ESCAPADE But Distractions Abound (Submergence) cd 13.98
One of the first times we heard from NYC space/post/synth/psych rock combo Escapade was on a split with Acid Mothers Temple. And damn if they didn't manage to hold their own. In fact, if memory serves, their propulsive synthy space drone ended up outshining AMT's same already familiar psych rock freakout.
So here we are a few years later, with the latest full length from these guys, and we're happy to say it's just as solid. Maybe even a little bit more trippy and spacey. Which is of course a very good thing. As we've mentioned in the past, modern prog/space/psych rock can tend toward the cheesy, a very few bands manage to bliss out and rock out with out sounding like Hawkwind lite. Escapade are definitely among the elite, with their stretched out jams, and some simple motorik rhythms that definitely remind us of Circle. In fact, if you took the looped riffing out of Circle and injected some scrabbling psychedelic freakouts you'd pretty much Escapade. Throw in some buzzing sitars, some tripped out abstract This Heat-isms, some wild free jazz drumming here and there, some billowing clouds of dense space rock FX, some soaring heart-of-the-sun leads, and all sorts of droning atmosphere, and you're in for a kick ass tripped out drug drenched space rock freakout. Fans of Circle, Kinski, Acid Mothers Temple, Hawkwind and the like will definitely want to check this out...
MPEG Stream: "Partial Memory Occurence"
MPEG Stream: "Coldth"

ESCAPADE Rule #3 (Submergence) cd 14.98
Latest (though last year's) release from this band, in stock for the first time. Escapade are an almost-all-instrumental American band that falls into the amorphous space/prog/trance/post/psych/synth rock category. Some of that stort of stuff done by modern day bands can get kinda cheesy and wanky, but these guys thankfully stay on the more acceptable side of the genre, so if you're heavily into, say, Circle and Subarachnoid Space you'll probably like Escapade. (Sporting a ponytail might not hurt either...just kidding.) The opening track "A Symphony Of Sirens", a nearly twenty minute epic of slow moving menace, pretty much tells you all you need to know. Thudding bass, cavernous drums, meandering electric guitar leads, dubby effects...sleepy and droney and repetitive. It's a bit like Pharaoh Overlord's latest I suppose. And if that doesn't tell you enough about 'em, they follow that up with a largely-improvised take on the Pink Floyd classic "Interstellar Overdrive"! This comes to us via the label that just brought us the new F/i (see elsewhere this list), and prior to that the "Flourescent Tunnelvision" spacerock compilation we gave the thumbs up to a while back -- you'll find an Escapade track on there too.
MPEG Stream: "A Symphony Of Sirens"

ESTRADASPHERE Passion For Life (Web Of Mimicry) cd + dvd 21.00
"Live from the Estradasphere archives", a cd AND a dvd of this Mr. Bungle-approved band of wacky hotshots showing off their chops!
MPEG Stream: "Feed Your Mama's Meter"

ESTRADASPHERE Quadropus (Web Of Mimicry) cd 13.98

ETURIVI Ylhaisten Kastien Kelvottomat Jalkelaiset (Verdura) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
RESTOCKED! We first listed this a few months ago...
Our friends in Finland are a prolific lot. From the label that just brought us that wonderful Magyar Posse album, comes another band, this time with some familiar faces -- it features members of Circle, Ektroverde, Pharaoh Overlord, Kirvasto and Keuhkot. Eturivi, however, have their own weird sound. Creaking, creepy stuff, with droning science fictional tool shop electronics and glitchy rhythms. Electric organ, rattling percussion, plinking guitars all make for a mysterious background to the equally mysterious voices you'll hear. This has what seems like a bit of a theatrical aspect, with dramatic vocals declaiming something in Finnish (we presume) over the junkyard folk music. It's kinda quiet (in a noisy way though), until the next to last track, "Lian Jaljilla", when chugging guitars kick in and Eturivi fully reveals their Circle lineage, dealing out distorted stabs of motorik spacerock. The prevalence of spoken foreign-language vocals might not make this as accessible as some of Jussi & co.'s other projects -- you do feel like you're missing something by not understanding the words -- but it's still one that lots of fans will want to add to their shelf-ful of Finnish weirdness.
MPEG Stream: "Saavutus"
MPEG Stream: "Lian Jaljilla"

EXMAGMA 3 (Daily Records) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Back in stock, now way cheaper than before!
Previously unreleased 3rd (double) album from cult krautrock trio Exmagma (no relation to French prog masters Magma). Recorded in 1975 at Conny Plank's studio, this excellently-produced opus somehow eluded release for over thirty years. Now finally here it is, with vintage artwork, informative liner notes, and most importantly, 17 tracks, 69 minutes of quirkily wacky krautrock that had lain dormant for far too long. If you've heard either of their first two albums (the self-titled from '73 or Goldball from '74, both of which are available together on a single cd reissue) then you know they're a freaky band, a bit like Guru Guru but with more jazz-fusion stuff going on. This is still pretty jazzy but more rock than before - with more singing too. Definitely betrays the influence of Captain Beefheart (with the track "Torpedo Tits" perhaps coming uncomfortably close to Frank Zappa lyrical territory) but also that of Miles Davis as well. A lost krautrock effort that we'd wager doesn't sound like too much else in your cd collection, with hard, angular grooves, druggy concepts, zany rock, confusional hippie humor, and journeyman jazz chops - for a gonzo Frankenstein of an album only Exmagma would dare design and build.
MPEG Stream: "Box 25"
MPEG Stream: "The Pope"
MPEG Stream: "Stoned Chicken"

