stretch past seven minutes, while "I'll Be Doggone" and "Don't Burn Down the Bridge" (where King coaxes a crowd to "take it to the bridge," James Brown-style) break the five-minute barrier. 

Riding strutting lines by bassist James Alexander, King runs the gamut from tough, muscular playing to impassioned cries on his instrument, making I'll Play the Blues for You one of a handful of his great Stax sets. 

by Nathan Bush

Tracks
1. I'll Play The Blues For You (Jerry Beach) - 7:19
2. Little Brother (Henry Bush, J. Jones, Clifton William Smith) - 2:49
3. Breaking Up Somebody's Home (Raymond Jackson, Al Jackson, Jr., Timothy Matthews) - 7:19
4. High Cost Of Loving (Jones, Hamlett) - 2:56
5. I'll Be Doggone (Warren Moore, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Tarplin) - 5:41
6. Answer To The Laundromat Blues (Albert King) - 4:37
7. Don't Burn Down The Bridge ('Cause You Might Wanna Come Back Across) (Jones, Wells) - 5:07
8. Angel Of Mercy (Homer Banksm, Raymond Jackson) - 4:23
9. I'll Play The Blues For You (Alternate Version) (Jerry Beach) - 8:44
10.Don't Burn Down The Bridge ('Cause You Might Wanna Come Back Across) (Alternate Version) (Jones, Wells) - 5:13
11.I Need A Love - 4:29
12.Albert's Stomp (Albert King) - 2:18
Bonus Tracks 9-12

Musicians
*Albert King - Guitar, Vocals
*The Bar Keys And The Movement - Rhythm Section
*The Memphis Horns - Horns

1968  Albert King - Live Wire/Blues Power (Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab)

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B.B. King - Completely Well (1969 us, blues funk soul masterpiece, 2012 SHM Remaster with extra track)

Completely Well was B.B. King's breakthrough album in 1969, which finally got him the long-deserved acclaim that was no less than his due. It contained his signature number, "The Thrill Is Gone," and eight other tunes, six of them emanating from King's pen, usually in a co-writing situation. Hardliners point to the horn charts and the overdubbed strings as the beginning of the end of King's old style that so identifiably earmarked his early sides for the Bihari Brothers and his later tracks for ABC, but this is truly the album that made the world sit up and take notice of B.B. King. 

The plus points include loose arrangements and a small combo behind him that never dwarfs the proceedings or gets in the way. King, for his part, sounds like he's having a ball, playing and singing at peak power. This is certainly not the place to start your B.B. King collection, but it's a nice stop along the way before you finish it.

by Cub Koda

Tracks
1. So Excited (B.B. King, Gerald Jemmott) - 5:35
2. No Good (Ferdinand Washington, B.B. King) - 4:37
3. You're Losin' Me (Ferdinand Washington, B.B. King) - 4:55
4. What Happened (B.B. King) - 4:43
5. Confessin' The Blues (Jay Mcshann, Walter Brown) - 4:57
6. Key To My Kingdom (Maxwell Davis, Joe Josea, Claude Baum) - 3:20
7. Cryin' Won't Help You Now (Sam Ling, Jules Taub, B.B. King) - 6:25
8. You're Mean (B.B. King, Gerald Jemmott, Hugh Mccracken, Paul Harris, Herbie Lovelle) - 10:01
9. The Thrill Is Gone (Rick Darnell, Roy Hawkins, Arthur H ."Art" Benson, Dale Pettite) - 5:27
10.Fools Get Wise (Live 1969 NYC) (B.B.King) - 2:40

Personnel
*B. B. King - Guitar, Vocals
*Hugh McCracken - Guitar
*Paul Harris - Piano, Electric Piano, Organ
*Gerald "Fingers" Jemmott - Bass
*Herbie Lovelle - Drums
*Bill Szymczyk - Producer
*Bert "Super Charts" Decoteaux - String And Horn Arrangements

1967  B.B. King - Lucille (MFSL ultra disc) 

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White Witch - White Witch (1972 us, fine glam prog rock)

Having previously played in Noah's Ark, The Outsiders and The Soul Trippers, lead guitarist Buddy Richardson pulled White Witch together in the early 1970s. A series of auditions saw the band gel around the talents of Richardson, bassist Beau Fisher, singer Ronn Goedert, keyboardist Buddy Pendergrass and drummer Bobby Shea.  A steady stream of tours attracted a small cult following and the attraction of Capricorn Records which signed the band even though they lacked any type of management agreement. 

