Billy T.K And The Powerhouse - Move On Up The Unreleased HMV Tapes (1972/75/80 new zealand, outstanding groovy fusion acid rock, 2009 release)

No local musician embodied this archetype more – or took it further – than Billy TK. His recordings with The Human Instinct, in particular the album Stoned Guitar, remain emblems of the period, and are today both historically significant and highly collectible. His subsequent work with groups such as Powerhouse and Wharemana have built on the style and technique he developed during this time.

Billy TK’s story began in Bunnythorpe, a rural township just outside Palmerston North. Born Billy Te Kahika, his surname was abbreviated by his Pākehā schoolteachers, who couldn’t be bothered writing out his full Māori name.

In 1972 Billy returned to New Zealand with Australian drummer Steve Weir and formed the first line-up of Powerhouse, which for the next eight years would see a series of continually changing line-ups.

Initially a quartet, Billy TK’s Powerhouse secured a residency at Wellington club Lucifer’s where they played a mixture of rock and soul covers, ranging from Neil Young to Curtis Mayfield. Later that year an opportunity arose for Billy to start his own club in Palmerston North, so he returned to the Horowhenua, where Powerhouse took up residence at the newly opened, Boulevarde club.

This version of the band was recorded in Wellington’s HMV studios for a possible album, however nothing was released at the time. These recordings finally emerged in 2009 as Move On Up: The Unreleased HMV Tapes, and show a club band in its embryonic stages, albeit with an unusually fiery guitarist.

Playing regularly at the Boulevarde, Powerhouse began to grow in scale and ambition. Inspired by the current jazz-rock fusion of Santana and John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy began adding musicians to the line-up, expanding the tonal and rhythmic possibilities. These included keyboardist Jamie Tait-Jamieson, percussionist Mana Rauhina, cellist Pauline Poole (who later become a well-known singer under the name Hattie St. John) and singer Mahia Blackmore. Following the departure of Steve Weir, the group went through a number of drummers including Bud Hooper and Neil Storey, who would go on to play with Dragon before his untimely death. At the time he joined Powerhouse he was still at school.

“I was auditioning drummers, I’d tried a couple and there was this kid out the back in a school uniform and I said, ‘Have you come to audition?’ He said, ‘Yeah’, so I said, ‘Hop on’, and he was it. He had it. So I had to go and talk to his mum!”

Sometimes Billy’s old friend Ara Mete played drums; on other occasions he would play second guitar.

In the communal spirit of the time, the group took up residence in a rural mansion in nearby Cheltenham, made available by a friend of the band. Each member had his or her own room, there was space to rehearse, and even tennis courts. It also provided inspiration for Billy’s original writing, which increasingly dominated the repertoire. Band membership at the time swelled to as many as 15 people.

by  Nick Bollinger

Tracks
1. Bottle Of Red Wine (Eric Clapton) - 3:04
2. Move On Up (Curtis Mayfield) - 9:09
3. Hum Along And Dance (Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield) - 5:15
4. Into The Mystic (Van Morrison) - 3:28
5. Marbles (John McLaughlin) - 5:24
6. Guajira (C. Reyes, David Brown, Rico Reyes) - 4:02
7. Goodbye Post Office Tower Goodbye (Angus Cullen) - 4:28
8. Southern Man (Neil Young) - 9:06
9. Dance With The Spirit (Billy Te Kahika) - 2:37
10.Rhythm Of Your Love (Billy Te Kahika) - 3:41
11.Heaven's Melody (Live) (Billy Te Kahika) - 12:55
12.Beyond The Material Sky (Live) (Billy Te Kahika) - 5:50
13.Race Into The infinite (Live) (Billy Te Kahika) - 10:40

Personnel
*Billy T.K - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*John Bilderbeck - Guitar
*Steve Webb - Drums
*Gav Collinge - Bass
*Ara Mete - Rhythm Guitar
*Jamie Tait-Jamieson - Keyboards, Saxophone
*Arnold Tihema - Congas, Lead Vocals
*Mahia Blackmore - Vocals, Percussions
*Dick White - Saxophone

Related Acts
1970  Human Instinct - Stoned Guitar (2007 bonus tracks edition)
1971  Human Instinct - Pins In It

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Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs - Long Live Rock And Roll (1972 australia, stunning classic guitar rock, 2008 digipak release)

The Moomba Festival on Sunday the 12th. of March 1972 culminated in a massive live concert at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. The line-up was Friends, La De Das , Gerry and the Joy Band and headliners the Aztecs.

