Flying Burrito Brothers - The Gilded Palace of Sin (Great Country Rock 1969)

By 1969, Gram Parsons had already built the foundation of the country-rock movement through his work with the International Submarine Band and the Byrds, but his first album with the Flying Burrito Brothers, The Gilded Palace of Sin, was where he revealed the full extent of his talents, and it ranks among the finest and most influential albums the genre would ever produce. As a songwriter, Parsons delivered some of his finest work on this set; "Hot Burrito No. 1" and "Hot Burrito No. 2" both blend the hurt of classic country weepers with a contemporary sense of anger, jealousy, and confusion, and "Sin City" can either be seen as a parody or a sincere meditation on a city gone mad, and it hits home in both contexts. Parsons was rarely as strong as a vocalist as he was here, and his covers of "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman" prove just how much he had been learning from R&B as well as C&W. And Parsons was fortunate enough to be working with a band who truly added to his vision, rather than simply backing him up; the distorted swoops of Sneaky Pete Kleinow's fuzztone steel guitar provides a perfect bridge between country and psychedelic rock, and Chris Hillman's strong and supportive harmony vocals blend flawlessly with Parsons' (and he also proved to be a valuable songwriting partner, collaborating on a number of great tunes with Gram). While The Gilded Palace of Sin barely registered on the pop culture radar in 1969, literally dozens of bands (the Eagles most notable among them) would find inspiration in this music and enjoy far greater success. But no one ever brought rock and country together quite like the Flying Burrito Brothers, and this album remains their greatest accomplishment.

AMG Review by Mark Deming

Genesis - Foxtrot (Great Prog-Rock 1972)

Foxtrot is where Genesis began to pull all of its varied inspirations into a cohesive sound -- which doesn't necessarily mean that the album is streamlined, for this is a group that always was grandiose even when they were cohesive, or even when they rocked, which they truly do for the first time here. Indeed, the startling thing about the opening "Watcher of the Skies" is that it's the first time that Genesis attacked like a rock band, playing with a visceral power. There's might and majesty here, and it, along with "Get 'Em Out by Friday," is the truest sign that Genesis has grown muscle without abandoning the whimsy. Certainly, they've rarely sounded as fantastical or odd as they do on the epic 22-minute closer "Supper's Ready," a nearly side-long suite that remains one of the group's signature moments. It ebbs, flows, teases, and taunts, see-sawing between coiled instrumental attacks and delicate pastoral fairy tales. If Peter Gabriel remained a rather inscrutable lyricist, his gift for imagery is abundant, as there are passages throughout the album that are hauntingly evocative in their precious prose. But what impresses most about Foxtrot is how that precociousness is delivered with pure musical force. This is the rare art-rock album that excels at both the art and the rock, and it's a pinnacle of the genre (and decade) because of it.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Genesis - Selling England by the Pound (Superb Prog-Rock 1973)

Genesis proved that they could rock on Foxtrot but on its follow-up Selling England by the Pound they didn't follow this route, they returned to the English eccentricity of their first records, which wasn't so much a retreat as a consolidation of powers. For even if this eight-track album has no one song that hits as hard as "Watcher of the Skies," Genesis hasn't sacrificed the newfound immediacy of Foxtrot: they've married it to their eccentricity, finding ways to infuse it into the delicate whimsy that's been their calling card since the beginning. This, combined with many overt literary allusions -- the Tolkeinisms of the title of "The Battle of Epping Forest" only being the most apparent -- gives this album a storybook quality. It plays as a collection of short stories, fables, and fairy tales, and it is also a rock record, which naturally makes it quite extraordinary as a collection, but also as a set of individual songs. Genesis has never been as direct as they've been on the fanciful yet hook-driven "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" -- apart from the fluttering flutes in the fade-out, it could easily be mistaken for a glam single -- or as achingly fragile as on "More Fool Me," sung by Phil Collins. It's this delicate balance and how the album showcases the band's narrative force on a small scale as well as large that makes this their arguable high-water mark.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Haizea - Hontz Gaua (1979 Wonderful Basque Prog-Folk-Psych)

Basque progressive folk of the label Elkar, HAIZEA were a five-piece from the Basque area of Spain. Sporting a sound that could best be described as psychedelic electric folk, the instrumentation consists of guitar (sometimes two), bass, drums, flute, assorted percussive things, and the captivating voice of Amaia Zubiria.

Both albums are very interesting. "Hontz Gaua" is a classic prog free folk item with some Gregorian element, nice female (second male) vocals and beautiful atmospheric double bass. Their self-titled debut "Haizea"(75) is a bit more intimate and is more Fairport-like. Highly recommended.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=588

Steely Dan - Alive in America (Live Jazz-Rock 1995)

When Donald Fagen and Walter Becker re-formed Steely Dan in 1994, they didn't put out a new album. They undertook a tour of sports arenas, their first tour since the days of Countdown to Ecstasy. Since Steely Dan became stars after they retired from performing, many of their dedicated fans never got a chance to see the group in concert. Given those circumstances, maybe the uniformly positive reviews of the tour were predictable. But as Alive in America proves, the shows weren't earth-shaking. Certainly they were fun -- there's no denying it's a thrill to hear these songs in a live setting, both for fans and for Becker and Fagen themselves -- but essentially they were exercises in nostalgia. Alive in America is enjoyable, but it offers no new insight into Steely Dan as performers, or Becker and Fagen as songwriters. It's a gas while it lasts, but it doesn't leave any lasting memories.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Meic Stevens - Outlander (British Folk-Psychedelia 1970)

