Playlist for Friday 29/09/2006 - 22h00 to
01h00
01. Janis Joplin - Move Over, from "Pearl", in 1971
Dedicated to one of the most
acclaimed blues/rock lady singers of all time. Janis Joplin was born on
January 19th, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, in the US. In the early sixties, she
hitched to California and San Francisco, where she sang in The Waller Creek Boys
trio alongside future 13th Floor Elevators member R.Powell St. John. She later
worked with future Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna guitarist Jorma Kaukonen before
joining Big Brother & The Holding Company, recording two albums with the
band, the second of which, "Cheap Thrills", stayed at the top of the US charts
for eight weeks.
An unfortunate slave to the evils of drink and
drugs, she broke away from Big Brother and, after appearing at three major
concerts, namely the Newport Festival, the New Orleans Pop Festival and at
London's Royal Albert Hall, she unleashed her debut solo album, "I Got Dem
Ol' Kosmic Blues Again" in 1969, which made the US Top five. She then formed the
Full Tilt Boogie Band with Brad Campbell on bass, Ken Pearson on organ, John
Till on guitar and Clark Pierson on drums, and this was the band which appeared
on the featured album. "Pearl" spent nine weeks at the top of the US charts and
it gave her a first taste of UK chart action, although she unfortunately wasn't
around to enjoy the success and acclaim.
Sadly, Janis died on 4th of October 1970, her
death, according to the coroner's report, as a result of an accidental drug
overdose. Ironically, two of blues/rock's greatest icons of the late
sixties/early 70's, Joplin and Hendrix, died within six weeks of each other,
both as a result of substance abuse.
02. Cold Blood - I Just Want To Make Love To You, from "Cold
Blood", their fantastic debut album, in 1969
Next to Foghat's great version of this
often-covered timeless Willie Dixon classic, Cold Blood's was the best. Cold
Blood have been well documented elsewhere on The RockIt Scientist website, so
you can read up on this awesome San Francisco-based band there. Many say that
Janis Joplin was the finest lady blues/rock singer of them all: Janis was good,
no argument there, but she just didn't have the class and quality of Lydia
Pense, who was (and still is) in a league of her own. If you're a regular RockIt
Scientist listener/reader, you'll know that Cold Blood have reformed and
released a new album called "Transfusion" last year. If you haven't got it yet,
shame on you.
03. Affinity - All Along The Watchtower, from "Affinity", in
1970
This exceptionally good English jazz/rock
outfit had its origins in the mid-sixties at the University of Sussex when three
science students, Lynton Naiff (piano), Nick Nicholas (double-bass) and drummer
Grant Serpell, formed the US Jazz Trio. They were joined by drummer, Mo
Foster. Naiff and Serpell then formed the short-lived pop group, Ice, which
folded within a year. Still keen to pursue a career in music, they re-recruited
Foster (who had now reverted to bass guitar) and guitarist Mike Jopp in a
proposed new jazz/rock band. Qualified English teacher Linda Hoyle (who could
certainly rival "face of the sixties" Julie Driscoll in the looks AND vocal
department!) joined the band and Affinity was born. (The name was taken from the
title of an Oscar Peterson album). The band later signed to Vertigo Records and
the featured album was released in early 1970. (It's now quite a sought-after
rarity, being the 4th release on Vertigo, catalogue number 6360 004).
The band unfortunately folded midway through a
tour of Sweden in January 1971 when Linda Hoyle announced that she'd had enough
and had decided to leave the music business. She did release a solo album,
however, called "Pieces Of Me", later in 1971. She then renounced live
performances and now teaches Art Therapy at the University of Western Ontario in
Canada. The other members ended up working with the likes of Gerry Rafferty,
Gary Moore, Queen, Maggie Bell, RMS and a host of others.
Affinity only released one official album.
Strangely enough, Angel Air Records have since managed to find enough material,
some of it pre-Affinity, to fill no less than THREE different albums by
this sadly short-lived band, and the Italian Akarma label have also released a
live album, all of which are worthwhile checking out.
