Outer Music Diary

Rodan - s/t (1974 USA). Super horn rock album, that absolutely kills on most of the 12 short tracks. There are a couple of bluesy moves and at least one James Brown styled funker, but mostly this just rips from start to finish. The kind of album you wish all horn rockers were. Smoking guitar and great brass charts. The rhythm section never stops. California based group was actually known as MAX, and toured extensively with groups like Malo and Tower of Power. One of the band members has started his own label called Digital Cellars, and there’s a real chance this obscurity will be reissued in 2008. Album sports a fantastic drawing on the cover.

Yellow Sunshine - s/t (1973 USA). Philadelphia based group recorded one of the best of the Afro psych albums. Recorded for the Gamble label, this possesses a strong hard rock edge, that is usually missing in most of these soul-oriented works. In the big leagues with Funkadelic and Mandrill. Band evolved into MFSB, a very fine mid 1970s funk/disco group, that recorded the fantastic ‘K-Jee’ track, by far the best song on the “Saturday Night Fever” soundtrack. Gamble is one Kenny Gamble and his label was a part of Epic Records. There is a legit LP reissue, but no CD as of yet.

Scorpion - s/t (1969 USA). Hard rock / soul album on Tower by obscure group from Detroit, that has a grand reputation amongst the psych collector set, which I find surprising. Vocal heavy, in the soul tradition, and quite frankly an exceedingly boring album overall. Little to grab onto besides some nice fuzz bass here and there. This one is for specialty collectors only. No CD exists.

Stone Circus - s/t (1969 Canada). Following my post from Monday on Lacewing, here’s another Mainstream label gem, and possibly my favorite album I’ve heard on the label. These Montreal based musicians (save one), decided to journey south of the border to New York to find their scene. Known as The Funky Farm, Mainstream decided to change their name for the release of the album. In typical record business style, Mainstream didn’t even inform the band of the name change! Featuring an outrageous psychedelic cover of a very colorful and oversized clown engulfed in an earthquake with flames, it certainly would catch ones attention even for 1969, when such a sight was more common. I probably listened to the album 5 times in a row, as the music is the closest I’ve heard to that most magical of 60s psych bands - Strawberry Alarm Clock. Stone Circus possess the same songwriting qualities, and period instrumentation (fuzz guitar, old organs). It does miss that magic ingredient of naivete, that SAC was able to tap into so perfectly. Whether it’s the California sunshine that’s missing, or the late date of 1969, it’s clear there’s a little somethin’ missing. Still, Stone Circus’ one album is one of the better representatives of the era.

Ethel The Frog - s/t (1980 England). I remember hearing about Ethel The Frog as far back as 1981 or so. I was a dedicated collector of what had become known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and started to see their name in the publications of the day. The NWOBHM scene was my first love, and scouring import stores was a new experience for me. I also had a tendency back then to presume that every album in the genre was an automatic buy, and that I would enjoy all of them. After buying albums by Samson, Tygers of Pan Tang, even Motorhead, it was clear to me I needed to do more research before plunking down for high priced imports (precious money that I barely had). Still, with a scene filled with serious band names like Iron Maiden, Saxon, Diamond Head and Angel Witch, seeing a group inspired by Monty Python was almost too much to pass up. All I can say now is: Thank goodness my local import store didn’t carry this! After 27 some years, I finally heard Ethel the Frog. It’s bar rock. Good time rock n roll. Let’s get drunk and crazy music. It’s barely even metal. They open with a cover of “Eleanor Rigby”. Ugh.

Dario Baldan Bembo - Migrazione (1977 Italy). While on the topic of lowlights…. Bembo’s debut is hailed as a prog rock classic by the 5 folks that have heard it. On the deck it goes… and…. the verdict is? Pop oriented keyboard rock. Sure, there are some proggy moves that actually sound like a cross between (get this) Metamorfosi and early Elton John! I just cracked myself up. Oh man… “Inferno meets Island Girl!”. He has a few other albums but I think I’ll stop here.

Trion - Pilgrim (2007 Netherlands). Trion is a madeup word that combines trilogy and mellotron, which gives a pretty good idea where these lads are going musically. The group is made up by members of the veteran Dutch progressive rock bands of Odyssice and Flamborough Head. Their charter, as it were, is to play instrumental rock music utilizing only analog instruments and 70s era recording techniques. While “Tortoise” was an impressive debut, “Pilgrim” is even better as they add more diversity in the keyboards (not just mellotron). Also, more acoustic guitar is deployed than prior, adding some needed contrast.