Bass player Charlie Souza and keyboard player Buddy Pendergrass were both veterans of The Fabulous Tropics, a band that scored an American number 1 with 'Take The Time'. Souza had also performed as part of the Gregg Allman band on his 'Laid Back' album, Florida's Bacchus and With Cactus. White Witch also inducted drummer Bill Peterson, another ex-Bacchus man, for 1973's 'Spiritual Greetings'.

Vocalist Ron Goedert later cut a solo album. Souza later joined Tom Petty, Galeforce and Fortress. He has also been a member of Sly And The Family Stone and worked with ex-Santana man Leon Patillo.

Souza and Pendergrass reactivated The Fabulous Tropics in 1999. Ron Goedert passed away on 16th July 2000.

Tracks
1. Parabrahm Greeting/ Dwellers Of The Threshold (Beau Fisher, Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass, Buddy Richardson, Bobby Shea) - 3:04
2. Help Me Lord  (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 3:07
3. Don't Close Your Mind  (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 6:45
4. You're The One   (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 3:03
5. Sleepwalk (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 4:27
6. Home Grown Girl (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 3:05
7. And I'm Leaving  (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 3:00
8. Illusion  (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 5:11
9. It's So Nice To Be Stoned  (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 3:54
10.Have You Ever Thought Of Changing?/ Jackson Slade  (Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass) - 3:55
11.The Gift (Beau Fisher, Ronn Goedert, Buddy Pendergrass, Buddy Richardson, Bobby Shea) - 1:45

The White Witch
*Buddy Richardson - Guitars
*Robert Shea - Drums
*Ron Goedert - Vocals
*Hardin Pendergrass - Keyboards
*Loyall Fischer - Bass

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Noir - We Had To Let You Have It (1971 uk, astonishing prog afro rock, digipack issue)

Released in 1971 on the Dawn label, this is the only known album from the British progressive group. Barry Ford was a member of Clancy in the mid-seventies, and Merger in the late seventies. It's a low-key release with above average guitar work. A melt of soul / r'n'b / rock / blues rock formula, with minor incursions into jazz and hints of proto-prog. 

Tracks
1.Rain - 9:27
2.Hard Labour - 5:24
3.Beggar Man - 5:06
4.In Memory Of Lady X - 6:57
5.How Long - 6:27
6.The System - 7:19
7.Indian Rope Man - 3:36
8.Ju Ju Man - 3:56

Noir
*Tony Cole - Keyboards
*Barry Ford - Drums, Vocals
*Gordon Hunte - Guitar, Vocals
*Roy Williams - Bass

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World Of Oz - The World Of Oz (1969 uk, wonderful colorful sunny baroque psych, 2006 remaster and expanded)

The World of Oz were a British psychedelic pop band that enjoyed a short string of successful singles in Europe. Between those major charting records in Holland and a lot of good press at home, the release of an album was planned -- yet they managed to throw it all away with an unexplained split. All four original members -- Tony Clarkson (bass, vocals), David "Kubie" Kubinec (organ), Christopher Robin (guitar, piano, vocals), and David Reay (drums) -- hailed from Birmingham, and had been parts of that city's burgeoning pop/rock culture for varying amounts of time. Clarkson had several years' experience playing in various bands, and had also performed on the European continent. 

Kubinec had spent two years working mostly in Germany as a member of the Pieces of Mind, doing a mixture of R&B and soul. Reay and Robin (real name Christopher Evans) had played in a band called the Mayfair Set, working in Germany for a year before returning to Birmingham late in 1967, where they broke up. The pair decided to form a new band, and Kubinec and Clarkson were recruited through advertisements in musician magazines. In January of 1968 they formed the group, the "Oz" name and imagery fitting in with the trippy ambience of the late '60s.

They decided that while Birmingham's club scene could provide work, it didn't offer the kind of prospects for a recording career that they had in mind, and so they headed to London. Their songwriting ability got them snatched up by Sparta Music. And for a manager, they had no less a figure than Barry Class, who was best known for his most successful client, the Foundations (of "Build Me Up Buttercup" fame). Class lived up to his last name by setting the group up in a luxury apartment on Park Lane, in London's exclusive Mayfair district, long a fashionable locale for movie stars and theater performers seeking to put on a big front in their lives. It made for a fair amount of press access and good press, as well as impressing various record company executives, accustomed to dealing with up-and-coming bands living in near squalor. 