Meic Stevens' debut LP (preceded by a 45 and several EPs in the 1960s) was period folk-rock that inspired unfavorable comparisons to numerous much bigger names without coalescing into a style of its own. On several tracks, he sounds like a Welsh Bob Dylan. "Left Over Time" sounds far too close to Dylan's "Visions of Johanna" to inspire admiration; "Oxblood," on the other hand, is a throwback to the early-'60s pre-rock Dylan or perhaps even Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Woody Guthrie. On the slightly more psychedelic-influenced front, there are some similarities to Donovan and (more distantly) Syd Barrett, but without the magical aura that hovered over the best of those two figures' work. Trance-like raga-rock elements make themselves heard on "The Sailor and Madonna" and "Yorric," with their sitar, tabla, and zigzagging flute. "Midnight Comes" changes paths yet again and sounds pretty close to early Simon & Garfunkel. It's an erratic album, and one without outstanding songs, in spite of Stevens' acceptably world-weary, folk vocals. [The 2001 CD bootleg reissue on Ye Old Musique adds two songs from a 1966 demo as bonus tracks. A better alternative, though, is the legit CD reissue on Rhino Handmade, which adds eight previously unreleased outtakes from the Outlander sessions and the non-LP 1970 single "Blue Sleep" as well as presents "Rowena" in a longer, full version and supplies lengthy, historical liner notes.]

AMG Review by Richie Unterberger

Stooges - Raw Power (Excellent Proto-Punk 1973)

In 1972, the Stooges were near the point of collapse when David Bowie's management team, MainMan, took a chance on the band at Bowie's behest. By this point, guitarist Ron Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander had been edged out of the picture, and James Williamson had signed on as Iggy's new guitar mangler; Asheton rejoined the band shortly before recording commenced on Raw Power, but was forced to play second fiddle to Williamson as bassist. By most accounts, tensions were high during the recording of Raw Power, and the album sounds like the work of a band on its last legs -- though rather than grinding to a halt, Iggy & the Stooges appeared ready to explode like an ammunition dump. From a technical standpoint, Williamson was a more gifted guitar player than Asheton (not that that was ever the point), but his sheets of metallic fuzz were still more basic (and punishing) than what anyone was used to in 1973, while Ron Asheton played his bass like a weapon of revenge, and his brother Scott Asheton remained a powerhouse behind the drums. But the most remarkable change came from the singer; Raw Power revealed Iggy as a howling, smirking, lunatic genius. Whether quietly brooding ("Gimme Danger") or inviting the apocalypse ("Search and Destroy"), Iggy had never sounded quite so focused as he did here, and his lyrics displayed an intensity that was more than a bit disquieting. In many ways, almost all Raw Power has in common with the two Stooges albums that preceded it is its primal sound, but while the Stooges once sounded like the wildest (and weirdest) gang in town, Raw Power found them heavily armed and ready to destroy the world -- that is, if they didn't destroy themselves first.

AMG Review by Mark Deming

Gandalf - Gandalf (Terrific Classic Psychedelic album 1968)

Gandalf's self-titled album has some attractive baroque-psychedelia with a spacey air, though its quality depends very much on the standard of the material. Generally they're better the more they rely on the slightly weird and spacey production, as on "Scarlet Ribbons" and their cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream." On tracks like "You Upset the Grace of Living" there's a nice balance of melody and quasi-classical keyboards on the cusp between pop, progressive rock and psychedelia. "Can You Travel in the Dark Alone," one of the few originals (by Peter Sando), is nice, harmonic sunshine pop with a slightly experimental feel, along the lines of some of the better things being done by Californian cult figures like Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher at the time. Other selections are nothing special, however.

AMG Review by Richie Unterberger

Gandalf - Gandalf II (1968 to 1971 unreleased material)

Though Gandalf's sole album was barely noticed upon its initial release in the late '60s, it eventually attracted enough of a reputation among collectors to warrant a CD reissue. Impressed and gratified by the surge of interest in the record decades later, Gandalf's Peter Sando dug up enough acetates, demos, and live tapes from 1968 to 1971 to fill up this disc of largely previously unreleased material. While the songs, performances, and sound are for the most part decent, the stylistic range is so wide that it might surprise those expecting something very similar to the Baroque-psychedelic pop on the Gandalf LP that came out in the late '60s. One thing it certainly does offer is a greater concentration of original compositions by singer-guitarist Sando, who wrote just a couple songs on the Gandalf album, but penned most of the material on this collection. Much of it's nicely haunting, wistful period folk-rock-pop with an only very slightly bittersweet tinge. The 13 tracks are so diverse, however, that they almost sound like a compilation of different artists. There's the mystical-classical aura, complete with flute, of "Days Are Only Here and Gone" and "No Earth Can Be Won" (two of the cuts that most strongly recall the Gandalf record in flavor); rootsy, almost pastoral singer/songwriter folk that occasionally verges on early-'70s mellowness; full-band gutsy rock with a late-'60s underground feel; a creative rock arrangement of the forlorn "Golden Earrings" (from a late-'40s Marlene Dietrich movie) that is, despite the demo-like recording quality, a highlight; and a six-minute live cover of Chuck Berry's "Downbound Train" with raunchy fidelity (though the sound quality on the rest of the CD is appreciably better). There are also three tunes by late-'60s hit songwriters Alan Gordon and Garry Bonner (most famous for "Happy Together") that Sando did with the group the Barracuda, and which have a forceful pop/rock sound missing in the other tracks. Individually, most of the disc's cuts are pleasant and impressive, though not brilliant. Together, though, they add up to less than the sum of the parts, and seem indicative of a talented singer/songwriter who had yet to establish a firm direction, though passionate fans of the Gandalf album will appreciate the chance to hear more material from Gandalf's figurehead.