Trion - Tortoise (2003 Netherlands). I don’t tend to scour the Cyclops catalog in search of my next purchase, but Trion proves once again the label does have surprises up their sleeve (like Henry Fool for example). Basically this is a guitar, mellotron (all sampled), drums trio playing symphonic instrumental prog rock. For an non-Reconstructed progger like me, this fits the bill entirely. It’s like discovering a new burger joint with a great tasting meal. Yea, it’s not new, but dammit if a good cheesesteak doesn’t just hit the spot! Trion is very much of the Dutch variety of prog music as well. Generally that means the music tends to be mid-paced, highly melodic and somewhat rhythmically uninteresting. So it always gets to the execution of melodies and the change of tone and color. And here is where Trion excels mightily. Plenty of nice electric leads are contrasted with acoustic strumming. The mellotron (with many different tape samples - not just the usual suspects) provide the color and tone. The group that comes most to mind is Lady Lake with mellotron, though not as immediate. Other references are Camel (of course) and Focus circa “3″ and maybe even the Swedish group Dice in their slower moments.

Senogul - s/t (2007 Spain). Mylodon of Chile has reached across the Atlantic and nabbed this wonderful Spanish combo. Senogul espouse the late 1960s concept of exploring every style they can think of - but all within the context of what is normally known as Progressive rock. Focus-like instrumentals are offset by herky-jerky style Italian prog juxtaposed against some jazzy funky horn rock with a little Ibio styled Asturian ethnic rock. And so it goes for the duration of this 70 minute disc, a very exciting listen…

La Maschera di Cera – LuxAde (2006 Italy). Hard working bassist Fabio Zuffanti has many bands (Finisterre, Hostsonaten, Aries, Zaal, etc…), and each one represents a certain sound that he likes to explore more in detail (his initial band Finisterre is the one that is truly eclectic). La Maschera di Cera is his vehicle dedicated to the early 1970s Italian progressive rock scene, with only vintage gear being deployed. Along with the usual keyboard (Hammond, Mellotron, Moog), fuzz bass and guitar sounds, there’s quite a bit of flute, an instrument that was predominantly featured in 70s Italian music. In the end, the group achieves what it sets out to do, though I’d say LMdC are not quite as complex of some of the finest bands of the 70s (Jumbo, Semiramis, Banco, RRR, etc..). “LuxAde”, the 3rd and latest album, is probably the best of their output - and comes highly recommended.

Officina Meccanica - La Follia del Mimo di Fuoco (1976 Italy). I first came across the Officina Meccanica name in the book “Il Ritorno del Pop Italiano”, one of the earliest specific country progressive rock guides. Each book came with a singles compilation, as put together by Vinyl Magic. OM had the largest presence on the disc, and were the best of the bands that didn’t have a proper release prior. Fast forward to 2007, and the next generation of Vinyl Magic, BTF, has unleashed a full CD of previously unreleased tracks (with a couple of the aforementioned singles thrown in). Honestly, I didn’t expect this to amount to much, given that the singles were certainly well put together, but hardly Earth shattering prog rock. My presumptions were proven flat wrong. This is not only good, but nothing short of amazing. It warms the heart to know, after all these years, great material like this is still sitting in a vault somewhere. So what is Officina Meccanica about? Well, for one thing, they had a full time horn section. If you ever wondered what a classic Italian herky-jerky prog band (Osanna or Cervello for example) would’ve sounded like mixed with Chicago or Brainchild, well now’s your chance. This has all those great elements of the 70’s prog rock scene in Italy: Dramatic Italian vocals, superb instrumental chops, radical changes in meter and dynamics. Somehow this great archival find is flying far under the radar, and it deserves better than that. Maybe the best archival release since Kollektiv’s SWF Sessions.

Seppo Paroni Paakkunainen - Plastic Maailma (1971 Finland). Fairly typical all-over-the-map kitchen sink mentality dominates this obscure work. Eastern ragas, groovy hippy rock with cute female Finnish vocals, blues rock with tough male vocals (from the lead singer of Apollo), moody atmospheric jazz, soft religious revival music, heavy organ proto prog, Nosferatu-like guitar/flute rockers etc… Paakkunainen is the winds player and he provides some nice sax and flute leads. More focus would have lead to a strong album, as the production and playing are top notch. Would probably do well as a CD reissue.