Between the quality of their songs, played at impromptu auditions or the gigs Class was able to get them, and the gimmick of their high-profile digs, the band received serious overtures from several record companies, including Pye. But in the spring of 1968 they signed with Deram Records, the progressive pop imprint of English Decca. Wayne Bickerton, who headed Deram, thought enough of them to personally produce this new act, and his enthusiasm was more than enough to seal the deal. He even approved and budgeted the use of a 33-piece orchestra accompanying them on one of Kubinec's songs, "Muffin Man," at their first recording session.

"Muffin Man" was issued as a single in England and on the Continent in May of 1968 (and a little later in the United States). A catchy tune with great hooks, instrumental as well as vocal, and a trippy, nursery-rhyme-like ambience, it somehow managed never to chart in England. According to Kubinec in an interview on the psychedelic site Marmalade Skies, things began coming apart when Class accompanied the Foundations on a tour of America and left the World of Oz in the hands of a deputy who immediately cut back on the promotion budget for the group and the single. In trying to save a few shillings, he cost them the momentum they'd been working for months to build up, and the single just lay there. 

The key moment, in his view, was missing a chance to do the single on Top of the Pops. However, the record did reach the Top Ten in Holland, sold reasonably well across Western Europe, and also managed to get some positive response in the form of radio play in the United States. Three months later came their second single, "King Croesus," which also made the Top Ten in Holland, and got to number 126 in the Cashbox charts late that fall in America. Additionally, despite the fact that they hadn't charted a single in England, the group's sound -- a light, harmony-based psychedelia similar to the Bee Gees and records like "Barker of the UFO" -- and Class' clout got them as much work as they could handle and more. The band lasted through two more rounds of recording sessions in 1968, through November of that year, and even got a third U.S. release, for "The Hum-Gum Tree" b/w "Mandy-Ann."

An album seemed a next easy step, but things weren't right within the band, and Kubinec and Reay were already gone -- for reasons no one has ever explained -- by that last set of recording sessions, replaced by Geoff Nicholls (guitar, organ) and Bob Moore (drums), respectively. The group soldiered on, under a rather awkward shadow -- Deram Records already had a finished album in the can and a February release date, and that record was coming out, despite the fact that it featured two key members who were already gone from the lineup. Meanwhile, the World of Oz had another modest hit in Holland, "Willow's Harp" b/w "Like a Tear," early in 1969. The new lineup made it as far as appearing on the televised rock & roll showcase Beat Club in Germany and other, similar programs in Holland, and on the cover of pop magazines in the Netherlands. Finally, another U.K. single, of "The Hum-Gum Tree," was due out, but then was canceled. That, apparently, was the final straw for the reconstituted band, which broke up in May of 1969, a year after the group's recording career had begun.

The World of Oz LP was released on schedule and disappeared without creating a ripple on the charts, on either side of the Atlantic. The album cover was a very strange one -- it featured visual representations of the last lineup of the group, which was understandable but also strange, as they were hardly heard on the record inside. The cover design was an especially ornate affair, utilizing characters from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz universe, which, according to Kubinec, also included representations of their manager, and even annotator Jonathan King, while the back cover had images of Bickerton and arranger Mike Vickers. As a psychedelic artifact, musical and visual, that LP and the cover were serious collectors' items for many years. It was bootlegged on CD sometime in the late '90s, before a legitimate re-release from Repertoire Records showed up in 2007, concurrent with a mini-LP-packaged CD in Japan.

Given relatively easy availability at last, the album reveals a prodigiously talented pop/rock band, nothing earth-shattering given what they and Class and Bickerton were aiming at, but with a lot of unrealized potential residing in those songs. And the singles "Muffin Man" and, better still, "Like a Tear" reflect a tuneful, trippy psychedelic pop sensibility, somewhat similar to the early Bee Gees -- in addition to appearing on The World of Oz, they have been anthologized on various psychedelic collections. 