AMG Review by Richie Unterberger

Iggy Pop - American Caesar (1993 Post-Punk)

Boasting a big-name producer and appearances from a handful of actual mainstream rock stars, Brick by Brick was a remarkably successful attempt (critically, if not commercially) to create an "event album" around Iggy Pop, so the follow-up came as a surprise -- American Caesar was cut fast and loose in a New Orleans studio, with Malcolm Burn (hardly known for his work in hard rock) in the producer's chair and Pop's road band backing him up. But the real surprise was that American Caesar ranks with Pop's very best solo work. Dark, loud, and atmospheric, it's a far riskier album than Brick by Brick, lyrically following that disc's themes of America teetering on the edge of internal collapse with the same degree of hard-won maturity, but adding a wacked-out passion and force that recall the heady days of Raw Power. While Pop's group doesn't play with the subtlety of the studio cats on Brick by Brick (I'll leave it to others to debate if they won't or they can't), they also sound tight and forceful, like a real band with plenty of muscle and some miles under their belts. Eric Schermerhorn's guitar meshes with Pop's vocals as well as anyone he's worked with since Ron Asheton, and Malcolm Burn's production is clear and detailed but adds subtle textures that season the formula just right. The hard rockers are full-bodied ("Wild America," "Plastic and Concrete"), the calmer tunes still bristle with tension and menace ("Mixing the Colors," "Jealousy"), the few moments of calm sound sincere and richly earned ("Highway Song," "It's Our Love"), the manic rewritten remake of "Louie Louie" actually tops the version on Metallic K.O., and the title cut is a bizarre bit of spoken-word performance art that's as strange as the entirety of Zombie Birdhouse, and a rousing success where that album was a brave failure. In a note printed on the CD itself, Pop says of American Caesar, "I tried to make this album as good as I could, with no imitations of other people and no formula sh*t." And Pop succeeded beyond anyone's expectations; American Caesar is an overlooked masterpiece.

AMG Review by Mark Deming

Pixies - Surfer Rosa/Come on Pilgrim (Great Alternative Rock 1988)

When Rough Trade reissued the Pixies' seminal full-length debut album, Surfer Rosa, on CD, they added the terrific mini-album Come on Pilgrim as a bonus. While it's nice to have these two records on one disc, the sequencing of Come on Pilgrim after Surfer Rosa is a little disconcerting, since the two albums each have distinctive sounds that clash slightly. Steve Albini's production of Surfer Rosa is metallic and spare -- it's in black and white, with no shades of grey and no color. Come on Pilgrim, on the other hand, is filled with greys and colors, and while the contrast between the two is certainly interesting, it would be more enlightening if the mini-LP was placed before Surfer Rosa. Nevertheless, some fans might like having both albums on one disc, but buying them individually is a better move and, in any case, a little more cost-effective as well.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale (Superb Debut album from a Great Band 1967)

Procol Harum's self-titled, debut album bombed in England, appearing six months after "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Homburg" with neither hit song on it. The LP was successful in America, where albums sold more easily, but especially since it did include "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and was reissued with a sticker emphasizing the presence of the original "Conquistador," a re-recording which became a hit in 1972. The music is an engaging meld of psychedelic rock, blues, and classical influences, filled with phantasmagorical lyrics, bold (but not flashy) organ by Matthew Fisher, and Robin Trower's most tasteful and restrained guitar. "Conquistador," "Kaleidoscope," "A Christmas Camel," and the Bach-influenced "Repent Walpurgis" are superb tracks, and "Good Captain Clack" is great, almost Kinks-like fun. Not everything here works, but it holds up better than most psychedelic or progressive rock.

AMG Review by Bruce Eder

Roxy Music - Viva! (Superb Live Album 1976)

As Roxy Music took an extended hiatus, the live album Viva! was released. Comprised of material recorded on tours from 1973, 1974, and 1975, Viva! is a tough, powerful document of Roxy at the peak of their live powers, featuring a fine cross-section of their best work.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Jimmy Rushing - Everyday I Have the Blues (Blues-Jazz from the 60's)

It may have been relatively late in Jimmy Rushing's career when he recorded two albums for ABC/BluesWay (Every Day I Have the Blues and Livin' the Blues, both of which are reissued in full on this single CD), but he was still in prime singing voice. Joined by such friends as trombonist Dickie Wells, trumpeter Clark Terry, and tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate, Rushing shows that he was still relevant on such blues-based songs as "Berkeley Campus Blues," "Blues in the Dark," "I Left My Baby," "Sent for You Yesterday," and "We Remember Prez." Even with Oliver Nelson's arrangements on the first half and an electric rhythm section on the second, both Rushing and the musicians play off each other well, resulting in a swinging set.

