Malón (Juan Carlos Caceres) - “El Camino” “Dale Negro” (1972 Argentina). Title is presented just as on the cover. Essentially at its core, Malon is a Latin pop album in the grand Tropicalia tradition as would be more commonly found in Brazil during this period. Like Os Mutantes, Malon will on occasion conjure up the freaky undergound with flipped guitar, echoed flute, droning organ and frenzied vocals. Elements of Los Jaivas, Bwana, Modulo 1000 and Santana all pop up here and there, for no other reason than to disturb your Corona advertised beach bliss. For this, we are grateful. No CD exists.
San Michael’s - s/t (1971 Sweden). San Michael’s is a typical early 70s song-based organ rock band with Swedish vocals, and an occasional creative instrumental to keep it interesting. Most notable for featuring Hans Lundin (Kaipa) on organ, though this isn’t anywhere near the progressive rock sound of his next venture. There are rumors a CD reissue may be coming soon. Mellotronen, Transubstans or Musea would be my 3 guesses as to who will do it.
Joy Unlimited - Minne (1975 Germany). More varied than the previous, and heavier, two albums “Schmetterlinge” and “Reflections”. “Minne” mixes German language (male vocals) folk with horn rock, some jazzy sequences, even some classical moments. More challenging than previous works, though it can be a mite slow going at times. Like “Reflections”, “Minne” doesn’t feature band namesake Joy Fleming. Now that Garden of Delights has reissued the two previous albums mentioned above, I would suspect “Minne” will get the VIP treatment soon.