As noted in TV and Newspaper reports, an enormous crowd of 200,000 (yes, you read right: Two Hundred Thousand!) turned up. The following GoSet edition featured a detailed report on the concert and noted the debut of a new track entitled "Long Live Rock And Roll And Long May It Move Me So" (predicted, following the success of "most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy", to be another number one smash - though it was never recorded).

We have taken the Aztecs' barnstorming performance and added another from late 1972 at Melbourne's Festival Hall (their farewell show before travelling to the UK) to create a never before released Aztecs' CD - one that captures the band at the peak of their live power (this is the same year and line-up of the classic Aztecs Live! at Sunbury performance, i.e. the "Sunbury Aztecs" - Billy Thorpe, Gil Matthews, Paul Wheeler and Bruce Howard).

The Festival Hall show features a lost classic: "Let Yourself Go" - a song in a similar vein to "Time To Live" and "Momma" - monster riffing, powerful vocals, relentless beat (with obligatory drum solo) with a running time of over 10 minutes!!

There's also a rare live version of their single "Believe it Just Like Me".

Aztec-recs

Tracks
Live At The Myer Music Bowl 1972 (Moomba Festival)
1. Be Bop A Lula (Gene Vincent, Tex Davis) - 5:26
2. CC Rider (Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Traditional) - 4:59
3. Long Live Rock N' Roll (Billy Thorpe) - 9:39
4. Most People I Know Think That I'm Crazy (Billy Thorpe) - 7:30
5. Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Jessie Hill) - 15:16
Live At Festival Hall 1972
6. Let Yourself Go (Billy Thorpe) - 10:58
7. Believe It Just Like Me (Billy Thorpe) - 2:53
8. Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Jessie Hill) - 16:20

The Aztecs
*Billy Thorpe - Vocals, Guitar
*Gil "Rats" Matthews - Drums
*Paul Wheeler - Bass
*Bruce Howard - Electric Piano

1972  Billy Thorpe And The Aztecs - Live! At Sunbury (2005 digipak)

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Tony Hazzard - Tony Hazzard Sings (1969 uk, pleasant smart orchestrated colorful beats)

Tony Hazzard graduated from university in the sixties and, by a quirk of fate, went straight into the music business. He began as a solo singer featuring in classic sixties television shows such as Ready Steady Go and Thank Your Lucky Stars, but it soon became clear that his forte was songwriting and, during a three year period, from 1966 to 1969, he wrote six top twenty hits in the UK and Europe for the likes of Manfred Mann (Fox On The Run & Ha Ha Said The Clown), The Hollies (Listen To Me), The Tremeloes (Hello World), Lulu (Me The Peaceful Heart),  and Herman's Hermits (You Won't Be Leaving). He also had songs recorded by Gene Pitney (Maria Elena), Dave Berry (Love Has Gone Out Of Your Life), Simon Dupree and The Big Sound (The Eagle Flies Tonight), Nana Mouskouri (Mamma), Cliff Richard (The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet), Hall & Oates (The Princess And The Soldier), and The Yardbirds (Fade Away Maureen & Ha Ha Said The Clown), culminating in 1974 with another Top Twenty hit for Andy Williams (I Think I'm Over Getting Over You). 

During this time he also wrote and produced television jingles, and wrote theme tunes for BBC and ITV series. One jingle won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. He also sidelined as a session singer and guitarist working with the likes of James Last, Long John Baldry, and Elton John, featuring on three of the latter's albums (Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection & Honky Chateau) and appearing on stage with him at his first Royal Festival Hall concert.

In 1969 he recorded his first album, mainly a collection of the demos of the hits, entitled “Tony Hazzard sings Tony Hazzard”. A version on CD was released in 2007 by Cherry Red Records. 1971 saw the release of his second album “Loudwater House” followed in 1973 by “Was That Alright, Then?” A double CD of these albums was released on the Sanctuary label in 2005, under the title “Go North – The Bronze Anthology”. During the early seventies he also toured extensively with his band, featuring musicians who had played on the albums. In 1976 he recorded an album, “Hazzard & Barnes” with an old friend, Richard Barnes, who had previously sung harmonies on all the demos of the hits. In 1974 he moved to Cornwall and contemplated leaving the music business, but a visit to Nashville and Los Angeles in the late seventies sparked another creative period during which he wrote many songs which have never been published.