AMG Review by Scott Yanow

Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Classic Album 1971)

The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys marked the commercial and artistic apex of the second coming of Traffic, which had commenced in 1970 with John Barleycorn Must Die. The trio that made that album had been augmented by three others (Ric Grech, Jim Gordon, and "Reebop" Kwaku Baah) in the interim, though apparently the Low Spark sessions featured varying combinations of these musicians, plus some guests. But where their previous album had grown out of sessions for a Steve Winwood solo album and retained that focus, Low Spark pointedly contained changes of pace from his usual contributions of midtempo, introspective jam tunes. "Rock & Roll Stew" was an uptempo treatise on life on the road, while Jim Capaldi's "Light up or Leave Me Alone" was another more aggressive number with an unusually emphatic Capaldi vocal that perked things up on side two. The other four tracks were Winwood/Capaldi compositions more in the band's familiar style. "Hidden Treasure" and "Rainmaker" bookended the disc with acoustic treatments of nature themes that were particularly concerned with water, and "Many a Mile to Freedom" also employed water imagery. But the standout was the 12-minute title track, with its distinctive piano riff and its lyrics of weary disillusionment with the music business. The band had only just fulfilled a contractual commitment by releasing the live album Welcome to the Canteen, and they had in their past the embarrassing Last Exit album thrown together as a commercial stopgap during a temporary breakup in 1969. But that anger had proven inspirational, and "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" was one of Traffic's greatest songs as well as its longest so far. The result was an album that quickly went gold (and eventually platinum) in the U.S., where the group toured frequently.

AMG Review by William Ruhlmann

Bad Company - Bad Company (Superb Classic Rock Album 1974)

Bad Company's 1974 self-titled release stands as one of the most important and accomplished debut hard rock albums from the '70s. Though hardly visionary, it was one of the most successful steps in the continuing evolution of rock & roll, riding on the coattails of achievement from artists like the Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. From the simple electric guitar lick on "Can't Get Enough" to the haunting bassline in "Bad Company" and the fast beats of "Movin' On," Bad Company exemplified raw rock & roll at its best. Erupting out of an experimental period created by the likes of Pink Floyd, Bad Company signified a return to more primal, stripped-down rock & roll. Even while labelmates Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy and IV featured highly acclaimed, colorful album artwork, Bad Company's austere black and white record cover stood out in stark contrast. Six years later, AC/DC used the same idea on their smash Back in Black. Throughout the 35-minute album, Paul Rodgers' mesmerizing and gritty vocals hardly vary in tonal quality, offering a perfect complement to Mick Ralphs' blues-based guitar work. Several songs include three-chord verses offset by unembellished, distorted choruses, filled rich with Rodgers' cries. Bad Company is an essential addition to the rock & roll library; clearly influential to '70s and '80s hard rock bands like Tom Petty, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Boston.

Tracks
1. "Can't Get Enough" (Ralphs) - 4:15
2. "Rock Steady" (Rodgers) - 3:46
3. "Ready for Love" (Ralphs) - 5:02
4. "Don't Let Me Down" (Ralphs/Rodgers) - 4:21
5. "Bad Company" (Kirke/Rodgers) - 4:50
6. "The Way I Choose" (Rodgers) - 5:05
7. "Movin' On" (Ralphs) - 3:20
8. "Seagull" (Ralphs/Rodgers) - 4:06

AMG Review by Gautam Baksi

Appaloosa - Appaloosa (1969 Dreamy Psychedelia)

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist John Parker Compton co-founded the acoustic band Appaloosa with violinist Robin Batteau in the late '60s. Both musicians had been heavily influenced by the folk scene in their hometown, Cambridge, MA. Compton got his start singing in a Cambridge church choir before he and Batteau began playing the coffeehouse circuit together. As the 1972 press release for Compton's solo album, To Luna, told it, he showed up at producer Al Kooper's Columbia Records office in late 1968, hoping to show him his songs. Uninterested, Kooper told the kid (Compton was 18) to come back some other time. But a little while later, Kooper came in on Compton and Batteau performing for the office secretaries. Finally won over, Kooper recorded their demo, and within a year the newly signed musicians had released an album, the self-titled debut from their group Appaloosa. Also including bassist David Reiser and cellist Eugene Rosov, Appaloosa was joined in the studios by members of Blood, Sweat & Tears and by Kooper himself. Appaloosa soon gave way to a duo project for Compton & Batteau, before the two musicians went their separate ways. Compton recorded a solo album and resurfaced in the '90s with some new recordings, while Batteau went on to play in a duo with his brother David Batteau, join the late-'70s band Pierce Arrow, and later work as a studio musician.

