Outer Music Diary

Randy Holden – Population II. 1970. After playing on one half of a Blue Cheer album, Holden launched this almost literal solo album with the addition of the drummer from Kak (thus a population of 2). For fans of loud, bluesy guitar and screaming gruff vocals with pounding 4/4 rhythms, then here you go. No tricky meters and any of that art school stuff here, just blitzed out hard rock – one style, all the time. This album has to be the source of the “amps to 11” gag. So uncompromising, it was bound to be cult classic. And it is. Limited appeal, but too obscure to fall into the wrong hands. There is a legit LP reissue, but still not on CD. Really, you need the fuzz on the needle for this one anyway.

Crystalaugur - Terranaut. 1972. Not much is known about this obscurity. The campfire version is these were burned out US GI’s who recorded a psych album in Singapore in the early 70s. Who really knows, and there’s no legit reissue to refer to, so we’ll go with that. As for an album, it would be difficult to get any more simple than this. A basic rhythmic backbone, almost surf rock in texture (especially the guitar leads), sometimes with vocals, sometimes not. It sounds like it was half finished, then possessed by a tax dodge label (in the days when unlimited losses were allowed by the IRS) and released in a small quantity years after it was recorded. Probably the band name and title were made up – which might explain the lack of info. Only for fans of obscure basement recordings.

Wailing Wall – s/t. 1970. Years ago, those crate digging detectives from Rockadelic discovered a psych scene in El Paso, TX via the locally produced Suemi label. As is typical with these type of obscurities, what one usually finds is a band that is about 2 or 3 years behind current trends. From the time they hear (and are motivated) by a popular record, buy the necessary music equipment, rehearse, and get studio space, they finally release their product. What you can best hope for is a unique twist or influence that either the area culture provides or from the band’s own experiences. And Wailing Wall does throw in a few “desert” vibes with exotic wind instruments. But it’s too few and far between. So you get the usual amalgam of Airplane, Dead, Byrds, CSN and other “hit” groups of the late 1960s. One interesting side note is that these guys did eventually relocate to California and were behind the middle eastern acoustic group Light Rain, which was a prominent buck bin special in the record collecting world of the 1980s (and pretty good actually). Wailing Wall is available as a legit CD from Shadoks if you’re curious to hear.

Surprise - Assault on Merryland. 1977. In the game that was the Midwest progressive rock scene of the 1970s, Starcastle emerged as the winner, but there were plenty of other worthy competitors for the title (Ethos, Albatross, Pentwater, This Oneness, etc…). Surprise, from St. Louis, were one of the better ones to have participated. The genre itself can be defined as a mix of complex rock with a clear understanding of radio friendly chart music, as FM radio ruled the thoughts of the day. There’s a common DNA amongst all these groups, and can be instantly recognized if your ears are tuned to it. Four piece group where everyone plays a multitude of instruments to add plenty of variety. Legit CD reissue was released well over 10 years ago on the one-off Zarathustra label, and is starting to get tough to find. Better get yours quick if so desired.

Wigwam – Being. 1974. Not an easily understood record, since it’s not really like any other, and certainly not like any other Wigwam album. Marginally influenced by prime Genesis, “Being” is a flowing, lyrical, tight symphonic rock work. Splendid organ and piano work throughout – as expected from Jukka Gustavson. In fact, the only other band I can think of that even tried for their sound is the recent US group The Underground Railroad, who are indeed quite familiar with this record. I slightly prefer “Fairyport” over “Being” within the Wigwam canon, but since all of their early albums are so different from one another, it’s best to explore each.

Sabicas – Rock Encounter. 1970. Certainly one of the more unusual CD reissues of the last few years. At the very least, I would not have expected high quality German label Long Hair to tackle it. How they ended up getting the rights is a testament to their dedication. 58 year old Sabicas was a legendary flamenco guitar player from Spain who was living in New York. He somehow was bamboozled by his agent into participating (flamenco guitar and his recognizable name) in an instrumental rock album with some of New York’s finest young players at the time (including Joe Beck and Tony Levin). Years later, maybe not surprisingly, Sabicas himself admitted he didn’t like the album. This is really Beck’s show, and the whole album is so far ahead of its time, it deserves a doctoral study (though this was an extension of Beck’s sessions with John Berberian on “Middle Eastern Rock”). Despite the excellent liner notes, just HOW old the record still remains a mystery. 1970 is the prevailing theory (especially given the Berberian reference). The liner notes say 1966 in one place, but refer to 1968 and ’70 elsewhere. Joe Beck’s website doesn’t mention it nor does the original LP. In any case, this predates the Spanish flamenco rock movement (as headed by Triana amongst others) by at least 5 years if not more. Essential pioneering work.

Circus 2000 – Escape From a Box. 1972. One of the more misunderstood albums from the Italian prog rock scene. Mainly because it has nothing in common with what one expects from the land of PFM or Banco. Circus 2000 are the European extract of prime Jefferson Airplane, but progged up ala Julian’s Treatment, Mad Curry or Sandrose. “Escape From a Box” is one of the most creative albums from this niche. Laid back, sensuous, hypnotic, and mesmerizing. Resident hottie Silvana Aliotta provides the sultry, and witchy squeaky vocals. Hippy dippy opener ‘Hey Man’ only slip up, and even most of that tune works when the instrument engines start to roar. Gorgeous purple butterfly and yellow snake cover is screaming for a Japanese mini-LP reissue. Only a sad Akarma cardboard blowup exists (though their LP reissue is considerably nicer), or the older Vinyl Magic, which I have yet to replace.

Stray – Suicide. 1971. It’s becoming increasingly apparent to me how much the first two Stray albums are completely ignored by fans that would otherwise lap up their brand of UK progressive with hard rock (think Vertigo style). Maybe being miscast on the otherwise folky Transatlantic label didn’t help – or that the band took a decidedly glam rock approach later in the career (where, no doubt, many crate diggers were introduced to the band). Did I mention it has gobs of mellotron?

Motherlight - Bobak, Jons, Malone. 1969. Another quirky Morgan Blue Town release, closer to psych than prog, but no mistaking the progression. Whereas Pussy “Plays” took the first album Soft Machine approach, Motherlight had their ears glued more to Syd era Floyd, minus the lengthy instrumental bits though. Beautiful Japanese mini-LP of the period piece cover makes it all a worthwhile possession.