Good God - s/t (1972 USA). Philadelphia based jazz rock band, that sounds more European than American. Heavily indebted to instrumental Zappa, Good God’s album sounds like many groups from Germany, Denmark and France. Maybe a little too much unhinged sax work for my liking, but still plenty to enjoy here. They cover Zappa’s ‘King Kong’ and John McLaughlin’s ‘Dragon Song’, both of which perfectly fit their style. It had been years since I sold my LP copy, but this listen demonstrated that the album is better than I remembered. Nice album that a high profile reissue label would benefit from.

Holy River Family Band - Trio

Limited edition EP from the Spacious Mind offshoot, space rock/psychedelia of an always high quality, fuzzed out guitars and rambling, improvisational songs. On a release like this they remind me even more of Tangle Edge where the bass and drums kind of shuffle through a variety of Pink Floyd influenced riffs and moods and the guitar moves on top reminding one of eastern modals and hookah pipes and nice Persian rugs. To be honest, I’ve thought the band’s albums despite having a great deal of good music on them can be awfully sprawling, sometimes overstaying their welcome, so a release of this length seems almost perfect.

Sonny Stitt - 12!

A nice and high energy 70s hard bop record from the horn player, one reissued by 32 Jazz at one point. From the sound it could have come from a decade ago, as it rides the same sort of territory John Coltrane did for albums like Coltrane, Impressions or Plays - it doesn’t ever really get too free, but there’s plenty of room for the whole band to feel the fire and go off. Considering that the 70s were pretty fertile for a lot of more out jazz and fusion sounds, it could be said this is a pretty conservative record, but its energy and liveliness almost assure its relevance. Mostly covers, (the title track and one other are written by Stitt), including one by Basie and one by Ellington, all the music is driven nicely, the horns and pianos are solid and Louis Hayes puts in a respectable, possibly Elvin Jones-inspired performance.

Santana - Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany 11/11/72

Falling a bit too low on the quality meter to be truly enjoyable, this captures Santana close to the Welcome and Lotus phase but still with strong overtones of the original band as if this was a closure to the era. I found myself phasing in and out of the show because of the hiss and everything, and perhaps my lack of enthusiasm for this was dampened by having to deal with that. I do remember a moment or two that stood out but for the most part I won’t be in a hurry to hear this again given how much better sounding material is out there.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Crossroads (CMT)

I’ve only been recently listening to Krauss and Union Station and of course much longer for Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin, but found the concept of a collaboration very intriguing, not just the rock/bluegrass fusion possibilities, but also the sex and age yin/yang between the two. It creates an absolutely amazing tension on stage that just heightens the edginess of this project, from the reconstructed Led Zeppelin and Union Station pieces to Marc Ribot’s occasional very avant jazz/blues solo. The full band works not only through the covers but a few traditionals and the occasional rockabillly sort of number. The whole thing just brims with age and experience and both Plant and Krauss come off like the veterans they are. Plant seems almost 40 years younger in many ways, clearly relishing the experience to dive well away from the rock fields he’s a bonafide master of and as he implies during the interview segments, the combination of Krauss’ almost pitch perfect voice with his own smoky blues actually works. Most startling are the Led Zep reconstructions, with Krauss taking lead on one of my favorites, When the Levee Breaks (Zep’s version a reconstruction in its own right) and the dual vocals on the very sexually charged “Black Dog,” all of which clearly delighted the crowd. You really have to give credit to everyone involved, it’s a shame so few veterans challenge themselves like this.

La Desooorden – Ciudad de Papel (2007 Chile). La Desooorden are very much a modern progressive band, that utilize current production techniques as well as some dark, atonal metal guitar. So elements of Tool and Porcupine Tree can be discerned on a quick glance. That alone would not make an A-list group, but underneath this superficial view, we find a group exploring all aspects of exciting music. You find Latin percussion, jazzy bits, folk melodies, early 70s Italian prog rock and a host of other and exciting ideas. A very deep group, that reveals something different with each listen.

WintherStormer – Woodwork (2007 Norway). The name WintherStormer is a combination of the two main protagonists Terje Winther and Eric Stormer, both of whom play a large array of analog and digital keyboards. Not surprisingly, WintherStormer are an old fashioned Berlin School style electronic band with lots of spacey textures and cool sequencer lines. They’re augmented on album by a guitarist and drummer, which add a nice rock touch, and give the group many more compositional options to pursue. Definitely on par with Radio Massacre International’s more recent works or Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream’s 1970s rock based efforts.