AMG Review by Joslyn Layne

Van der Graaf - The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome (Superb Progressive 1977)

Somehow this combination made sense: a revised band (with Nic Potter returning on bass and the addition of Graham Smith, formerly of String Driven Thing, on violin) with a shortened name, and an album that was named twice, with different cover art for each name. What also made sense was the focus on shorter songs and a change of musical attitude. While Hammill could never entirely shake off his approach to songwriting, he was able to modify it somewhat. Working with the new band, he was able to generate considerably more energy than on World Record. "Lizard Play" and "Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Running)" are wonderfully gymnastic songwriting exercises, yet remain engaging by dint of their forcefulness. Written and performed at the top of Hammill's game, this album is a delight.

AMG Review by Steven McDonald

Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Watch (1978 Prog-Rock)

With essentially the same crew as the excellent Roaring Silence from two years earlier, this is cut from the same musical cloth. However, without the two Bruce Springsteen songs from the earlier album, the material is not as strong. With keyboardist Manfred Mann's jazz leanings melded to a rock band, this sounds much like Colosseum without horns.

Dave Flett / guitars
Pat King / bass, backing vocals
Manfred Mann / keyboards, backing vocals
Chris Slade / drums, percussion
Chris Hamlet Thompson / lead vocals, guitar
Doreen Chanter / backing vocals
Irene Chanter / backing vocals
Kim Goddy / backing vocals
Stevie Lange / backing vocals
Victy Silva / backing vocals

Tracklist
01.Circles - 4:51
02.Drowning On Dry Land (Inc.: Fish Soup) - 6:00
03.Chicago Institute - 5:49
04.California - 5:33
05.Davy's On The Road Again - 5:57
06.Martha's Madman - 4:53
07.Mighty Quinn - 6:20

AMG Review by Mark Allan

Pearls Before Swine - The Use of Ashes (Very Good Folk-Psych 1970)

For their second Reprise Records outing, Pearls Before Swine worked primarily with Nashville-based musicians, including a small orchestra who provide a stately feel to the highly intimate nature of the material. According to Tom Rapp's comments in the liner booklet accompanying the Jewels Were the Stars (2003) box , the songs were written while he and his wife were living in the Netherlands, which Rapp said contributed significantly to the air of romanticism throughout. "Jeweller" opens the album with an exquisite tale that exemplifies Rapp's remarkable abilities to draw upon disparate metaphors such as shining coins and worshiping God, both involving the Use of Ashes -- hence the title. The rural mood created by the notable Music City USA stalwarts effortlessly fuses with David Briggs' baroque-flavored harpsichord on the delicate "From the Movie of the Same Name," featuring Rapp and spouse Elisabeth on non-verbal vocalizations as they "da-da-da" the melody. Although "Rocket Man" predates the Elton John cut by a couple of years, Bernie Taupin cites it as his inspiration for the lyrics behind John's 1972 Top Ten hit. The words are credited as having been influenced by a Ray Bradbury novella that dealt with the universal emotion of loss. Again, Briggs' keyboard runs relate the story with subdued refinement. By contrast, "God Save the Child" is one of the more amplified inclusions, making good use of session heavies Kenneth A. Buttrey (drums) and Charlie McCoy (guitar), especially when placed against the restrained string section. Another sonic texture in the tapestry is the jazzy "Tell Me Why," shimmering with an uncredited vibraphone lead gliding beneath Rapp's whimsical lines. These tracks are offset by the noir "When the War Began," the ethereal love song "Margery," and the mid-tempo retelling of the "Riegal," a ship whose 4,000 inhabitants perished during World War II. Rapp's juxtaposition of stark imagery reveals that while Pearls Before Swine might not have continued the bombastic direction set about on their earlier protest works "Uncle John" or "Drop Out," they maintained social and political relevance. In 2003 Use of Ashes (1970) was issued on compact disc as part of the aforementioned Jewels Were the Stars compendium, anthologizing the band's Reprise Records output.

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

Death In June - The World That Summer (1986 Darkwave/Goth)

This double album finds Death in June covering similar ground to the earlier LP Nada! from a year earlier. Jackboot rhythms, acoustic guitar strums, electronic effects, and Douglas Pearce's low, droning vocals and gloomy choruses conspire to paint a vision slightly more depressing than Joy Division. While "Come Before Christ and Murder Love" could almost be a pop song on heavy downers, other pieces offer more experimentalism. David Tibet adds backup vocals on most of the songs on the first record, his raspy voice offering an interesting contrast to Pearce's smoother lead, and at times Tibet is either whispering or screaming in the background. "Break the Black Ice" with the echoed voices and creepy little piano runs over a bed of acoustic guitar textures is frightening. This piece and several others have horn fanfares, elsewhere gongs and a tinkly music box can be heard. The second disc has three instrumental versions of tracks from the first record on one side, while the flip side is taken up by "Death of a Man," a long collage piece with mechanical rhythms, found-sound voices in many different languages, what sounds like monkeys shrieking, and other effects. The record may not be quite as strong as the earlier Nada!, especially with the filler on the second LP, but still finds Death in June moving forward.