In 1977 he won a Citation Of Achievement from BMI, one of the American equivalents of The Performing Right Society in the UK, for one of his sixties hits, Fox On The Run, which, in the intervening years, had traversed the Atlantic and become a bluegrass standard. It has since been recorded by the majority of bluegrass and country artistes, including Tom T. Hall, Bill Monroe, The Country Gentlemen, George Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Flatt & Scruggs, Doc Watson, and Bare Naked Ladies.

Though he never achieved chart success in his own right, the British songwriter Tony Hazzard penned many hits for Sixties pop groups such as the Hollies and Manfred Mann. This high-quality collection, much sought-after on vinyl, features Hazzard's own versions of his songs, including the Manfred Mann hits "Fox on the Run" and "Ha Ha Said the Clown," with backing by some of the cream of late-1960s U.K. session musicians.

Tony Hazzard's songs are known to millions. During his first flurry of pop success in the mid-late '60s he scored huge hits with "Ha! Ha! Said The Clown" and "Fox On The Run" for Manfred Mann, "Listen To Me" for The Hollies, "Me The Peaceful Heart" for Lulu, "Hello World" for The Tremeloes and "You Won't Be Leaving" for Herman's Hermits. In addition, his "The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet" was recorded by Cliff Richard and entered into the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest. "Maria Elena" was beautifully rendered by the great Gene Pitney while the Jimmy Page-led Yardbirds turned Tony's "Goodnight Sweet Josephine" into a Psych-Pop classic. Simon Dupree & The Big Sound, The Casuals, The Family Dogg, 

Cherry Smash and The (formerly Swinging) Blue Jeans all turned to Hazzard's effortless pop tunes in the late '60s too. In the midst of all this success as a writer, Tony somehow found time to polish up a dozen or so of his demos (themselves things of fully formed wonder as played by the top session cats of the day) and thus was born his first 'solo' LP, Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard, released in 1969. It features all of the aforementioned mega-hits and a selection of other equally worthy pop gems as rendered by Tony, his band and pals like Jimmy Page and The Hollies' Tony Hicks. This compilation is produced with Tony's full co-operation and features ultra-rare non-LP single sides and brand new, in-depth liner notes by Rev-Ola's very own Andy Morten, this is a must for all lovers of pure '60s pop thrills. 16 tracks. Rev-Ola. 2007.

by Andy Morten.

Tracks
1. Listen To Me - 2:33
2. Brown Eyed Girl - 3:13
3. Me, The Peaceful Heart - 2:29
4. The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet - 2:34
5. Hello It's Me - 2:59
6. Fox On The Run - 2:39
7. Hello World - 4:06
8. Goodnight Sweet Josephine - 2:52
9. Ha! Ha! Said The Clown - 2:19
10.Hey Mrs. Housewife - 2:38
11.You Won't Be Leaving - 2:26
12.Fade Away Maureen - 2:34
13.The Sound Of The Candyman's Trumpet (Single Version) - 2:33
14.Everything's Gone Wrong - 2:16
15.You'll Never Put Shackles On Me - 2:21
16.Calling You Home - 2:22
All songs written by Tony Hazzard
Bonus tracks 13-16

Musicians
*Tony Hazzard - Vocals, Guitar, 12-String Guitar
*Roger McKew - Guitar
*Nick Robbins - Synthesizer
*Joe Foster - Synthesizer
*Tom (Colonel) Allom - Vibraphone
*Tat Meager - Drums, Percussion

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Spur - Spur Of The Moments (1966-72 us, amazing jagged acid folk psych, vinyl edition)

Spur was an unknown Illinois band who gained some local notoriety in the late 60’s but never hit the big time (they opened for many of the era’s big bands: The Byrds, Cream, Bob Seger, Steve Miller and The Grateful Dead).  For Spur of the Moments, Drag City compiled the best tracks from their sole album (1968-), along with several outtakes and rare 45 cuts.  Tons of blogs and rock magazines/fanzines have reviewed this gem, so we figured we’d give our own spin on this exciting new reissue.