04. Sonny Rose - Style (actual recording date not
known)
If you read the previous newsletter/playlists
(well, I sincerely HOPE you do/did! Have you any idea how long this takes???),
you'll probably be familiar with the name Sandy Pantaleo. Sandy, who now sings
under the stage name Sonny Rose, used to be the singer of late sixties/early
seventies US rock outfit, Liquid Smoke. Sonny/Sandy and I have been
communicating for a short while now, and he recently sent me an MP3 of this
amazing number that he'd written. If you enjoy soul/funk with a seriously ballsy
horn section a la Tower Of Power or Heavy Metal Horns, you'll love this
track. If this is the quality of stuff he's writing and performing nowadays, (he
works as an entertainer on a cruise ship), I can't wait to hear more of his
material. The track will be playlisted shortly and you can be assured that
you'll hear it a few more times on The RockIt Scientist. (He recently sent me
another track called "Merry Go Round". Wait til' you hear THIS one! Fantastic
stuff!)
05. Tower Of Power - Back In The Day, from "Oakland's Own", in
2003
The most recent studio album from one of the
finest and most famous soul bands of all time. You know them well (or at least,
you should, if you listen to The RockIt Scientist regularly).This album features
original members Emilio Castillo (tenor sax & vocals), Steve "Doc" Kupka
(baritone sax), Francis Rocco Prestia (bass), and David Garibaldi (drums, who
left the band for a while in the mid 70's and featured with Roy Buchanan, Chris
Hillman, Wishful Thinking and others before returning to the fold in the late
90's). Tower Of Power's infectious groove, energy and er...power, are legendary.
They're a fantastic live act and they're particularly exciting to watch. The
band visited South Africa a few years back and they appeared at the (then)
North Sea Jazz Festival in Cape Town. It was heaven for many of us to see one of
the true soul greats live on stage! The band have released in excess of twenty
albums to date and they're still going strong.
06. Blood, Sweat & Tears - I Was A Witness To A War, from "New
City", in 1975.
This album, which was produced by Jimmy Ienner
of Lighthouse fame, featured Swedish guitarist Georg Wadenius, who joined the
band in 1972, having come from the bands Solarplexus and Made In Sweden. It also
saw the return of vocalist David Clayton-Thomas, who left in 1971, to be
replaced by Jerry Fischer (Clayton-Thomas had embarked on a solo career).
Interestingly, drummer Bobby Colomby was the only remaining original member of
the band, who were formed in the late 60's, and B,S&T had now adopted a
decidedly more funky direction. They went on to record about five more albums
before folding in the early 80's. It's not very apparent exactly when they
reformed or what the line-up is, but Blood, Sweat & Tears are still around
and gigging, although they haven't released a new studio album since 1980's
"Nuclear Blues".
07. Hemlock - Just An Old Friend, from "Hemlock", in
1973
This short-live English blues/prog/rock outfit
was put together by ex-Keef Hartley Band members, Miller Anderson (guitar &
vocals) and Peter Dines (organ & acoustic guitar), together with bass
guitarist Jim Leverton and drummer Eric Dillon (both ex-Fat Mattress),
together with seasoned session keyboard player Mick "Blue" Weaver. The album,
which is a minor rarity, was released on the Deram label. Miller Anderson later
teamed up with his old mate, Keef Hartley, in Dog Soldier. One of the better
vocalists/guitarists of the late sixties/early 70's UK blues/rock era, Anderson
also released a good solo album called "Bright City" in 1971, and he later
featured with T Rex, (of all bands!).
08. Arcadium - Birth, Life and Death, from "Breathe Awhile",
in 1969.
Original copies of this album are scarcer than
an admission of guilt from Jacob Zuma. Released on the equally rare Middle Earth
record label, the tracks on the album, which were written by vocalist/guitarist
Miguel Sergides, are filled with a sometimes disturbing feeling of anguish and
despair, even in their quieter moments, which hardly makes it the ideal album to
unwind to after a hard day, unless you're an undertaker. Musically,
it's particularly strange yet captivating, full of interesting surprises. These
guys explored territories unheard of in those days. Miguel Sergides, in
particular, must have been smoking a bit of Dalmatian-do for him to come up with
some of the really frenetic and angry guitar breaks he was prone to unleash now
and then.