EXMAGMA Exmagma & Goldball (Daily Records) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Back in stock, now way cheaper than before!
Ok, let's get the first question everybody has about this band out of the way: they've got nothing to do with our favorite Seventies proggers, Magma from France. The trio Exmagma was also from the '70s, but from Germany (featuring an expatriate African-American drummer though) and are known as Exmagma simply because they had originally called themselves Magma, until they found out about the French group and changed the name! Some understandable confusion resulted, we're told, because Exmagma's second record Goldball was only released on a French label...and the "real" Magma kinda sound more German than French what with their Wagner influence. Anyway, THIS band was more of an acid rock meets (free) jazz fusion kind of thing. Freaky, wild, and groovy. Laid back weirdness, some sax, lots of electric organ and piano, doublenecked bass/guitar...Mostly instrumental, with only some very rare Faust-like vocal parts. This disc contains their two albums, both recorded by Krautrock production maestro Conny Plank, with the first self-titled one from '73 being perhaps the more far-out and abstract, while 1974's Goldball more solidly grooved. Maybe. However, both LPs are "drug jazz" classics. Also, on the cover to Goldball (reproduced in miniature here) the band sports the craziest bellbottoms we've ever seen...they're on stilts under them I guess!
MPEG Stream: "The First Tune"
MPEG Stream: "Adventures With Long S. Tea"

EXPO 70 Sonic Messenger (Beta-Lactam Ring) 2lp 33.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL, this Expo opus from last year!!
More epic and dense heart-of-the-sun blissed out heavy space drones from Expo 70. And the thing is, we're running out of superlatives, we can only gush so much before we run out of new things to say, which is especially difficult when every record is as good as if not better than the last. So do forgive us if we're repeating ourselves, but hell, any one into spaced out heaviness, and droneprogbliss, who hasn't heard Expo 70 is missing out on one might just be their favorite band EVER.
Like past records, Expo 70 suck the essence out of every Hawkwind record, the soul of every Tangerine Dream record, and filter it through filter of SUNNO))) black hole heaviness, and come up with their own unique psychedelic space rock krautdrone, a sound we just can't get enough of. Expansive and sprawling, dark and meditative, washed out and dreamy, heavy and layered, the opening track on Sonic Messenger is a crushing chunk of low end rumble and pulse, which immediately gives way to some ultra hushed bliss, which smolders and flickers and expands in slow motion like a time lapse film of a planet being birthed. And so it goes, rhythms surface and blink out, guitars groan and whir and weep, synths wheeze and unfurl glimmering sheets of sound, the guitars sometimes coalesce into psychedelic almost-leads, but more often than not fade into clouds of hazy reverb and ethereal delay, the record closes with a 21 minute slow burn that is subtly fierce, a muted ominous swell of sound, wrapped in airy tendrils of fragmented melody, and swaths of gritty texture, a brooding and intense stretch of dreamy darkness.
Once again Expo 70 deliver the divine drugged out sonic space drone bliss.
MPEG Stream: "Amplifying Umbras"
MPEG Stream: "Analog Dreamscape"
MPEG Stream: "Hamadryad"

EXPO 70 Where Does Your Mind Go? (Immune) lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest (vinyl-only) chunk of kosmische spacekraut exploration from long time aQ faves Expo 70, for this recording expanded to a duo, consisting of Expo 70 main man Justin Wright, along with his occasional collaborator Matt Hill, aka recent Record Of The Week honoree Umberto. Together they conjure four sprawling smoldering tracks of galaxian space drone mesmer spread out over four vinyl sides. While it seemed like on other recent Expo 70 records, that Wright and Co. were slowly moving toward a heavier sound, dipping into occasional SUNNO))) territory, the sounds here are seem more tranquil and blissed out, although the addition of Hill gives some of these songs a distinctly haunting soundtrack vibe...
The opening track offers up some subtle minimal drum machines, more textural than rhythmic, drifting on a warm whirling sea of shimmering sonic swells and hazy soft focus drones, everything gauzy and washed out, the soundtrack to a sky full of solar flares, blurred and indistinct, bleary eyed and blissful The guitars do gain some momentum, wrapped in reverb and sent spinning into the ether, but everything stays grounded, a dreamlike abstract soft sonic drift.
The second track definitely seems to reflect the presence of Umberto mainman Hill, immediately unfurling a thick swatch of buzzing drone, a haunting ominous tense bit of ambience, streaks of minor key melody, all underpinned by squelchy low end synths and warm washes of synthesized strings, the whole thing sounding like Umberto or Zombi filtered through Expo 70. There are some brief stretches where the low end becomes a bit more corrosive, but it dissipates quickly, leaving synth shadows and melodic traces, to gradually fade into the cosmos.
The second record begins again with some thick droning synths, layered into softly pulsing streaks, wheezing and whirring elegantly, and ominously, building a mysterious background, over which the duo lay swoonsome strings and maudlin piano, it's all very cinematic and soundtracky and classical, like the score to some lost Italian giallo, again like some hybrid of Umberto and Expo 70 (which it essentially is), one can almost picture the strange psychedelic colors, and constantly flitting shadows, some crumbling old villa set atop a hill, beneath a burnt black sky, tense and moody and gloriously creepy.
The final track/side begins with a cloud of processed guitars, wreathed in delay and reverb, a warm swirl of buzz and pulse, that gradually grows more lush and full, hazy and druggy, the drum machine from the first track returns, again adding texture (but this time a little propulsion as well), the swirl of guitars smooth out into something much more hypnotic, before everything seems to meltdown in a soft psychedelic squall, streaks of spaced out effects, fragmented melodies, shuffling rhythms buried beneath clouds of hiss and whir and static buzz, a warm whirling stretch of soft chaos, that soon morphs into a muted murky bit of outer space shimmer, that gradually disappears into the vast endless blackness, like a dying star. Epic and fantastic.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, pressed on super thick virgin vinyl, and housed in a fancy old style tip-on gatefold jackets. Includes a download code as well...
MPEG Stream: "Ancient Hawk Soul Takes Flight"
MPEG Stream: "Close Your Eyes And Effortlessly Drift Away"