While Spur of the Moments is by no means a cohesive, album-like statement, each song is finely crafted 60’s rock n roll that’s well worth a spin.  Spur started out life as a garage band who called themselves The Unknowns.  The Unknowns would eventually change their name to Spur and touch on a variety of classic 60’s sounds: garage, folk-rock, heavy psych and country-rock.  It must’ve been a challenge to assemble and piece together this anthology.  Spur were certainly long-lived by 60’s standards (1965-1972) but they were also a group who frequently revamped their sound/style and spent very little time in the recording studio.  That being said, Drag City does a great job putting all their highlights together in one convenient place.

The LP’s first five cuts are its most brilliant ones.  We begin with “Mind Odyssey,” a classic slice of psychedelic country-rock that’s highlighted by fluid guitar work and mild studio experimentation.   With “Tribal Gathering,” Spur turns a classic Byrds track into a 14 minute Grateful Dead-like acid guitar jam.   “Time Is Now,” another great performance, is quality West Coast psychedelia with good harmonies (about mid way through), fuzz guitar and a strong Jefferson Airplane feel.  These 3 cuts also suggest that Spur may have been listening to The Byrds’ Notorious Byrd Brothers album.  “Modern Era,” a 1966 single which was originally backed by a cover of Gene Clark’s “Feel A Whole Lot Better” (not included), recalls 5D Byrds, with it’s punchy, jangley guitars and acid fried lyrics – definitely a keeper.  

“Mr. Creep,” a terrific cut from Spur’s sole album, sports cool, distorted vocals, razor sharp guitars and bizarre lyrics (great, twisted garage psych).  Other fine tracks: Spur’s excellent country-rock take on The Beatles’ classic “Eight Days A Week” (banjo and steel guitar make me think of a cross between Dillard & Clark and The Flying Burrito Brothers), the suprising power pop of “Help Me I’m Falling” and the jumpy garage number “Be Tender, My Love.”

by Jason Nardelli

Tracks
1. Mind Odyssey (Ed Kalotek) - 2:37
2. Mr. Creep (Ed Kalotek) - 2:10
3. Tribal Gathering/We Don't Want To Know (Chris Hillman, David Crosby, Ed Kalotek) - 14:10
4. Modern Era (Jimmy Fey, Rick Willard, Ron Lipe, Stan Bratzke, Stix Maxwell, Ed Kalotek) - 2:14
5. Time Is Now (Ed Kalotek) - 4:11
6. Be Tender, My Love (Ed Kalotek) - 2:41
7. You Could Help Me Ease The Pain (Ed Kalotek) - 2:14
8. All Over The World (Jerry Corbitt) - 3:03
9. Help Me I'm Falling (Stan Bratzke) - 4:26
10.Eight Days A Week (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 2:40
11.Yield Not (Deadric Malone) - 2:27

Spur
*Ed Kalotek - Keyboards, Twelve String, Six String Guitar
*Stix Maxwell - Percussion, Drums
*Stan Bratzke - Vocals, Acoustic, Electric Guitar
*Rick Willard - Vocals, Bass
*Jimmy Fey - Vocals, Lead Guitar

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Apartment One - Open House (1970 holland, efficient prog psych rock, 2014 edition)

Rock band from Hilversum, founded in 1967 under the name Serpentine. The first line-up lasted until 1969 and consisted of: Peter van der Sande (v, g, ex-Sexton Five, Highschool Five, Smokey and Kingbees), Rob Morel (b, ex-Dean Allen Set), Ralf Dragstra (o, p, trb, ex-Dean Allen Set), Bob de Laat (s, ex-Dean Allen Set), Patrick Verboom (tr), Frank van Tijn (v, dr, to OPMC) and Dick Pels (g, ex-Guardians, to Dean Allen Set).  In 1969, Peter left the group temporarily.  Serpentine started accompanying Amos Tamela (ex-Mustang Soul) and Sandra Reemer.

