Poobah - Let Me In (1972 USA).
Poobah - U.S. Rock (1976 USA).
Poobah - Steamroller (1979 USA). Poobah are perhaps the best example of the hard working, musically competent - but unsigned - 1970s Midwest rock group. Hailing from Cleveland, OH, Poobah possessed a rare talent in guitarist Jim Gustafson, who could jam with the best of them. They managed 3 self-released albums spanning from 1972 through to 1979 (though they recorded even more in the interim periods). “Let Me In” is a raw, but very powerful, hard rock album and can easily be seen as the blueprint for which most Midwest rock albums sound like. The sketch of a drunk puking across the bathroom is the perfect metaphor for the “life of a Cleveland rock n roller”. “U.S. Rock” adds in keyboards, and there’s a distinct move to an AOR friendly sound. In fact, listening to these tracks with 2008 ears, it’s beyond belief that Poobah weren’t one of the big names of the day. Catchy melodies, powerful and technical guitars, and THAT sound that made every major band in the 1976/1977 a hit on FM radio. But due to a remarkable run of bad luck, they once again were resigned to releasing the album themselves. Not deterred, Gustafson reformed the band again, and released one of the best hard rock albums for the entire 1970s in “Steamroller”. Not prog or psych or metal, just plain old hard rock. Power trio hard rock the way a band from Cleveland should be. These guys just kick ass on this album from beginning to end. Just picked up the legit CD on Monster (final CD on the label sadly – too long to get into the full story here - but now d.b.a. as Rockadrome). I think the previous boot CD held back my appreciation some. If you AT ALL have interest in the US Midwest private hard rock scene, THIS is the album to get. As stated above, Monster Records reissued “Steamroller” just prior to going out of business. Since then, the band has taken to reissuing all of their own material. The band is, amazingly, still going and have released at least 4 more studio albums since the late 1990s.
Vindication - s/t (1973 USA). Indiana based Christian progressive rock band. I’ve had a copy of this for years, so not sure why I haven’t written about it until now. No mistakening its Midwest identity, with those unique bowling alley beer binges meets barbershop quartet harmony vocals. Music is insanely complex for the time and place, and especially for the subject matter. It would seem Ohio’s The Load may have heard or known Vindication as well, though they weren’t near as complex as their brethren to the West. This one seems to get better with age and would make a nice CD reissue.