FALSINI, FRANCO Cold Nose (Naso Freddo) (Spectrum Spools / Editions Mego) lp 22.00
Spectrum Spools has been killing it lately with a string of amazing unearthed cosmic electronic artifacts. We raved about the recent Robert Turman Flux reissue from 1981 and now they dig deeper back to 1975 for this little known work of Italian kosmiche from Franco Falsini. We know of Falsini through the amazing seventies space prog synth outfit, Sensations' Fix (please someone reissue their records!!!), but this solo outing originally recorded as a soundtrack for an obscure film was completely unknown to us.
Made through a strange bio-electronic process that had us thinking of Masaki Batoh's recent Brain Pulse Music Machine record, Falsini recorded this album while having his brain activity monitored by a mechanism from the Bio-Electronic Meditation Society. Whenever his brain would produce Alpha/Theta waves, he would commit his music to tape. Alpha waves are generally created when defocusing one's attention, creating an alert relaxation found with meditation. Theta waves are produced with deeper meditation and often in periods of REM dream sleep. Composed in three suites, Cold Nose is a spiralling composition of EMS and Moog washes and floating guitar lines that remind us of krautrock legends Michael Rother and Manuel Gottsching, but with a distinct spaced-out Italian prog feel, especially when Falsini breaks out into stratospheric guitar leads over the organically pulsating synth treatments. Gorgeously cinematic, with constantly shifting and shimmering progressions. Beautifully remastered, anyone into the long form take on vintage psychedelic new age music should snag this while they can. If you dug the spacier psych moments of Italian progsters, Picchio Dal Pozzo, then this will be right up your alley!

FAR EAST FAMILY BAND Nipponjin (Phoenix) cd 17.98
The subtitle here, or perhaps it's their slogan, is "Join Our Mental Phase Sound". It's a good slogan, whatever it means, and if you wonder what "Mental Phase Sound" is, all you have to do is listen. Total Pink Floydian, Tangerine Dreamy synthesizer laden space travel from Japanese hippies with krautrock connections! The Far East Family Band, as their name definitely implies, was a '70s hippie Japanese psych/prog outfit, forerunners of the likes of Acid Mothers Temple. Once known as Far Out (they were!), they got even trippier in their Far East Family Band formation, which included future New Age artist Kitaro as a member. This album was their 2nd, originally released in 1975, and is a classic for sure (#14 in Julian Cope's Japrocksampler Top 50). It was produced by krautrock legend Klaus Schulze by the way, for extra kosmische cred!!
Nipponjin is an electronic/organic/rock ritual, a symphonic ceremonial music, effortlessly fusing the spacey synths of the German krautrock scene with authentic Eastern mysticism in a way that probably made the European hippies jealous. Some tracks are propulsive, full of electronically effected drum beats, others more mellow and meditative, with the whooshing of synths... there's ethnic instrumental twang, heavy bluesy electric guitar noodling, stately rhythms, majestic vocal choirs, and it's all quite melodic too, making for memorable music that's a prog classic album for the ages, from Japan or anywhere else in the universe. Heck the side-long title track that opens the album qualifies all by itself.
This is the first time we've seen a non-Japanese-import (and thus non-ultra-expensive) cd reissue of this, so get it while you can. It's limited to 1000 numbered copies, packaged in a cardboard "wallet" sleeve like Phoenix did for Flower Travellin Band's Satori and other reissues.
MPEG Stream: "The Cave"
MPEG Stream: "Timeless"

FAR EAST FAMILY BAND Tenkujin (Phoenix) cd 17.98
The wonderful flood of Japanese '70s psych rock reissues continues, something those folks who have yet to hear these previously hard-to-find gems (many "popularized" by megafan Julian Cope in his Japrocksampler book) can be quite glad of. The item under consideration here, a compact disc reissue of the final, 1977 release by hippie space travellers Far East Family Band, is another nifty one, though we'd probably recommend the other, earlier FEFB albums before this if you don't have those already. Fans looking to complete their collections, though, won't be disappointed - even though by this point keyboardist Kitaro had left the family / band (for eventual New Age stardom), on Tenkujin FEFB were still quite potent at making tripped out, synth-laden, New Age friendly psych. In other words still the kind of band where the same guy credited with operating a pile of synthesizers (Teisco 100F, Hillwood SY 1800, Combo, Basky, Rockyboard, Korg 700S, Mellotron, Yamaha, Solina String Ensemble) also plays the bamboo flute. And then there's all the guitars and other things as well that are part of their big wash of psychedelic sound.
The title track, with a driving, almost disco beat, and echoey, dubby FX, would fit in with a lot of late '70s kosmic krautrock, the Ashra, Michael Rother sort of stuff, heck it sound a bit like some bands today too, we're thinking Jonas Reinhardt and Maserati. Lots of burbling electronics and shimmering synth over propulsive percussion. FEFB's usual Pink Floydisms certainly come to the fore too, on the blissful, balladic likes of "Timeless Phase" and elsewhere... Make that blissful AND bombastic, the latter especially on the album-ending instrumental "Ascension".
Numbered, limited edition reissue in the usual Phoenix wallet sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "Tenkujin"
MPEG Stream: "Timeless Phase"
MPEG Stream: "Ascension"