Peter then recorded a single for Polydor with his new group Blech, featuring: Fije Jasky (dr), Ton Jasky (b), Theo Andriessen (p), Ad le Conte (o).  Nevertheless, the single was released under the name Serpentine, because Peter had soon returned to his old band.  The line-up was then narrowed down to: Peter van der Sande (v, b), Onno Lopulalan (g), Frank van Tijn (v, dr) and Ralf Dragstra (o, p).  Band members also did a lot of session work - for California License, Big Boy & Bouncers and OPMC, amongst others.  On account of legal reasons, later records were released under the moniker Apartment One.  Serpentine fell apart in 1970, Peter joined Focus.

"Open House" released through Pink Elephant label, and it's a mixture of prog psych rock with some blues and country references.  

Tracks
1. Step Inside (Onny Lopulalan, Ralf Dragstra) - 4:10
2. Fuzz Buzz (Robbie Dale, Peter Van Der Sande) - 2:51
3. Eternal Moralist (Robbie Dale, Peter Van Der Sande) - 3:04
4. Dictionary (Robbie Dale, Peter Van Der Sande) - 2:24
5. Summer Term (Peter Van Der Sande) - 3:49
6. Dragstream (Onny Lopulalan, Ralf Dragstra) - 3:07
7. Like A Queen (Robbie Dale, Peter Van Der Sande) - 3:08
8. Going Up Town (Peter Van Der Sande) - 3:05
9. Try And Bye A Try (Robbie Dale, Peter Van Der Sande) - 3:15
10.What's Going On (Peter Van Der Sande) - 3:35

The Apartment One
*Frank Van Tijn - Drums, Vocals
*Peter Van Der Sande - Vocals, Guitar, Cello, Organ, Bass
*Bob De Laat - Saxophone
*Dick Pels - Guitar
*Patrick Verboom - Trumpet
*Ralf Dragstra - Keyboards, Trombone
*Rob Morel - Bass
*Onny Lopulalan - Guitar

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Tomorrow's Gift - Tomorrow's Gift (1970 germany, powerful heavy prog krautrock, 2016 remaster issue)

Tomorrow's Gift were responsible for the first release (of only three totally) on the Plus label (owned by Miller International). Like Frumpy and Joy Unlimited, they were a blues and soul-rock band who 'turned on, tuned in and dropped out' to the progressive music at the end of the sixties (but remained faithful to their roots). Both mentioned bands had female vocalists, as had Tomorrow's Gift: Ellen Meyer. Arguably she didn't have a voice as strong as Inga Rumpf, but hers was good enough to serve the music. The rest of the band members were: Carlo Karges (guitar, percussion), Manfred Rurup (organ), Wolfgang Trescher (flute), Bernd Kiefer (bass) and Olaf Casalich (drums). Casalich was later replaced by Gerd Paetzke. This was really a band of future talents, three of the members being still teenagers. Their eponymous double album had a typical vintage progressive sound. There were powerful long tracks with plenty of guitar, organ, flute and drum solos, Ellen Meyer's vocals were comparable to those of Janis Joplin. 

The production (courtesy of Jochen Petersen (Ikarus), possibly his first production ever) was unpolished and some of the material a little rough around the edges. It would have been better to edit the material down to a single album! There is more than an album's worth of live material by Tomorrow's Gift issued on the two festival samplers, 'Pop & Blues Festival '70' and 'Love and Peace'. The first one had a 20-minute version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch", re-titled "Sound Of Which" (sic!), interspersed with very long, sometimes chaotic instrumental parts. Still it is a good example of their raw live sound. The latter had another 20-minute track: "At The Earth/Indian Rope Man" and the shorter "Begin Of A New Sound". Both concerts were recorded before their debut album.

The five-piece Tomorrow's Gift split up in 1971, but Manfred Rurup and Bernd Kiefer (bass) kept the band going. They recruited "Zabba" Lindner (drums) from Sphinx Tush and recorded 'Goodbye Future' (1972) as a trio, an ironic title considering the name of the group! This album was technically better, as the engineering and production were handled by Konrad Plank. The sound of Tomorrow's Gift had changed completely and now leaned towards instrumental jazz-rock with forceful keyboard and bass interplay. It was indeed a very varied album: Canterbury-influenced jazz-rock with improvised free jazz parts (a bit comparable to the first Annexus Quam album), general Zappa-esque weirdness and musical jokes. The album wasn't released until a year after the recordings were completed.