09. Rumplestiltskin - Pate De Fois Gras, from "Rumplestiltskin",
in 1970.
The main guy in this very good English
hard/prog rock band was vocalist Peter Lee Stirling, who first started out in a
pop/beat outfit called The Bruisers, back in the early sixties. Stirling then
featured in The Hinge in 1968 before forming Hungry Wolf (who
were recently featured on The RockIt Scientist) in 1970. Rumplestiltskin were
also formed in 1970, but the band members (Clem Cattini - drums, Herbie Flowers
- bass, Alan Parker - guitar and keyboard player Alan Hawkshaw) all used
pseudonyms, which was probably due to contractual constraints (much like the
Green Bullfrog album). The band released two very good, and highly collectible,
albums. When they split, Herbie Flowers went on to become a founding member of
Sky, Alan Hawkshaw featured with Donovan and PJ Proby and Clem Cattini became
a sought-after session player. Cattini, Flowers and Alan Parker also formed the
little known UK outfit Ugly Custard, whose sole album is also particularly
rare.
10. Apache - Working Man, from "Apache", in 1981
This US quintet were quite interesting in that
they weren't quite a hard outfit nor were they a Southern Rock outfit,
although they could've quite easily fitted into either category. They would
appear to have been formed by guitarist Joe Messina, who previously worked in
The Temptation's backing band. The album was released on Atco Records and is of
minor interest to collectors.
11. Epitaph - Moving To The Country, from "Epitaph", in
1971.
This Dortmund-based German rock outfit, who
were formed by ex-British Army serviceman Cliff Jackson, who elected to stay in
Germany after his tour of duty had ended, have been well featured elsewhere on
The RockIt Scientist website. This debut album, originally released on Polydor
Records, has been widely acclaimed and regarded as a classic of guitar-led
progressive hard rock by fans of the Kraut Rock/hard rock scene. The band
recorded well into the 80's and folded, reforming in the late 90's. They appear
on the recent Kraut Rock Meeting DVD, alongside Karthago, Birth Control,
Jane and Amon Duul.
12. Fantasy - Worried Man, from "Beyond The Beyond", in 1974, their
second and last album.
Fantasy were originally formed in Kent,
England, as Chapel Farm, named after the place where the band first rehearsed,
in 1971. Their debut gig was a free concert in Gravesend, a major event with The
Edgar Broughton Band and the Pink Fairies. Original guitarist Bob Vann
tragically died in an accident on his 18th birthday and he was later replaced by
Peter James, who was, in turn, later replaced by Geoff Whitehorn, who would go
on to feature with the likes of (Back Street) Crawler, If, and a host of others.
Chapel Farm became Firequeen before changing their name to Fantasy after being
signed to Polydor Records. They released two highly collectible, and very
pleasant keyboard-driven progressive rock albums. In 1994, Audio Archives
released "Vivariatum", which included a number of tracks from the very early
days of the band.
13. Dave Meniketti - Say Goodbye, from "On The Blue Side", in
1996
Guitarist/vocalist Dave Meniketti is best known
as the guitarist and co-founding member of San Francisco rockers, Yesterday and
Today, (later shortened to Y & T), in the early to mid 70's. Meniketti's
bluesy style was noticed by veteran bluesman John Mayall when Mayall spotted him
playing with Y & T. Mayall approached Meniketti to work on an album with
him, but they were unfortunately unable to secure a record deal for the project.
Meniketti won a number of guitar awards and was approached by many bands, such
as Whitesnake and Ozzy Osbourne, to play on their albums. Y & T decided to
take a break from touring and recording in the early 90's, and it was then that
Meniketti decided to embark on a solo career. He has a very melodic and warm
style of playing (mainly the Gibson Les Paul) and he has a great voice to boot.