AMG Review by Rolf Semprebon

Camel - I Can See Your House From Here (Superb Prog-Rock 1979)

Although not an honest representation of the band's character, this is undoubtedly their most popular work. The one-time addition of American Kit Watkins produces some fine keyboard lead work. Rupert Hine's resourceful production and appearances by Phil Collins and Mel Collins round out this strong import release. "Survival" and "Who We Are" feature some fine orchestrations, and guitarist Latimer delivers some exceptional lead work on the album's closer, "Ice."

AMG Review by Matthew Plichta

Breeders - Last Splash (Indie Rock 1993)

Thanks to good timing and some great singles, the Breeders' second album, Last Splash, turned them into the alternative rock stars that Kim Deal's former band, the Pixies, always seemed on the verge of becoming. Building on Safari's driving, polished sound, Last Splash is half-brilliant singles and half-unfinished, uninspired ideas. When it's good, it's very, very good: "Cannonball"'s instantly catchy collage of bouncy bass, rhythmic stops and starts, and singsong vocals; the sweetly sexy "Divine Hammer;" and swaggering "Saints" are among the Breeders' finest moments, and deserved all of the airplay they received. And the charming country-pop of "Drivin' on 9," "I Just Wanna Get Along"'s spiky punk-pop, and the bittersweet "Invisible Man" proved Last Splash had a bit of depth. But underdeveloped snippets such as "Roi" and "No Aloha" drag down the album's momentum; likewise, the band tries to stretch their range on the rambling, cryptic "Mad Lucas" and "Hag," but neither quite comes together as a full-fledged song. Though instrumentals such as "S.O.S." and "Flipside" showcase the Breeders' chops and some nifty production tricks, they feel like filler; worst of all, Last Splash features an inferior, plodding new version of Safari's soaring "Do You Love Me Now" that emphasizes the album's unevenness. One of the definitive alternative rock albums of the '90s, Last Splash is equally inspired and infuriating; that it was the Breeders' last album of that decade makes it even more frustrating.

AMG Review by Heather Phares

Japan - Souvenir From Japan (Great 1989 New-Wave Compilation)

Japan's first label, Hansa, got a little hyperactive when it came to re-releases and re-packagings from the first three albums in the band's career. Souvenir from Japan falls squarely into that category, drawing from the earliest trash glam roots of the group to the more elegant, wistful sounds of its mid-period, all without much regard for chronology or interesting liner notes or anything particularly new. As a starter kit for the beginning Japan fan, though, it's a reasonable enough release. The sound is quite good, the delicate textures and production skill of the group and its collaborators especially noteworthy when it comes to the later songs, and the choice of tunes is generally on the money. Besides the attractive covers of Smokey Robinson's "I Second That Emotion" and the marvelous revamp of the Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties," ten other band originals make up the contents. The group's obvious fascination with non-U.K. glamour, or least images of same, make up much of the collection, thanks to the singling out of such cuts as "Life in Tokyo" and "Suburban Berlin," not to mention the ultimately prophetic fascination with "Communist China." Hearing Sylvian's all-too-arch sleaze and sneer on the earliest stuff still raises a smile, considering how much better he would get in the future -- it's hard not to laugh at the extremes he cooks up on "Deviation" and "Adolescent Sex." Collectively the group was still working out its obsessions with first the New York Dolls then Roxy Music at its most beautifully dissipated, but Sylvian's deliciously luscious croon and Karn's increasingly evident skill with fretless bass make Souvenir worth having for the newcomer, if unnecessary for the hardcore fan.

AMG Review by Ned Raggett

Siouxsie and the Banshees - A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982 Goth Rock)

A Kiss in the Dreamhouse shows Siouxsie and the Banshees backpedalling a bit from their excellently forthright predecessor, Juju, to update the more avant-garde stylings of Kaleidoscope. This album is in fact the Banshees' crowning glory in this experimental vein. Production and arrangements are highly varied and accomplished, and Sioux's singing by now is excellent, capable of imaginative shadings and free of its former tunelessness. "Obsession" is scored for chimes, overdubbed breathing, swallowed synthesizer sounds, strings, and very occasional guitar touches; this all supports a fine vocal with lyrics about the speaker's fixation on her object of desire. "Green Finger" is a driving, up-tempo number with Joy Division melodic bass, sparkling synthesizer touches, and wacky recorder tootlings. "Painted Bird" features a full helping of multi-tracked vocals propelled by a drumbeat that is alternately skittering and thumping; portions of this song suggest a nightmare version of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way." "Cocoon" is best characterized as mutant bopping jazz with an often breathy, cooing vocal. "She's a Carnival" and "Slowdive" suggest eccentric stabs at mainstream acceptance, the former being a comparatively gutsy and forthright rocker, the latter a violin-colored dance beat number with hints of New Order or David Bowie that is a catchy melodic hook away from being the real thing. This fine platter is well worth purchasing.

AMG Review by David Cleary

Savoy Brown - Raw Sienna (Great 1970 British Blues-Rock)

This high-water mark by the band finds them softening their rougher edges and stretching out into jazz territory, yet still retaining a blues foundation. There's not a bad cut here, with enough variety (bottleneck slide, acoustic guitar, horns, and strings) to warrant frequent late-night listenings. "A Hard Way to Go," "Needle and Spoon," and "Stay While the Night Is Young" are especially strong, as are two instrumental numbers. Unfortunately, leader Kim Simmonds lost his greatest asset when vocalist Chris Youlden quit for an ill-fated solo career after this recording. Youlden had one of the most distinctive voices in British blues, and Savoy would never fully recover from his exit.