FAR EAST FAMILY BAND Tenkujin (Phoenix) lp 24.00
Also now reissued on (180 gram) vinyl!!!
The wonderful flood of Japanese '70s psych rock reissues continues, something those folks who have yet to hear these previously hard-to-find gems (many "popularized" by megafan Julian Cope in his Japrocksampler book) can be quite glad of. The item under consideration here, a compact disc reissue of the final, 1977 release by hippie space travellers Far East Family Band, is another nifty one, though we'd probably recommend the other, earlier FEFB albums before this if you don't have those already. Fans looking to complete their collections, though, won't be disappointed - even though by this point keyboardist Kitaro had left the family / band (for eventual New Age stardom), on Tenkujin FEFB were still quite potent at making tripped out, synth-laden, New Age friendly psych. In other words still the kind of band where the same guy credited with operating a pile of synthesizers (Teisco 100F, Hillwood SY 1800, Combo, Basky, Rockyboard, Korg 700S, Mellotron, Yamaha, Solina String Ensemble) also plays the bamboo flute. And then there's all the guitars and other things as well that are part of their big wash of psychedelic sound.
The title track, with a driving, almost disco beat, and echoey, dubby FX, would fit in with a lot of late '70s kosmic krautrock, the Ashra, Michael Rother sort of stuff, heck it sound a bit like some bands today too, we're thinking Jonas Reinhardt and Maserati. Lots of burbling electronics and shimmering synth over propulsive percussion. FEFB's usual Pink Floydisms certainly come to the fore too, on the blissful, balladic likes of "Timeless Phase" and elsewhere... Make that blissful AND bombastic, the latter especially on the album-ending instrumental "Ascension". Limited edition.
MPEG Stream: "Tenkujin"
MPEG Stream: "Timeless Phase"
MPEG Stream: "Ascension"

FERMATA Fe rmata/Piesen Z Hol (Bonton Music Slovakia) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first two albums (from 1975 & '76) by this hot-rockin' instrumental Slovak prog/fusion band. Rippin' stuff, with heavy guitar/keys interplay. Complex, flashy, very '70s. If we saw a band like this play today we'd be all "we're not worthy"! (Not new, but we got a couple and wanted to list it, along with the equally awesome Collegium Musicium disc, for the Iron Curtain prog freaks we know populate our mailing list!)
RealAudio clip: "Rumunska Rapsodia"
RealAudio clip: "Piesen Z Hol"

FITZ-GERALD, G.F. Mouseproof (Sunbeam) cd 16.98
Reissue of strangely eclectic and genre-hopping British psych-folk record from 1970, combining country-rock, seventies harmonies, political satire, jazz and early electronic instrumental excursions. This is a mellow hodge-podge of aural recipes akin to the one off releases by United States of America and White Noise. While not every song hits, the album closer, "Opal Pyramid Drifting Over Time", an eight minute instrumental with washes of wah guitar, piano repetitions, jazzy drumming and chanting harmonies is definitely worth the price of admission.
MPEG Stream: "May Four"
MPEG Stream: "Opal Pyramid Drifting Over Time"

FLAMEN DIALIS Symptome - Dei (MIO Records) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK, last ever copies however as the MIO label has sadly chosen to close up shop! So we grabbed a few of our faves (this and the Jean Cohen-Solal). Here's our review from when we first listed this:
We've been doing this long enough to know that there's certain types of AQ customers we can rely upon. One catagory being those into the weird, obscure '70s prog-psych stuff. Folks who know what the Nurse With Wound list is (heck maybe even have it memorized), and can't help but be more excited about lost treasures from 30 years ago being reissued on cd than they are about the latest indie-rock or electronica gem (though chances are you might dig those too). Well if you're one of those folks, or maybe just feel especially sonically adventurous today, we've got another reissue for ya: Flamen Dialis. Which is, we're told, the ancient Roman name for the high priest of Jupiter, and is a suitably archaic name for an quite arcane sounding band. Like Magma (and some of our favorite previous MIO reissues, Jean-Cohen Solal and Birge-Gorge-Shirac) this group hailed from France, and indeed this has a bit of that cosmic Magma vibe to it. They released this now very rare record, their sole album, in 1979, and there's also a 7" Flamen Dialis single from 1978 included on this cd reissue too. The music they made was progressive and psychedelic, but not exactly rock. It's weird and atmospheric, soundtracky stuff, very ritualistic and repetitive in nature. With chants and whispers, martial drums and zinging synths, vibraphone and Mellotron, flutes and even some brief blues guitar licks and what sounds like a rhythm machine, this is quite otherwordly and dreamlike -- not exactly dreamy (or nightmarish either) just strange. Both eerie and a little goofy too... Like a soundtrack (or a dream), themes are revisted, and the album drifts smoothly from Medieval European to Eastern sounding exoticism. We're reminded a bit of that Musique de la Grece Antique album of pseudo-ancient Greek music by the Atrium Musicae de Madrid (an AQ perennial) and Igor Wakhevitch and Franco Battiato and Magical Power Mako and, well, if you're with us this far you *are* one of the AQ customers mentioned above and maybe should just trust us when we say you ought to check this out!
MPEG Stream: "Dernier Croisade"
MPEG Stream: "Decouverte"