He's joined by the likes of Jimmy DeGrasso (also from Y & T, Alice Cooper
and others, on drums), Myron Dove (Santana, Buddy Guy, Herbie Hancock and
others, on bass), Ron Wikso (Cher, The Storm, David Lee Roth, also on drums),
and keyboard players John Seppala and Joe Heinemann, who, between them, have
featured with the likes of Lenny Williams, Jeff Berlin, Patty Austin, and
others. Jazz player Mark Stanford is on sax. Meniketti has released two further
solo albums since, and he's also featured in the reformed
Y & T. (Y & T recently toured the UK
with GPS, the sensational new melodic rock outfit featuring members of Asia and
Spock's Beard). His albums aren't that easy to find, but they certainly are
worth checking out. He really is one of the unsung guitar (blues and rock)
heroes.
14. Ken Hensley - The Last Dance (El Gitano Viejo), from ''The Last
Dance", recorded in early 2003 .
Ken Hensley, who was one of the founding
members of Uriah Heep back in the late sixties, is quite rightly regarded as one
of Rock's most accomplished and respected musicians. A renown songwriter and
vocalist, he's equally at home playing keyboards or guitar. He's a record
producer too, and he has a keen ear and eye for up and coming new talent. He
released his debut solo album, "Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf" in 1973, followed
by "Eager To Please" a few years later, which was, in turn, followed by "Free
Spirit" in 1981. He then featured with the likes of Shotgun, Blackfoot and
others and he continued to release solo albums throughout the 80's and 90's,
around 12 in total, including a few compilations/anthologies. He's been living
in Spain for a while now, and this solo album features contributions from a
number of very talented young Spanish musicians, such as Ovidio Lopez on guitar,
Tommy Lopez on drums. Angel Diaz on percussion and John Smithson on bass. The
album is one of his strongest to date and the featured track is undoubtedly one
of the best tracks he's ever written, and it showcases not just the young talent
that are obviously benefiting tremendously by their association with a
professional like Ken Hensley, but it also demonstrates that, after all these
years, Hensley still has a lot to offer the music world. His recent Antholgy,
"Elements", which features material from his days with The Gods, Head Machine
(which will be featured next week), Toe Fat and Uriah Heep, is an essential
addition to the collection of anyone who would like to trace the roots of one of
the most important and influential individuals in rock
music.
15. Gamma - Last Man On Earth, from ''Gamma 4", in
2001
Gamma was a very good band put together by US
guitarist Ronnie Montrose in the late 70's, after his own band, Montrose, came
to an end (although Montrose the man would continue to record as a soloist). The
band originally featured amazing Scottish vocalist Davey Pattison (who would
later also be linked with Robin Trower), drummer Denny Carmassi, bassist Alan
Fitzgerald, synth player Jim Alcivar and percussionist Skip Gillette. Three
Gamma albums were released between 1980 and 1982, all with a number of memorable
tracks, with Ronnie Montrose's fluent, melodic, yet sometimes amazingly
technical signature a dominant feature. A fourth album, a live album called
"Concert Classics", which captured the band at their furious best, was also
released quite a few years later. A guitar talent of note, Ronnie Montrose
continued to record as a soloist, crossing over into jazz fusion territory every
now and then, but never losing sight of his hard rock roots. He reformed Gamma
in the late 90's/early 2000's, together with Glenn Letsch (who also appeared
with Gamma in the early 80's) on bass, Denny Carmassi on drums and Edward Roth
on keys. Davey Pattison, who is surely one of the greatest rock vocalists of all
time, also rejoined the band, and together, this line-up recorded the featured
album. Interestingly, the album has a South African connection: Jean-Michel
Byron, who used to strut his stuff in venues such as Jaggers in the 80's under
the name of Byron, and who went on to feature with Toto, appears as backing
vocalist on a few tracks on the album! Davey Pattison has since recorded a
couple of very good solo albums, and he's recently been working with another
famous guitarist, Michael Schenker, in the Schenker/Pattison Summit, a band you
will also be hearing on The RockIt Scientist shortly.