AMG Review by Peter Kurtz

Passing Fancy - Passing Fancy (1968 Psychedelic Pop)

A Passing Fancy was born out of Toronto's Yorkville Village scene in the mid sixties. In 1967 the band released its debut single "I'm Losing Tonight", which immediately became a hit and scored high on the east coast charts.

In 1968, A Passing Fancy released a self titled album on the independent Boo Records label that was well received and gathered good reviews. The Boo label, formed by two record store owners, only released the album in the Toronto area , so national fame and exposure eluded the band. The music on the album, A Passing Fancy, was British influenced pop with elements of psychedelia and an American garage sound.

The band went through a couple of line up changes while recording the album but all musicians that worked on the album were credited in the album liner notes. The main songwriters in the band were Jay Telfer and brothers Fergus and Greg Hambleton .The songs were well written and the music was well played. Shortly after the release of the album, one more single followed , "I Believe In Sunshine", which was also a hit. This single broke out across Canada and attracted interest south of the border as well as with some major labels but unfortunately it was too late and the band folded.

Telfer and the Hambletons, in particular Fergus (as he went by for a time) went on to write more songs and record with other bands in the 70's. They also made a couple of solo albums that were well received and are still active today on the Canadian music scene. Greg Hambleton went on to form Axe Records while Fergus continues to perform with his reggae band the Satellites.

This reissue of the original Boo Records album by Pacemaker Records in association with the U.S. reissue label Timothy's Brain, is housed in a beautiful digipack case with original album artwork. Although this album contains no bonus tracks as none were available or additional liner notes, the sound quality is superb and is taken from the original master tapes. An exciting and long lost piece of the early Canadian music scene that has thankfully been restored and made available once again for all to hear and a new generation to discover.

01. I'm Losing Tonight
02. Passing Fancy
03. You're Going Out Of My Mind
04. Sounds Silly
05. She Phoned
06. I Believe In Sunshine
07. Island
08. Your Trip
09. Little Boys For Little Girls
10. Under The Bridge
11. Spread Out
12. People In Me

Post by ChrisGoesRock

Peanut Butter Conspiracy - The Great Conspiracy (Superb Psychedelic Rock 1968)

The Great Conspiracy, the second long-player from the Los Angeles-based Peanut Butter Conspiracy, was much more a reflection of their live sound than their debut effort, the pop-driven Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading (1967). Around 1964, the quintet was literally born from the Ashes (another burgeoning L.A. rock combo whose personnel featured soon-to-be Jefferson Airplane drummer Spencer Dryden). After solidifying their lineup, they inked a deal with Columbia Records, which assigned staff producer Gary Usher to work with them. His well-meaning but over-the-top production style diffused the band, which came off sounding more like the Mamas & the Papas than the Jefferson Airplane or It's a Beautiful Day -- both of whom also sported female lead singers. However, by the time of this release the Conspiracy were sonically asserting themselves with a decidedly hipper approach. This is especially evident on the stretched-out and psychedelic "Too Many Do" and the deliciously trippy "Ecstasy" -- which sports frenzied and wiry fretwork similar to that of Quicksilver Messenger Service string man John Cipollina. Equally inspired are "Lonely Leaf" and the somewhat paranoid and darkly guilded "Time Is After You." These contrast with the somewhat ersatz hippie fodder "Turn on a Friend (To the Good Life)," the 38-second throwaway "Invasion of the Poppy People," or the simply wretched "Captain Sandwich." [In 2000 the Collectables reissue label coupled both The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading and The Great Conspiracy on a single CD. Also included were the 45-rpm sides "I'm a Fool" and "It's So Hard" as well as the previously unissued track "Peter Pan."]

AMG Review by Lindsay Planer

British North American Act - In the Beginning (Beautiful Psychedelic Pop from Canada 1969)

Reissue of one and only album by Canadian 60's legends. Psychedelic flowery pop-syk with good FUZZ guitars and Farfisa organ. Excellent songs and vocal harmonies.

http://www.bompstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=7036

Fever Tree - Fever Tree (1968 Psychedelic Rock from Houston)

The self-titled debut album of this unfairly neglected psychedelic band is an odd mix of slick studio work laced with surprising moments of eclecticism, from soundtrack references to hard rock worthy of the best bands of the time. They open up with a pretty good piece of musical prestidigitation, melding Johann Sebastian Bach and Ennio Morricone into the album's first track, which segues neatly into a hard rock style that's their own on the spaced-out, Ravel-laced "Where Do You Go," which sounds like the Doors and the Jimi Hendrix Experience jamming together. They also roll over "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work It Out," squeezed into a two-song medley, like a proto-metal steamroller while quoting "Norwegian Wood" and "Eleanor Rigby"; then switch gears into a beautifully elegant, gently orchestrated pop/rock rendition of Neil Young's "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" that's worth the price of admission by itself. The harder rocking numbers (especially "San Francisco Girls") are highly diverting artifacts of their time, while the last two songs, "Unlock My Door" and "Come with Me (Rainsong)," show off a totally unexpected and beautifully reflective folk-rock side to their sound that's strongly reminiscent of Phil Ochs' work on Pleasures of the Harbor and Tape from California. The variations in sound and content, plus the fact that the only keyboard player, Rob Landes, made any large contribution to the in-house songwriting (mostly the work of their producers, Scott & Vivian Holtzman), makes it difficult to pin down precisely what Fever Tree

was about, beyond the evidence at hand; but taken on its own terms, the album ought to be better known than it is, which is probably also true of the band itself.