from Cosmic Dreams at Play

Tracks
1. Riddle In A Swamp (Carlo Karges, Manfred Rürup) - 8:02
2. Prayin' To Satan (Manfred Rürup) - 5:09
3. One Of The Narrow Minded Thoughts (Manfred Rürup) - 3:28
4. Tenakel Gnag (Wolfgang Trescher) - 2:55
5. The First Seasons After The Destruction (Carlo Karges, Manfred Rürup) - 13:02
6. How You Want To Live (Manfred Rürup) - 7:32
7. Grey Aurora (Manfred Rürup) - 1:40
8. Ants (Wolfgang Trescher) - 2:51
9. Breeds There A Man (Carlo Karges, Manfred Rürup) - 3:21
10.King In A Nook (Carlo Karges) - 4:21
11.Sandy Concert (Manfred Rürup) - 8:08
12.Enough To Write A Song About Or Two (Carlo Karges) - 2:00
13.Second Song (Carlo Karges, Wolfgang Trescher) - 0:27

Tomorrow's Gift
*Carlo Karges - Guitars, Percussion
*Bernd Kiefer - Bass
*Ellen Meyer - Lead Vocals
*Gerd Paetzke - Drums
*Manfred Rurup - Keyboards
*Wolfgang Trescher - Flute
Guest Musician
*Jochen Petersen - Alto Saxophone (11)

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Brainstorm - Second Smile (1973 germany, prominent prog rock)

The second record by Brainstorm, from 1973, reveals even more variety to this German group's take on Canterbury jazz-rock. The album starts off with a spacy keyboard drone, dripping water noises, and gentle acoustic guitars, and just when you think you have the track, "Hirnwind," pegged as a mellow folk number, it becomes hyperactive progressive jazz-rock, with propulsive rhythms and lots of furious electric guitar, organ, flute, and sax, with some goofy wordless vocals thrown in. Other tracks also have that abrupt unpredictability, as Brainstorm's compositional prowess is even more developed, especially on the complex songs of "My Way" and "Marilyn Monroe," which feature a lot of changeups and different moods and tempos. They also do an ultra-funky arrangement of Leon Thomas' "There Was a Time," a standout on the disc. 

Though this record is energetic, it doesn't quite achieve the same manic overdrive of some of the material on their debut, Smile a While. Second Smile presents a more mature group, though one that is still a lot of fun, especially on the vampy "Marilyn Monroe" and wild "Hirnwind," the two songs that bookended the original album. The only weak cut is the bonus track, "You're the One." This single is a remake of "You Are What's Gonna Make It Last" from Smile a While, but tries to pump it up with a more conventional rock sound that is less interesting than the rest of the album. 

by Rolf Semprebon

Tracks
1. Hirnwind (Roland Schaeffer, Rainer Bodensohn, Eddy Von Overheidt) - 5:43
2. Herbst (Roland Schaeffer, Rainer Bodensohn) - 3:40
3. My Way (Eddy Von Overheidt, Roland Schaeffer) - 8:12
4. Affenzahn (Brainstorm) - 4:47
5. There Was A Time (Roland Schaeffer, T. Thomas) - 7:09
6. Marilyn Monroe (Roland Schaeffer, T. Schaeffer, Eddy Von Overheidt) - 8:32

The Brainstorm
*Rainer Bodensohn - Bass, Flute, Vocals
*Enno Dernov - Bass, Guitar
*Joachim Keinzer - Drums
*Roland Schaeffer - Guitar, Keyboards
*Eddy Von Overheidt - Keyboards, Vocals

1970-71  Fashion Pink - To Brainstorm

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Coyote - Coyote (1972 us, magnificent rural funky prog rock, 2013 issue)

Hum, I never would have guessed these guys were from Cockeysville, Maryland ...  Prior to coming together as Coyote, the various members had played in a host of Baltimore bands.  Showcasing the talents of keyboardist Rod Arment , lead guitarist Chuck Beaty, bassist Jim Kestle, drummer Tim Lloyd , and keyboardist Rusty Steele.   The group were regulars on the Maryland and Washington, D.C. club circuit, but in spite of their talent and enthusiasm, were unable to attract the attention of a major label. 