16. Landmarq - Science Of Coincidence, from "Science Of
Coincidence", in 1998
Firstly, I need to thank drummer (and RockIt
Scientist subscriber, I might add!) Dave Wagstaffe, for sending me a copy of
this album, the one Landmarq album that was missing from my collection. Formed
in the UK in 1990, Landmarq have released six albums to date, and they are
currently working on a new album. Initially signed to a Dutch record company,
they formed their own record company, Synergy Records, and they've
since established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of
Progressive Rock. Their style is such, though, that they appeal to a wider, more
mainstream audience, with award winning singer Tracy Hitchings fronting the
band. (Tracy Hitchings, Dave Wagstaffe and keyboard player Steve Leigh had
previously featured in a band called Quasar in the 80's). The band, whose other
members are Uwe D'Rose on guitars and Steve Gee on bass, have played concerts,
both as support and headliners, in countries such as Belgium, Mexico and the
USA, and they've toured with the likes of Marillion, IQ, Suzi Quatro, Steve
Hackett and a host of others. Landmarq recently released their first DVD,
"Turbulence" which was recorded live in concert in Katowice, Poland, in November
2005. They have a very professionally put together website, www.myspace.com/landmarq, which is
filled with interesting info on the band, photos, reviews, etc, and their CDs
can also be purchased via the website. Check them out - they're one of the
better prog bands around. Progressive Rock has been making a big come-back for a
number of years now, and it's bands like Landmarq that'll ensure that the genre
continues to be popular.
Dave Wagstaffe has a particularly colorful and
interesting musical career, having worked with the likes of Argus, (who you'll
be hearing on The RockIt Scientist shortly), Gaskin, Oliver Wakeman, Steve Howe,
John Wetton and others.
17. Like Wendy - Underwater Voyager, from "Rainchild", in
1999
Like Wendy are a little known but pretty
competent Dutch progressive rock outfit made up two musicians, Bert Heinen on
guitars, vocals and keyboards and Marien, who plays drums, keyboards and "yellow
thing with smelly buttons", which conjures up images of one or two unmentionable
things, to quote Caravan. Marien seems to be quite a talented chap: he also
plays "mustard pudding" and "occasional Yahoo", which is no mean feat,
especially when no-one else knows what the hell they are or mean! Either way,
they make great music, much of it pretty laid back and elaborate, with long,
un-radio friendly (21 minute) pieces. They've released about four albums to
date.
18. Kayak - Friend Of The Stars, from ''Nostradamus - The Fate Of
Man", in 2005
Another famous and very good Dutch band,
Kayak's roots go back to the early 70's when they were formed by keyboard player
Ton Scherpenzeel, drummer Pim Koopman, bassist Cees van Leeuwen, guitarist Johan
Slager and vocalist Max Werner. They signed to EMI Records and released their
debut album, "See See The Sun" in 1973. Unashamedly inspired by UK prog legends,
Genesis, Kayak's first three albums are considered by many to be essential for
anyone who enjoys uncomplicated, song-orientated melodic progressive rock. They
then signed to Vertigo Records and recorded a number of consistently good
albums, with the epic "Merlin" (1981) being the pick of the bunch. They split in
the early 80's and reformed in the 90's. Ton Scherpenzeel later had a short
stint with Camel, appearing with them in the mid 80's. Kayak have since recorded
a number of great albums, including an awesome live album called "Chance For A
Livetime". This double conceptual album about the bloke who "nose" the future
(Nostril-damus, as per First+Aid, a few playlists ago), is a very complex, well
written effort by Scherepenzeel, who also knows his way around a
keyboard.
19. Windchase - Gypsy, from "Symphinity", in 1977
This Australian prog outfit was an offshoot of
the great Sebastian Hardie, the Sydney-based band who evolved out of Sebastian
Hardie Blues Band in the mid 60's. Formed by guitarist/vocalist Mario Millo (who
is a highly regarded guitarist in RockIt Scientist circles!) and Toivo Pilt
(keyboards), both of whom had been in Sebastian Hardie, together with Duncan
McGuire on bass and Doug Bligh on drums. Millo's guitar work is out of the top
drawer, especially on the featured track and on "Horsemen To Symphinity". He
later formed "Mario Millo & Men From Mars" and they recorded a great 12
minute live version of "Horsemen To Symphinity", which appears as a bonus track
on this Musea issue of the album. Windchase (also the name given to Sebastian
Hardie's second and final album, just to confuse you), were maybe not
as memorable as Sebastian Hardie, but they certainly recorded some fantastic
material on their sole album.