In the years following the World of Oz's demise, David Kubinec did a solo album on A&M Records about a decade after the original group's signing, while Reay became a recording executive. Both Kubinec and Clarkson have since enjoyed long careers in music, right up to the present day. Nicholls, though a later member of the group, did rather better in music than any of the others in the band, however; after a stint with Quartz, he joined Black Sabbath for a long stint as their keyboard player.

by Bruce Eder

Tracks
1. The Muffin Man - 2:39
2. Bring The Ring - 3:05
3. Jackie - 2:49
4. Beside The Fire - 3:08
5. The Hum-Gum Tree - 2:21
6. With A Little Help - 3:18
7. We've All Seen The Queen - 2:33
8. King Croesus - 3:10
9. Mandy-Ann - 2:59
10.Jack - 2:28
11.Like A Tear - 3:11
12.Willow's Harp - 2:08
13.The Muffin Man (Single Version) - 2:31
14.Peter's Birthday (Single Version) - 2:55
15.King Croesus (Single Version) - 3:11
16.Jack (Single Version) - 2:28
17.The Hum-Gum Tree (Single Version) - 2:20
18.Beside The Fire (Single Version) - 3:08
19.Willow's Harp (Single Version) - 2:08
20.Like A Tear (Single Version) - 3:10
Music and Lyrics by World Of Oz

The World Of Oz
*Christopher Robin - Vocals, Guitar
*Tony Clarkson - Bass
*David 'Kubie' Kubinec - Guitar, Organ
*David Reay - Drums
*Geoff Nicholls - Organ
*Rob Moore - Drums

Frumpy - All Will Be Changed (1970 germany, remarkable heavy psych prog rock, 2008 remaster with extra tracks)

No other artist has had as lasting an influence on German rock music as Inga Rumpf, daughter of a sailor and a tailoress from East Prussia. The vocalist grew up in Hamburg's St. Georg district with the music of Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry. Her smoky, bluesy voice, influenced by icons such as Mahalia Jackson and Nina Simone. fills fans all over the world with enthusiasm to this day. Her seemingly limitless stylistic range has rightfulty earned Inga Rumpf a reputation as Germany's no.1 rock vocalist.

Inga Rumpf's career began in 1965 with a folk act called City Preachers, who soon had a considerable following thanks to their mix of folk, blues, country, gospel and jazz. She recorded three albums with the group and continued to use the name after a disagreement with founder O'Brien Docker and a subsequent fundamental line-up change. Along with bassist Karf-Heinz Schott and organist Jean-Jacques Kravetz, she was supported by the young drummer. Udo Lindenberg. In spring 1969, Lindenberg was replaced by Carsten Bonn, who insisted on a tougher direction. This led to the foundation of Frumpy m 1970, the name having been discovered by the musicians in a CBS record catalogue. 

Frumpy soon sparked Phonogram's interest, and Rumpf and Co. were sent to the label's own studios in Hamburg and Hilversum to record their debut album. All Will Be Changed. "The record company had been impressed by our live shows and wanted us to record the LP in the same style. That's why we recorded everything live," Inga Rumpf recalls. "We didn't have much time anyway, that's why one week between two shows had to be enough for the whole production."

All We Be Changed saw the band gear their music to established international sounds, but they immediately found their own style thanks to the ever-present drone of a Hammond organ and Rurnpf's unique voice. They initially worked without a guitarist, allowing keyboardist Joan-Jacques Kravetz to rotate the powerful Leslie rotor. In the beginning we were happy enough as a quartet. I played and composed exclusively on an acoustic guitar," explains Rumpf. "It was only later that we began to write songs that called for a guitar."

The national press initially eyed Frumpy with the typical skepticism of that time towards anybody who made rock music on German shores. *"Long live boredom. We can only hope that Frumpy are serious about the whispered promise, 'all will be changed*, toward the end of the record, because a total musical change would definitely be called for," Sounds magazine concluded in 1970, unable to acquire a taste even for Inga Rumpf's soulful, husky voice. Hardly one year later.  Rumpf was voted best German female voice in the same magazine.

Unimpressed by such ambiguities Frumpy continued lo work on their career, appearing. among other venues, at the legendary Pans Olympia and the Lyceum in London, one of Hie most important British clubs, and embarked on a 50-show German tour. Rumpf: "To start off with, we played every club, disco, cultural event and festival where people still knew us from our City Preachers era. This changed as soon as the audience felt our musical identity.

We even moved the crowds opening for Spooky Tooth and other British groups and soon developed into a top act ourselves." Yet the musicians did not gain riches, which Inga Rumpf takes in her stride; "Occasionally we went homo without being paid or with an IOU because the promoter had run off with the cash. But I didn't need a lot in those days. I was only interested in singing, songwriting and composing,"

by Matthias Mineur

Tracks
1. Life Without Pain (Inga Rumpf, Robert Coules) - 3:48
2. Rosalie Part I - 6:03
3. Otium (Jean Jacques Kravetz) - 4:22
4. Rosalie Part II - 4:12
5. Indian Rope Man (Richie Havens, Joe Price, Mark Roth) - 3:20
6. Morning - 3:23
7. Floating Part I (Inga Rumpf, Robert Coules) - 7:41
8. Baroque (Jean Jacques Kravetz) - 7:36
9. Floating Part II (Inga Rumpf, Robert Coules) - 1:23
10.Roadriding - 4:023
11.Time Makes Wise - 2:52
All compositions by Inga Rumpf except where indicated
Bonustracks 10-11