Later in the year the band got around to recording a self-financed LP - 1the cleverly-titled "Coyote".  Musically the album's always been somewhat of a curiosity to my ears.  There aren't a lot of online reviews, but a couple of them describe the set as a country-rock effort.  I'll tell you that's not a particularly accurate description.  With four of the members contributing to the writing chores, side one was quite eclectic, bouncing around between jazz-rock instrumental ('Cowboy & Indians'), Dead-influenced old-timey Americana ('Horney Coyote'), and conventional rock ('Jabberwocky').  

Side one was also notable for displaying some of the era's strangest lyrics ('Farmer Fetcher's').  In contrast, exemplified by material like 'Ready to Ride' and 'Fly' side two reflected a more focused rock and progressive-leaning sound.  Blessed with four decent singers (drummer Lloyd was the only non-singer in the group), gave the album a nice sense of diversity and technically these guys were all quite impressive with Beaty and Steele deserving special notice. There's no doubt these guys were talented and I'd be willing to bet they were a killer club act.

Shortly after the album was released the hand underwent a major personnel shift that saw Beaty and Kestle joined by keyboardist Brian Boyd, lead singer David Gable, and drummer Dennis Meros.  The band seemingly continued to perform through 1976 and then called it quits with various members joining a host of local bands.

the Bad-Cat

Tracks
1. Farmer Fletcher's (Chuck Beaty) - 2:26
2. Cowboys And Indians (Chuck Beaty) - 2:54
3. Horney Coyote (Chuck Beaty) - 6:32
4. Jabberwocky (L. Carrroll, Chuck Beaty) - 3:13
5. Flat Chested Woman (Chuck Beaty) - 4:27
6. Ready To Ride (Rod Arment) - 3:06
7. Silver Ring (Chuck Beaty) - 5:09
8. Fly (Jim Kestle, Rusty Steele) - 5:07
9. People Funny (Jim Kestle) - 2:21
10.Musician (Chuck Beaty) - 3:10

The Coyote
*Rod Arment - Keyboards, Vocals
*Chuck Beaty - Vocals, Lead Guitar
*Jim Kestle - Bass, Backing Vocals
*Tim Lloyd - Drums, Backing Vocals
*Rusty Steele - Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals

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Fandango - Slipstreaming / Future Times (1979-80 uk, tough boogie classic rock)

Fandango was formed by ex-Deep Purple (Mark I) member Nick Simper in 1978 after the demise of his former band Warhorse in the mid 70's. The band recorded two albums, Slipstreaming in 1979 and Future Times in 1980 both originally released on a small German label Shark When the debut album Slipstreaming was originally released, the music world was in turmoil. Punk was beginning to rear its ugly head, disco was hot while hard rock was becoming a thing of the past. The band had a hard time finding a U.K. label to release a 70's styled hard rock album so the band went to Germany where hard rock and Nick Simper's reputation was still a viable product. 

The debut album was released on the Shark label in Germany and finally picked up by Gull in England where it achieved a moderate amount of success. On the basis of the first album's sales another album, Future Times was recorded in 1980 but this one was only released in Germany. With the lack of promotion and low sales on the second album, Fandango decided to call it a day and folded in 1983. This two CD set marks the first time that both of these albums have seen an international release. Besides the two albums in their entirety, this set also contains four bonus selections in the form of rare and unreleased recordings. The CD booklet contains a detailed information on the band and documents the history of both album releases. This set should be of particular interest to any fan of British hard rock and also of interest to Deep Purple collectors. 

by Keith Pettipas

Tracks
Slipstreaming 1979
1. Candice Larene (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 6:35
2. Rocky Road Blues (Peter Parks, Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 5:04
3. Independent Man (Hey Mama) (Nick Simper) - 6:33
4. Slipstreaming (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 4:24
5. Schoolhouse Party (Nick Simper) - 4:15
6. Sister (Peter Parks, Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 4:52
7. Mississsippi Lady (Jim Croce) - 4:17
8. Time Will Tell (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 5:54

Future Times 1980
9. Pull Out And Start Again (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 5:14
10.Get Down, Lay Down (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 5:40
11.She Was My Friend (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 4:50
12.Future Times (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 4:51
13.Undercover Man (Peter Parks, Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 5:47
14.Something's Burning (Mac Davis) - 4:51
15.Hard Drink And Easy Women (Jim Proops, Nick Simper) - 3:45