20. Scarlet Thread - Toutsenten Kaihoisa Laulu, from "Psykedeelisia
Toutsenlauluja", in 2002
No, I didn't even try and back-announce either
the song title or the album title - I have my limitations, and I draw the line
when it comes to speaking Finnish, Chinese and Martian on the radio. Even the
spell-check took a bit of strain. Suffice to say that this young Finnish
prog band, who would appear to have been formed by sisters Eini and Anni Pesala
on violin and flute respectively, are absolutely brilliant! Jani Timoniemi is on
guitars and Panu Koskela is on drums. Think of Kansas meets Sebastian Hardie
meets Dixie Dregs (no kidding) and you have Scarlet Thread. What a great find,
and what amazing talent! When I say young, I mean young - they look
like college kids on the sleeve, more into pop or dance. Just shows - you can't
judge a book...
21. Sebastian Hardie - Openings, from "Four Moments", in 1974,
their debut album
Formed in Sydney, Australia in the mid 60's
Sebastian Hardie Blues Band, the band were originally led by vocalist Jon
English, who left in 1971 to play Judas in "Jesus Chris Superstar". It would
appear that the entire line-up changed by the time they recorded the debut
album. The band members were now Mario Millo on guitar & vocals, Peter
Plavsic on bass, Alex Plavsic on drums and Toivo Pilt on keyboards, and their
style of music had changed from R 'n B, Soul and blues to symphonic progressive
rock, similar in style to Focus and Yes. They became the country's finest
progressive band and the album spent 22 weeks on the Australian charts. They
released one further album called "Windchase" before the band split, and
Windchase the band, with Millo and Pilt, was formed. Mario Millo recorded a few
solo albums, and the band reformed in the mid 90's, recording a live album and
video for the
1994 Progfest.
22. Schenker/Pattison Summit - Wang Dang Doodle, from "The Endless
Jam Continues", in 2005
This is a musical marriage made in heaven.
Guitarist Michael Schenker and vocalist Davey Pattison recorded the first
"Endless Jam" album in 2004. It was essentially a covers album in which they did
great versions of tracks by bands/artists such as Robin Trower, Gamma, Hendrix,
Mountain and others, with Gunter Nezhoda on bass and Aynsley Dunbar on drums.
This second album, also a covers effort, features Tim Bogert in place of
Nezhoda, and this time 'round, they do very good versions of tracks by Traffic,
UFO, Clapton, Free, Rare Earth and Willie Dixon, in the case of the featured
number. Both albums were released on Shrapnel Records and are worth checking
out.
23. Sky High - You Can't Break Me, from "Freedom", in
2002
Sky High are one of the many good blues/rock
outfits recording for the US Grooveyard Record label. Produced by Joe Romagnola
and Clas Yngstrom, this is an album of riffy, up tempo blues rock with a nice
version of "All Along The Watchtower".
24. Dave Greenslade - Getysberg, from "Cactus Choir", in
1976
Keyboard player Dave Greenslade is probably
best known for his work with Colosseum in the late sixties/early seventies and
Greenslade, one of the few British outfits that didn't feature a guitarist, much
the same as Aardvark and early Rare Bird, in the early to mid 70's. Greenslade
the band recorded four albums between 1973 and 1976, and when the band folded in
early 1976, Dave Greenslade recorded "Cactus Choir", his first solo album. Simon
Phillips was on drums, Tony Reeves (also ex-Colosseum, and co-founder of
Greenslade the band) was on bass, and, on the featured number, Rare Bird's Steve
Gould was on vocals. Dave Greenslade then recorded the epic ''The Pentateuch Of
The Cosmogany", a lavish double album with an unbelievable 47 page booklet with
artwork by fantasy writer and artist Patrick Woodroffe. Dave Greenslade was
later involved in composing music for British film and television, and he was
also a member of the reformed Colosseum in the mid 90's. He's since released a
few more solo albums (one being his very good "Going South" album), and he also
reformed Greenslade, releasing "Large Afternoon" a number of years ago, as well
as a few live albums.
25. Rick Wakeman - Catherine Of Aragon, from "The Six Wives Of
Henry VIII", in 1973, his second solo album.
British keyboard player Rick Wakeman is
undoubtedly one of the most respected and best-known keyboard players in the
world, having worked with David Bowie, Cat
Stevens, Strawbs, Yes, Black
Sabbath, Warhorse and others. He recorded his debut solo album, ''Piano
Vibrations'' in 1971 whilst he was a member of The Strawbs. "The Six Wives of
Henry VIII'' was the first of his very ambitious conceptual albums and it
featured the likes of drummers Alan White, Barry de Souza and Bill Bruford,
bassists Chas Cronk and Chris Squire, guitarists Steve Howe and Dave Lambert and
vocalists Liza Strike and Barry St. John. The array of keyboards that Wakeman
was known to play live and on record was astounding, ranging from Grand Pianos
to state-of-the-art Mini-Moogs and Hammonds. Wakeman would go on to release
epic albums such as "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" and "In The Court Of
King Arthur", and he's still very active today, working with Yes and
others.
26. Trace - Bourre, from "Birds", in 1975
This Dutch keyboard-based outfit have been well
documented elsewhere on The RockIt Scientist website. This album featured
drummer Ian Mosley (of Wolf and Marillion fame), drummer Jaap van Eik and the
now sadly departed Rick van der Linden, previously with Ekseption, on keyboards.
Darryl Way of Curved Air and Wolf appears as a guest. All three Trace albums are
worth checking out.
27. Lucifer Was - Little Child, from "In Anadi's Bower", in
2000
This very good Norwegian progressive outfit
would appear to have been formed in the early 70's, although their first (known)
recordings only surfaced in the 90's. Drummer Kai Frilseth formed the band, and
he was joined by guitarist Thore Engen and bass player Einar Bruu. They then
recruited two flute players in Anders Sevaldson and Dag Stenseng, who also took
care of vocal duties. Their debut album, "Underground And Beyond", was released
on the Swedish Record Heaven record label in 1997. The band have since released
a few more studio albums and a couple if live albums. Their music can best be
described as a heavier version of Jethro Tull and Gravy Train. All of their
albums are worthwhile checking out.
28. Standarte - Ordeal, from ''Curses and Invocations", in
1999
Hailing from Italy, this brilliant keyboard
(Hammond)-dominated progressive rock trio are unashamedly influenced by Atomic
Rooster's Vincent Crane (so much so that their self-titled debut album is
dedicated to the great man). Recording on the Black Widow record label,
Standarte, who are essentially another guitar-less band (some guitar parts,
however, can be clearly heard on some numbers, although it's not clear who's
playing them as there's no reference to a guitarist on any of the tracks, except
on their "Stimmung" album, which includes fourth member, guitarist Davide
Nicolini ), have released around four albums. The band has centered around
Daniele Caputo on drums & vocals, Stefano Gabbani on bass and Michele
Profeti on keyboards.
29. Primevil - Progress, from "Smokin' Bats At
Campton's".
This serious US rarity from Indiana in 1974 has
finally been released on CD on the Radioactive Record label. On a par with other
US heavyweights Sir Lord Baltimore, Bang and Blackhorse, it's an excellent
example of seventies hard rock at its very best. The band featured Dave Campton
on vocals & harp, Larry Lucas and Jay Wilfong on guitars, Mark Sipe on bass,
Mel Cupp on drums and Mo Whittemore on keyboards. This line-up were also
responsible for the very rare Buccaneer album, which was released in 1980. They
just don't make 'em like this anymore!