FLASKET BRINNER The Swedish Radio Recordings 1970-1975 (Mellotronen) 4cd 88.00
Thought we'd list this, 'cause we've had one copy for a while that's been sitting up behind/above the counter, alone and unlooked-at, alongside the our other box sets like that ZZ Top "barbeque shack" thing Allan said he'd buy if we didn't sell it by January 1st 2004 (hmm, it's still here...Allan?).
Flasket Brinner were a psychedelic, proggy, symphonic, very jazzy ensemble that featured key members of the '70s Swedish underground rock/jazz scene, and were known for their live performances (being what today might be called a "jam band" I guess). Thus a four-cd box set like this one, collecting their live radio sessions from the early '70s, is quite an appropriate release, presumably long-awaited by fans of the band. Perhaps of special note to AQ-customers is that you'll find featured on about half of this set, the Hammond organ of Bo Hansson! Indeed, these discs include several medleys of material drawn from Hansson's Lord Of The Rings album, plus other Hansson compositions. But Flasket Brinner's collective mood was wide-ranging, from Hansson's Middle Earth vibes to Ennio Morricone to traditional Turkish music to tongue-in-cheek covers of rock staples like "Wild Thing". Bewarned: you've gotta like extended jamming, and flutes and sax, to get into this. The box includes a big booklet full of photos and text, with notes on each session and song, along with a history of the band and an exhaustive discography of recordings by the various band members that makes it seem likely that Flasket Brinner alumni played on almost every cool record released in Sweden in the '70s, including LPs by such AQ faves as Algarnas Tradgard and Turid.
MPEG Stream: "Gunnars Dilemma"
MPEG Stream: "Lothlorien"

FLIED EGG Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine (Universal Japan) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Freaky early '70s psych rock from Japan here folks, as you may know already on account of how we highlighted the reissue of this band's second album on our last list. This one, with a truly hard-to-beat title, was Flied [sic] Egg's debut, released originally in 1972, on Vertigo -- with Flied Egg one of the few, if not only, Japanese acts to appear on the roster of that legendary UK-based label known for proto-metal, jazz-prog and other "hairy funk" delights. This album dishes such delights all over the place, ranging from the Blue Cheer meets Uriah Heep heaviness of "Rolling Down The Broadway" to the weird choral interlude of "15 Seconds Of Schizophrenic Sabbath" to the classical prog flourishes of "Oke-Kus" (sounding like a warped version of ELP) to the sheer hippie psych-pop lunacy of the title track. And more! All in all, this is quite as crazy as its Dali-esque cover painting indicates. Definitely an essential for our Japanese '70s psych section, and anyone who loves them some acid rock guitar!
MPEG Stream: "Dr. Siegel's Fried Egg Shooting Machine"
MPEG Stream: "Burning Fever"

FLOR DE LOTO s/t (Mylodon Records) cd 15.98

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Make Up (Phoenix) cd 25.00
Released in 1973, Make Up was the final album (not counting their recent, and unfortunately disappointing, reunion disc) from these '70s Japanese heavy psych rock gods, a gatefold double LP packaged extravagantly in a stitched, brown faux-leather case! (This compact disc reissue replicates the look of the original, the cds in a gatefold sleeve inside a slipcover, complete with lyric sheet insert). Despite the fancy packaging, this artifact doesn't make Julian Cope's Japrocksampler Top 50, in fact he rather pans it, calling it "useless" and a "disastrous hotchpotch" (it was assembled from recordings from an ill-fated live concert as well as studio demos). However, it must be said that we don't always agree with Mr. Cope. While it may be that Make Up isn't FTB's most essential album, we think any fan will dig it. If it's perhaps a document of the Flower Travellin' Band succumbing to typical '70s dinosaur rock band excess, a la Led Zeppelin (double album, extended soloing, and a '50s rock n' roll cover), that's not necessarily a bad thing! While you need Satori first, your FTB collection will be lacking without this.
Disc one contains six songs, some studio, some live, including the rockin' title track, all of which provide singer Joe Yamanaka (FTB's not-so-secret weapon) with plenty of opportunity to wow us with his distinctive wail. FTB's more mellow, pop side is definitely on display here, with the gentle epic "Look At My Window", the bluesy, balladic "Shadows Of Lost Days", and the sad "Broken Strings" all probably prompting lighter-raising among concert goers. Heavier fare there is too, the aforementioned "Make Up", plus the ornate chug of "Slowly But Surely", and ominous opener "All The Days". We name checked Led Zep, but it's Deep Purple that FTB more likely resemble on this disc, what with the keyboards of guest Nobuhiko Shinohara.
Disc two is where this set gets really indulgent, starting off as it does with a 25 minute live version of "Hiroshima" (only 5:13 in its original version on their previous album, Made In Japan, padded out here with a lengthy drum solo, of which we heartily approve). Heck, "Hiroshima" could go on for hours and hours as far as we're concerned, since it's chock full of the type of slightly sinister, blown-out riffage that today's stoner rockers try their hardest to recreate. In fact, thinking about it, this sounds a hell of a lot like AQ faves Los Natas! That's followed by another live track, a somewhat incongruous cover of "Blue Suede Shoes", with FTB producer (and former Group Sounds star) Yuya Uchida on vocals. This seems to the sort of thing that turned Cope off from this album, but we've seen footage of early Black Sabbath covering this tune too, so we'll let it slide. And in any event, that roots maneuver is followed by a rendition of FTB's own classic "Satori Pt. 2", ten tribally-rhythmic minutes of sinuous psych with Joe at his piercing best, a hard rock rock n' roll showman as shaman if there ever was one. And the drifting, semi-acoustic, spaced out "After The Concert" that winds things up wordlessly and beautifully can't be the cause of any of Cope's complaints.
In any case, all you proto-metalheads and acid psych loving Japanophiles can decide for yourself, thanks to this new reissue (a limited, numbered edition, by the way).
MPEG Stream: "Slowly But Surely"
MPEG Stream: "Shadows Of Lost Days"
MPEG Stream: "Hiroshima"
MPEG Stream: "After The Concert"

FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND Make Up (Phoenix) 2lp 34.00
NOW REISSUED ON VINYL!! Slipcased, gatefold, 180 gram vinyl.
Originally released in 1973, Make Up was the final album (not counting their recent, and unfortunately disappointing, reunion disc) from these '70s Japanese heavy psych rock gods, a gatefold double LP packaged extravagantly in a stitched, brown faux-leather case! (Which this reissue replicates in cardboard slipcase facsimile form!) Despite the fancy packaging, this artifact didn't make Julian Cope's Japrocksampler Top 50, in fact he rather pans it, calling it "useless" and a "disastrous hotchpotch" (it was assembled from recordings from an ill-fated live concert as well as studio demos). However, it must be said that we don't always agree with Mr. Cope. While it may be that Make Up isn't FTB's most essential album, we think any fan will dig it. If it's perhaps a document of the Flower Travellin' Band succumbing to typical '70s dinosaur rock band excess, a la Led Zeppelin (double album, extended soloing, and a '50s rock n' roll cover), that's not necessarily a bad thing! While you need Satori first, your FTB collection will be lacking without this.
Lp one contains six songs, some studio, some live, including the rockin' title track, all of which provide singer Joe Yamanaka (FTB's not-so-secret weapon) with plenty of opportunity to wow us with his distinctive wail. FTB's more mellow, pop side is definitely on display here, with the gentle epic "Look At My Window", the bluesy, balladic "Shadows Of Lost Days", and the sad "Broken Strings" all probably prompting lighter-raising among concert goers. Heavier fare there is too, the aforementioned "Make Up", plus the ornate chug of "Slowly But Surely", and ominous opener "All The Days". We name checked Led Zep, but it's Deep Purple that FTB more likely resemble on this disc, what with the keyboards of guest Nobuhiko Shinohara.
Lo two is where this set gets really indulgent, starting off as it does with a 25 minute live version of "Hiroshima" (only 5:13 in its original version on their previous album, Made In Japan, padded out here to fill the entire album side, with a lengthy drum solo, of which we heartily approve). Heck, "Hiroshima" could go on for hours and hours as far as we're concerned, since it's chock full of the type of slightly sinister, blown-out riffage that today's stoner rockers try their hardest to recreate. In fact, thinking about it, this sounds a hell of a lot like AQ faves Los Natas! That's followed on the flip by another live track, a somewhat incongruous cover of "Blue Suede Shoes", with FTB producer (and former Group Sounds star) Yuya Uchida on vocals. This seems to the sort of thing that turned Cope off from this album, but we've seen footage of early Black Sabbath covering this tune too, so we'll let it slide. And in any event, that roots maneuver is followed by a rendition of FTB's own classic "Satori Pt. 2", ten tribally-rhythmic minutes of sinuous psych with Joe at his piercing best, a hard rock rock n' roll showman as shaman if there ever was one. And the drifting, semi-acoustic, spaced out "After The Concert" that winds things up wordlessly and beautifully can't be the cause of any of Cope's complaints.
In any case, all you proto-metalheads and acid psych loving Japanophiles can decide for yourself, thanks to this new reissue.
MPEG Stream: "Slowly But Surely"
MPEG Stream: "Shadows Of Lost Days"
MPEG Stream: "Hiroshima"
MPEG Stream: "After The Concert"

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, THE Systems Emerge From Complete Disorder (Trouble Man Unlimited) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More instro-avant-jazz-metal mayhem from recent Chicago-to-San Francisco transplant Weasel Walter & Co. Except, there's no Co. on this album, it's just the Wease. The concept here (we're told) is that the record is about "a horrible planetoid being [who] configures itself from atomic chaos". Cool. It's noisy, fusiony, and no-wavey. 45 minutes of this is either gonna be sheer punishment or pleasure, you probably already know where you stand on that. We're impressed, regardless. Especially by the 20 minute finale "Rise Of The Iridescent Behemoth"! Weasel works hard at this stuff and succeeds. Nerdy noisy prog rock for punks.
MPEG Stream: "Kkringg Beyond Nggggg"
MPEG Stream: "Thorned Lattice"

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, THE Systems Emerge From Complete Disorder (Trouble Man Unlimited) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More instro-avant-jazz-metal mayhem from recent Chicago-to-San Francisco transplant Weasel Walter & Co. Except, there's no Co. on this album, it's just the Wease. The concept here (we're told) is that the record is about "a horrible planetoid being [who] configures itself from atomic chaos". Cool. It's noisy, fusiony, and no-wavey. 45 minutes of this is either gonna be sheer punishment or pleasure, you probably already know where you stand on that. We're impressed, regardless. Especially by the 20 minute finale "Rise Of The Iridescent Behemoth"! Weasel works hard at this stuff and succeeds. Nerdy noisy prog rock for punks.
MPEG Stream: "Kkringg Beyond Nggggg"
MPEG Stream: "Thorned Lattice"

FRED s/t (World In Sound) cd 16.98
Fred were young hippies from central PA, who left college to jam together in a rural farmhouse playing prog/psych rock. They'd do covers by the likes of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jethro Tull, Frank Zappa, and Procol Harum, but also worked up a lot of original material for this, their sole, self-titled album, originally recorded in 1971. Mostly kinda mellow, but with flashes of acid-rock intensity. Plus great vocals, violin... Dated but nice, one for '70s prog/psych collectors only.