Personnel
*Jim Proops - Vocals
*Pete Parks - Guitar
*Bass Guitar – Nick Simper
*Neil McCarthur - Piano, Organ (tracks 1 - 8)
*Ron Penney - Drums (tracks 1 - 8)
*Mac Poole - Drums (tracks 9 - 15)

1967  Flower Pot Men - Let's Go To San Francisco
1970  Warhorse - Warhorse (2008 Japan remaster and expanded)  
1972  Warhorse - Red Sea (2010 remaster with bonus tracks)

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Machiavel - Jester (1977 belgium, extreme heavy prog rock, 2010 remaster)

Jester is regarded as Macheavel's greatest album (second in row), and apparently the band benefitted greatly with the addition of vocalist Mario Guccio, who also played some flute, sax, and clarinet. Keyboardist Albert Letecheur really steals the show here with lots of electric piano, string synths, Minimoog, Mellotron and piano, while Roland De Greef provides bass, Marc Ysaye provides drums, and Jean Paul Delvaux provides guitars.

"Wisdom" starts off with some pulsing synth sounds, then the string synths and guitar kick in. Some rather dramatic vocals kick in. It's a great piece and a great way to open the album. "Sparkling Jaw" starts off with some spacy synths, in a rather slow manner, but then when the music kicks speed, the Supertramp influence (the electric piano) surfaces. "Moments" is a nice acoustic ballad done prog rock style, this reminds me most of Genesis during their more acoustic moments. 

The Mellotron rears it's head for the first time on this album here, and the Mellotron would be heard for the remainder of the album. "In the Reign of Queen Pollution" has lyrics that don't exactly need a rocket scientist to understand: about pollution and genetic mutation thanks to the consequence of pollution (including how after a thousand years children were born with the face in the shape of a gas mask). The song appropriately starts off in a rather dark and sinster matter with the string synths dominating. But the music starts picking up, Letecheur gives a nice Moog solo, then the music gets upbeat, for some strange reason, but the music is quite catchy. 

The title track has more of that Supertramp influence, but then at the end more nice synths that end this piece. "Mr. Street Fair" is a nice spacy piece dominated by string synths, with a circus-like atmosphere. "Rock, Sea and Tree" is the ending piece that has more great creative passages. What I admire is Machiavel is they also didn't forget to create great songs, and make them interesting by including some great creative passages. It's probably little wonder why they did so well in their native Belgium.

It's amazing how this album even got released! I'm not referring to the music, of course, it's the artwork inside the gatefold of the LP. The gatefold has very sexually explicit artwork. Even so, the artwork is done surrealistically, as often you would see on many '70s prog rock albums, just this one is perhaps the most sexually explicit art I ever seen on a prog rock album, even the cover to Frank Zappa's Over-Nite Sensation is nothing compared to this! EMI (actually its division, Harvest, a label known for acts like Pink Floyd, Eloy, Triumvirat, Barclay James Harvest, etc.) actually released this album despite the artwork. I'm glad they did regardless of how controversial the artwork, at the risk of being banned.

There is no doubt about it, Jester is a great album to start if you don't know Machiavel. And if you were turned off by them thanks to a later release such as New Lines, you'll be glad to know Jester is much better. It comes highly recommended! 

by Ben Miler

Tracks
1. Wisdom (Albert Letecheur, Roland De Greef) - 6:01
2. Sparkling Jaw (Albert Letecheur, Roland De Greef) - 7:06
3. Moments (Albert Letecheur, Marc Ysaye, Roland De Greef) - 3:19
4. In the Reign of Queen Pollution (Albert Letecheur, Roland De Greef) - 6:54
5. The Jester (Albert Letecheur, Roland De Greef) - 5:27
6. Mr Street Fair (Albert Letecheur, Roland De Greef) - 7:57
7. Rock Sea and Tree (Albert Letecheur, Marc Ysaye) - 9:21
8. The Birds are Gone (Marc Ysaye) - 1:50
9. Im Now Here (Marc Ysaye) - 2:23

Machiavel
*Mario Guccio - Vocals, Flute, Saxophone, Clarinet
*Christophe Pons - Guitars
*Roland De Greef - Vocals, Bass
*Marc Ysaye - Drums,Vocals, Tambourine, Maracas, Gong, Percussion
*Hervι Borbe - Keyboards
*Jean Paul Devaux - Electric, Acoustic, 12 String Guitars, Vocals

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