Djam Karet - No Commercial Potential (1985 USA).
Djam Karet - …And Still Getting the Ladies (2004 USA). The following review is more of an overview of the band Djam Karet, but the two albums listed were the inspiration…… One of the longest running progressive rock bands, Djam Karet has been at the forefront of the instrumental space rock movement for well over 20 years. Their debut, “No Commercial Potential”, was a true anomaly when released in 1985. The concept of long guitar driven rock instrumentals was extinct, and the title is as accurate as any in history. They began to bring more compositional structure into their material throughout the remainder of the 80s, as well as adding an electronic music element to their sound. I first encountered Djam Karet with “Reflections of the Firepool” in 1989, an album that is as fresh today as when it was released almost 20 years ago. In 1991, they took a chance with the radical approach of releasing two albums, each one focusing on their two very different styles: Acid jam rock and spacey electronic music. The albums received much (undeserved) criticism in the day, and it seemed the fans preferred the integration over the separation. Time has healed wounds, and it seems the hard edged “Burning the Hard City” has fared better with their current fan base. From here, the group sort of floundered, without a clear direction of where they were heading. The experimental electronic oriented “Collaborator” (1994) is the odd album out in their discography. The lackluster response to this album combined with a last minute cancellation at the first ProgFest, seemed to push Djam Karet out to pasture. Until, that is, their signing to Cuneiform Records and the release of “The Devouring” in 1997. For many, this was their best album up to that point, and some will go as far as saying it’s their greatest album period. In any event, the album seemed to be the logical step of where Djam Karet was headed with “Reflections From the Firepool”. The positive response to “The Devouring” ushered in a new tidal wave of releases, that continue to this day. They even revived the one-take, no-overdub “No Commercial Potential” concept with “…And Still Getting the Ladies” and “Still No Commercial Potential”. Djam Karet seem to never run out of quality ideas, and let’s hope they go on for another twenty years!

Cynara - s/t (1970 USA). One of the more interesting groups from the US in the late 1960’s was a Boston based bunch called Listening, who released one superb album on the Vanguard label (the reissue was done on Comet/Akarma, who bought the rights to the Vanguard label, but it’s a barebones job, and would definitely benefit from a more caring reissue label like Esoteric for example). Cynara is the band that formed from the ashes of Listening. It’s an eclectic mix, just as Listening was, but not near as groundbreaking or exciting. One side is pretty much straight ahead organ/guitar rock, while the other side has two long compositions with a jazz piano/organ lounge-like feel throughout. Not a bad find, but yet another US major label album from 1970 (originally released on Capitol) that stops short of meeting expectations. Though Listening is available, no legit CD of Cynara exists.

Lacewing - s/t (1970 USA). Lacewing is one of the rarest and most collectable albums from the vast collection of the Mainstream label. Based in Kent, Ohio, this album was released near the time of the Kent State shooting, which is reflected in the atmosphere of the compositions. Like many US albums from 1970, the material is psych influenced, but still unsure of where it wanted to go next. There’s roots rock, folk, progressive and the usual kitchen sink mentality. The guitar work is exemplary and the female vocals are better than average for the era. Worth a few listens, and would make a good CD reissue, especially given the collectability of this rarity.

Mystic Siva - s/t (1970 USA). There are certain types of underground rock that are highly desirable, more for their mood and atmosphere, verse actual songwriting and talent. The “lost teenager angst” sound is one of the most sought after in this category, as it provides an historic panorama of a certain time and place. Michigan’s Mystic Siva is the Holy Grail for such a sound. Musically, it’s a typical album for the time, not mature enough to be signed by a major label, and the production values are pure garage. Normal 1970 mix of psych, proto metal, some funk and some punk. But the realism of this album just oozes from the grooves, a miasma of doom and gloom. Yep, the girlfriend just left and that deadend union job at the auto plant is starting to look like a very real place for a very long time. Throw in some high school mysticism, and you have a world class recording from the vaults of “America’s fly over country”. It is rare to capture that mood, that hopelessness, that despair. Mystic Siva did all of this and more. That doesn’t mean it’s an essential buy for everyone, but for those that seek these kind of things out, you could do worse than plunk down for the splendid World in Sound reissue that is available. More enjoyable for archeologists and musicologists than musicians if you can dig it?