Frumpy
*Inga Rumpf - Guitar, Percussion, Vocals
*Rainer Baumann - Guitar
*Carsten Bohn Bandstand - Bass, Drums, Percussion
*Jean Jacques Kravetz - Keyboards, Mellotron, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Saxophone, Spinet
*Karl Heinz Schott - Bass

1971  Frumpy - Frumpy II 

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Frumpy - Frumpy II (1971 germany, tremendous heavy prog rock)

Inga Rumpf's Frumpy was among the most startling bands on the entire German rock scene of the early '70s, an act so diametrically opposed to the Krautrock boom beloved by critics elsewhere that first impressions of their music always leave listeners scratching their heads. 

If Frumpy has any role models, it is a collision between Meddle-era Pink Floyd and a less-precocious Uriah Heep. Frumpy 2, unsurprisingly their second album, features just four tracks, but all are soaring slabs of emotive guitar and keyboards, deeply progressive of course, but unquestionably pop as well. Even at a shade over ten minutes, "How the Gypsy Was Born" sounds like a hit single, while the churning Hammond organ brings Deep Purple to mind in full on "Black Night"/"Woman From Tokyo" mode. Rumpf herself, meanwhile, has a range and depth comparable to Curved Air's Sonja Kristina, with an emotive strength which seems all the more remarkable when you remember that English is not her native language. 

The shifting, complex "Take Care of Illusion" brings the best out of her in every way imaginable, while the lengthy instrumental break during the closing "Duty" allows her bandmates to shine with equal aplomb. The guitar and keyboard solos and duels which take place above the tumultuous rhythms are as spectacular as anything else in the genre. But even while you're sitting slack-jawed in awe, it is very difficult to play favorites. 

Frumpy, like Rumpf's Atlantis after them, has antecedents aplenty, and their influences peep out behind every corner. But the manner in which they've been sewn together owes little to any Anglo-American role models and little to any Krautrock basics, too. Quite simply, Frumpy 2 is the prog album you'll be returning to long after the others have all dulled into wallpaper.

by Dave Thompson

Tracks
1. Good Winds (I. Rumpf) - 10:08
2. How the Gypsy Was Born (J. J. Kravetz, I. Rumpf) - 8:49
3. Take Care of Illusion (J. J. Kravetz, I. Rumpf) - 7:35
4. Duty (J. J. Kravetz, I. Rumpf) - 12:14

Frumpy
*Inga Rumpf - Guitar, Vocals
*Rainer Baumann - Guitar
*Carsten Bohn Bandstand - Bass, Percussion
*Jean Jacques Kravetz - Keyboards
*Karl Heinz Schott - Bass

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Catfish - Get Down (1970 us, magnificent raw folk blues rock)

Catfish has been called an “American folk blues hero” and has been a mainstay on the American Blues music scene for three decades now! He has twenty four albums to his credit, comprised almost totally of original material. “Catfish Blues” and “Like A Big Dog Barkin’” on the Wildcat label.

Catfish found his calling early on. While growing up in Detroit, he was sneaking into Motown Records Hitsville studio to catch the Four tops and the Supremes and grooving to R&B and Blues while his contemporaries gravitated to the Beatles. In the late 1960’s he formed the Catfish Band and led them out of Detroit into national prominence.

Tracks
1. Catfish (Bob Hodge, Mark Manko, T. Carson) - 3:49
2. The Hawk - 4:31
3. No Place To Hide (Bob Hodge, Mark Manko) - 4:42
4. 300 Pound Fat Mama - 7:56
5. Love Lights - 5:33
6. Coffee Song - 1:35
7. Tradition (Bob Hodge, Mark Manko) - 3:26
8. Sundown Man - 3:32
9. Reprise: Catfish/Get High, Get Naked, Get Down (B. Hodge, M. Manko, T. Carson) - 9:43
All selections written by Bob Hodge unless otherwise indicated

Personnel
*Bob "Catfish" Hodge - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Mark Manko - Guitar
*Harry Phillips - Keyboards
*W.R. Cooke - Bass
*Jimmy Optner - Drums

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