FREEDOM'S CHILDREN Astra ( Fresh Music) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Heavy psychedelic vibes from these '70s South African proggers, getting all, um, astral and spacey and downright spooky at times on this, their second album dating from 1971 (or maybe 1970?). A lost classic, this is, if you're a fan of Pink Floyd and/or cosmic Krautrock stuff of similar vintage. It's super trippy, with echoey vox singing weird conceptual lyrix over majestic acid rock meets church organ jams.
This was reissued on cd before, in '97, but what we've got here is a 2005 reish that adds a bunch of bonus tracks, yay. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "The Homecoming"

FRIPP & ENO (No Pussyfooting) (DGM) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What more could be said about these two Fripp & Eno records than we've already written in countless Expo '70, Growing and Aidan Baker reviews? That's because these records are pretty much ground zero for all of the dark dreamy drifty processed guitar / tape / synth drone that we can't ever seem to get enough of. Perhaps there are other earlier influential touchstones such as Tony Conrad and La Monte Young, perhaps Stockhausen and Terry Riley as well, but none seemed to have come so totally out of nowhere from two relatively mainstream players as these two records. Manuel Gottsching, Taj Mahal Travellers, and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music all came a little later.
After every other Eno solo album and collaboration (from Cluster to David Byrne) has been reissued, we are lucky enough to finally see both of these classic releases newly 24-bit remastered by Fripp himself reissued on his DGM imprint. These have never sounded better! No Pussyfooting even contains an extra disc featuring both tracks in reverse and a 40 minute bonus track of "The Heavenly Music Corporation" recorded at half speed that we know all our customers into glacial doomy drone will want, nay, need to own! Even if you own this record already, you may just need to buy it again for the stellar extra material!
It's easy to take for granted nowadays the influence of Brian Eno as the "godfather of ambient music", but in 1973 before he had even released his first solo record, Here Come The Warm Jets, Robert Fripp and Brian Eno were mainly known for their previous roles in King Crimson and Roxy Music respectively. Then this mysterious record parenthetically titled (No Pussyfooting) appears with its cryptic cover, a sort of ultra-modernized take on a hermetic alchemical engraving depicting the two artists (Eno at his most androgynous) looking in opposite directions, sitting in a small mirrored room with no doors reading tarot cards on a mirrored table with what sort of looks like a line of coke (?), next to a mirrored guitar in a mirrored case in the corner, a translucent mannequin and an antique silver radiator behind them under glass shelves filled with old books. The back cover showing the same scene with both artists and tarot cards missing. With its two side-long awesomely titled tracks "The Heavenly Music Corporation" and "Swastika Girls", what kind of music would this be? Rock? Prog? Glam? No one probably would realize until they purchased it and brought it home, that it would be this organically cerebral deep listening experience of the highest order. It's kind of a downer that we have such easy access to information nowadays, because when this came out, it was a true mystery object, which added to its esoteric appeal. But it still is to an extent, as numerous listens over the years still never fail to captivate, or confound how exactly the sounds are being made. Apparently,utilizing a system later dubbed, Frippertronics, two reel to reel tape decks were used to allow audio elements to be added onto a continuing tape loop building up dense layers of sound that would slowly decay as it turned around the decks' playback head. On "The Heavenly Music Corporation" layers of deep synth drones are layered in phased washes with Fripp's unique bowed guitar sound ringing ascending solo lines on top that sometimes loop and sometimes don't. Eno wrings out what sounds like synth lines in counterpoint to Fripp's part in similar tones so that at times it gets harder to tell who is making what sound as the piece intensifies. "Swastika Girls" starts with high pitched cascades of processed piano like tones with scraping synth squelches looping in counterpoint, before low rising bass notes and Riley-ish piano repetitions appear. Then Fripp's searing guitar crash-lands into the mix almost disrupting the whole process, but somehow it all works. Much more distorted and dissonant than "The Heavenly Music Corporation", it doesn't take the process for granted that everything will sound harmonious but remains still somehow cohesive, though far from easy listening.
While the backward tracks are equally amazing, they highlight a different kind of listening experience altogether. The seams show a bit more, the entrance and exit of new sounds more abrupt, but still strangely alien. Their inclusion here came from out of the listening experience of their first (and probably only) complete UK radio broadcast in 1973 courtesy of the late John Peel. Because the tapes were stored "tail out" but played as though they were stored "front out", the broadcast played the music in reverse. When Eno called in to say the music was being played backwards, he was met with a "that's what they all say" response.
But the real bonus of this deluxe package is the 40 minute "half-speed version" of "The Heavenly Music Corporation". When there were 16 2/3 rpm options on early record players, a lot of young guitarists would use the speed to slow down 33 1/3 rpm records to learn and practice their favorite guitar lines. Here it makes the drones so deep and heavy, Fripp's guitar lines more crushing, the layers creep and slither sounding like it could be one of the weird drone cd-r's we sell tons of. If it was in a black sleeve with skulls on it, and was called Skulled Space Outrosphere or Radiant Black Blood, and sealed with wax or wrapped in twine, and was limited to 100 copies, we'd sell a million of em (well, okay... 100!!). Sooooooooooooo Recommended and Essential!
MPEG Stream: "The Heavenly Music Corporation"
MPEG Stream: "Swastika Girls (reversed)"
MPEG Stream: "The Heavenly Music Corporation (half-speed)"