AMG Review by Bruce Eder

Orient Express - Orient Express (1969 Middle East/Indian influenced Psychedelia)

Here's another group from the sixties focusing on exploring the sounds of India and the Middle East. While it's well past a cliche to be doing that, especially by 1969, these folks do it quite well. The Orient Express grabbed a few ethnic acoustic instruments and modal ideas, and set out melding it with the 1967 vintage of the San Fran psych rock ballroom sound (with a hint of Syd Barrett's Floyd too). Along with the sitars, this band tries to play most of the guitar parts as f they are sitars too. Most of the tracks manage to work themselves into a whirling dervish-like frenzy. It's mostly instrumental, but we do get vocals from a fellow that sounds like he's channeling some of the less cuddly Hindu gods.

The first three tracks all work on the wild, strobe lit, sound quite amazingly, while the echoing canvas of "Birds Of India" takes a little more leisure, occasionally slipping into polyrhythmic insanity. "Caravan Of Silk" sound like the perfect music for enter an evil lair in some twisted low-budget (but great) adventure film, and "Azaar" eventually pulls out all the stops for a full frontal assault. Strangely enough the most pop friendly tracks appear near the end, with "For A Moment" and "A Little Star" sounding like tracks tailor made for the left-of-center, freakier radio stations (did AM radio have left of the dial?). With "Cobra Fever," we get a nice come down track along, which could end up in the aforementioned adventure film as the villain is plotting our hero's doom.

There's something mildly exploitative sounding about the Orient Express, but they tend to work up such a head of steam that I really don't care. It's like exotica for the turned on crowd.

Originally from Europe this band moved to the States. Guy Duris was actually born on the Left Bank and later met Golesorkhi, who had been decorated by the Shah of Iran for his drumming and was interested in applying Eastern rhythms to Western music, in Iran. They met Bruno Giet, a Belgian pilot and guitarist, in Paris while travelling around Europe. Soon the three members headed for America and settled in New York's East Village initially but ended up in California where their album was recorded. It's powerful Eastern-influenced psychedelia similar to Kaleidoscope.

Particularly fine examples of their marriage of Eastern and Western music are Train To Bombay and For A Moment. This album is highly recommended. They did not release any singles on Mainstream.
This act should not be confused with Liz Damon's Orient Express, who were from Hawaii and played cabaret music. They issued one album Liz Damon And The Orient Express (Anthem) 1970, and at least three singles: Loneliness Remembers/Quiet Sound (Anthem 51005) 1970, All In All/Walking Backwards Down The Road (Anthem 51006) 1970, and 1900 Yesterday/You're Falling In Love (White Whale ).
Fuzz Acid & Flowers

01.Fruit of the dessert
02.Dance for me
03.Layla
04.Bird of India
05.Train to Bombat
06.Caravan of silk
07.Azaar
08.For a moment
09.Impulse (42 Drums)
10.A little star

Post by ChrisGoesRock

Prince - The Black Album (1987 Incredible Funk)

Originally scheduled for release in November of 1987 -- following the double-album Sign o' the Times by a matter of months -- Prince pulled The Black Album weeks before its release, guaranteeing it near-mythic status. Urban legends spread like wildfire: Prince believed it was too bleak to release; Warner Bros. balked at its explicit lyrics; no CDs were ever pressed, and all the LPs were destroyed. That final rumor was certainly untrue, since bootlegs immediately appeared, and when it finally received official release in the fall of 1994, nearly every die-hard fan already had the record. That limited-edition release of The Black Album turned out to be a bit anti-climatic, since the album itself isn't a lost masterwork -- it's fun, but not much more. If anything, it's a little labored, as Prince works hard to win back the black audience he willfully abandoned after Purple Rain. So, he serves up "When 2 R in Love," an urban ballad every bit as nondescript as the genre, and offers "Dead on It," trying to one-up rappers with a mocking attack that winds up as one of the lamest things he ever waxed. The rest of the eight-song album is brilliant, pure funk, ranging from the unrelenting "Le Grind," a deliriously lustful plea to supermodel Cindy Crawford; the hyper-tense James Brown workout "2 Nigs United 4 West Compton"; to "Bob George," a perverse tale of a macho lunkhead (Prince, electronically affecting a deep, idiotic drawl) who discovers his lady just slept with Prince -- or "that skinny motherf*cker with a high voice," as Bob calls him. All this may not add up to a lost classic, but it is a terrific little record that still delights, even after its mystique has faded.

AMG Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine