| # | Artist | Song (click to play) | Album | Year | CD label |
| 1 | Scorpions | I'm Goin' Mad | Lonesome Crow | 1972 | Rampage |
|
This is a band I never would have thought to check out had it not been for
a recommendation from a reliable source. Their 80's and 90's MTV hair band
schlock rock has always been the bain of my existence. But, this first album
is an excellent hard-rock progressive album that has few, if any, comparable
albums from the same time. Klaus Meiner's voice, sounding somewhat like
Ronny James Dio, sounds very good on this release, whereas on their later
material, his voice just grates like fingernails on a chalkboard. Michael
Schenker performs admirably on lead guitar, which is really the high light
of the album. Schenker quit after this album to join UFO, and was replaced
by Uli Jon Roth. I find this album most comparable to the first 2 Rush
albums. Good schtuff.
Scorpions | |||||
| 2 | Agitation Free | You Play For Us Today | Malesch | 1972 | Spalax |
|
The first album by Agitation Free who released only 2 albums during their
existence. Several other posthumous albums have been released afterwards.
Great psychedelic space-rock with eastern influences. Flowing majestic
guitar and trance inducing keyboards by Michael Hoenig. Hoenig would
later join Tangerine Dream, although I do not know which albums he is on.
This album is pretty comparable to early Amon Duul II.
Agitation Free - Official Homepage | |||||
| 3 | Gila | Viva Arabica | Night Works | 1972 | Garden of Delights |
| This album is an live recording for a radio show that was previously unavailable. The line-up is the original from their first album _Free Electric Sound_, which is different from the subsequent album _Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee_ which features Popol Vuh keyboardist Florian Fricke. Night Works for the most part is a very good archival recording with some occassional problems in the source tape. Lots of extended and aggressive guitar playing by Conny Veit, who also went on to play guitar for a couple of Popol Vuh albums _Seligpreisung_ and _Hosianna Mantra_. | |||||
| 4 | Dom | Dream (excerpt) | Edge of Time | 1972 | Witch & Warlock (bootleg) |
| A very unusual album. The music is very quiet and does not really conform to any recognizable song forms. But, that's what makes progressive music interesting. Much of the music sounds like it would have been an excellent soundtrack to the movie 2001. Bleak, vast, yet full of mystery, wonderment and even fear. Instrumentation includes keys, guitar (mostly acoustic), flute, percussion, and lots of reverb. This is a good album to listen to if you want to lay back and contemplate metaphysical things. | |||||
| 5 | Eiliff | Lilybaeum | Close Encounter With Their Third One | 1972 | Garden of Delights |
| A live performance from 1972 just now released for the first time. This is a remarkable set that is about as good as their 2 studio releases. One of the finest jazz-influenced krautrock bands. | |||||
| 6 | Guru Guru | The Meaning of Meaning | Hinten | 1971 | Spalax |
|
More heavy power-trio jamming on their 2nd album, with a heavy dose of
silly weirdness. Wild rave-up guitar.
Guru Guru - the Official Site | |||||