FRIPP & ENO Evening Star (DGM) cd 16.98
What more could be said about these two Fripp & Eno records than we've already written in countless Expo '70, Growing and Aidan Baker reviews? That's because these records are pretty much ground zero for all of the dark dreamy drifty processed guitar / tape / synth drone that we can't ever seem to get enough of. Perhaps there are other earlier influential touchstones such as Tony Conrad, and La Monte Young, perhaps Stockhausen and Terry Riley as well, but none seemed to have come so totally out of nowhere from two relatively mainstream players as these two records. Manuel Gottsching, Taj Mahal Travellers, and Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music all came a little later.
After every other Eno solo album and collaboration (from Cluster to David Byrne) has been reissued, we are lucky enough to finally see both of these classic releases newly 24-bit remastered by Fripp himself and reissued on his DGM imprint. These have never sounded better! While this reissue doesn't feature any bonus material, we still think it's a must have for any fan of kosmiche experimental drone music. If you haven't owned this before, now is the time!!!!!
Judging from the cover and title of 1975's Evening Star, it would be easy to dismiss this as a generic new-age record by Shadowfax or Mark Isham. It does look a bit Windham Hill-ish. But while its more melodic and dreamy than No Pussyfooting, this is certainly not pure relaxation music. It's way more cerebral and at times quite unnerving. Teaming up with Fripp once again after releasing three brilliant solo pop albums (Here Come The Warm Jets, Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, and Another Green World), Eno started concentrating on his ambient period culminating later that same year in what would be his first solo ambient record Discreet Music. Using the same dual tape machine system as on No Pussyfooting, the tracks here feel more composed and purposeful. Starting with "Wind on Water", layered washes of phased high toned analog synths and flittering guitar drones pulse like a breathing entity before the Cluster-like piano figures of the stunning title track, "Evening Star" emerge augmented by a ringing guitar arpeggio and one of the most gorgeous Fripp solos ever put to tape. This track is like an early predecessor to Eno's soundtrack work for the NASA film Apollo, almost a decade later. So beautiful! The next couple of tracks delve further into gentler territory, with "Wind on Wind" being an excerpted version of a piece later included on Discreet Music. But the nearly thirty minute final piece, "An Index of Metals" returns us to the dark intense drone of No Pussyfooting. Sounding more metallic and cosmic than anything on that record, "An Index of Metals" with its deep resonant pulsations and expansively spatial guitar work at times sounds like the melting magma of a dying star, or Edward Artemiev's coldly terrifying soundtrack work for Andrei Tartovsky's Solaris. Awe-inspiring yet very chilling! So Essential!
MPEG Stream: "Evening Star"
MPEG Stream: "An Index of Metals"

FRIPP, ROBERT Exposure (Discipline) 2cd 17.98
We knew that our friend Loren Chasse was/is a major Fripp-fanatic (total closet prog-rocker, that Loren) so we asked him if he wanted to do a review of this recently reissued R. Fripp solo classic, and he did (thanks Loren!), here 'tis:
As uptight as Robert Fripp may seem these past ten years (with his cleric's collar and extensive moralizing about business practices in the music industry) let's not forget his history of eccentric and befuddling endeavors outside of King Crimson. Begin with Fripp's New Wave pose on this album cover, sporting skinny tie and pinstriped shirt (even his hair stylist gets a credit in the liner notes)! Certainly, Fripp was dressed for the scene as he set out to make this record in the New York City of '78-'79. Exposure is perhaps the definitive record of everything Fripp is capable of, showcasing his talent at adapting his trademark guitar sound to diverse musical personalities. The most unexpected of these guest personalities on Exposure may be Daryl Hall, who takes the mic on the sumptuous and laid back "North Star" (with a lilt much like Discipline-era King Crimson's "Matte Kudasai"). Hall is actually the primary songwriting force on Exposure, even when he's not singing. Then another prog-rocker's wish is granted with Peter Hammill singing on "Disengage" and Fripp letting out a bit more bombast than he had as a guest with Van Der Graaf Generator. Who else? Well there's Peter Gabriel doing his saccharine hit "Here Comes the Flood" -- made so much more dark and beautiful than Gabriel's own album version by Fripp's contributions. Speaking of Hall and Gabriel, Exposure is the official third part of a trilogy (says Fripp) comprised of Hall's solo record Sacred Songs and Gabriel's second record (is it the one with the rain-streaked car window?). Then there's Brian Eno (surprise, surprise) and Phil Collins (not so bad as long as he's sticking to drums), Nancy Roche (of The Roches) howling like Diamanda Galas on "Exposure" and taking the record into its sweetest moments with "Mary". For fans of Red-era King Crimson, "Breathless" will be a pleaser with its unrelenting riffs and off-kilter Mahavishnu-style drumming (brought compliments of Narada Michael Walden). "NY3" and "Haaden Two" give the record some dark and surreal twists with more Crimsonish instrumental workouts mixed with a theater of strange voices (the former being a fight between mother/father and daughter in an NYC apartment). Fripp's spiritual mentor J.G. Bennet (student of Gurdjieff) inserts a ghostly presence over some of Fripp's most beautiful ambient sounds. The trademarked Frippertronics appear at their most quintessential on "Water Music I and II" -- perhaps the record's most abstract, beautiful and least dated sounding music. Oh yeah, dear old Edith Fripp (the mother) can be heard on this as well!
Also, FYI: this special double disc remastered edition of Exposure features a "Third Edition" of the album on the second cd, plus several bonus tracks. Wow, that's a lot... maybe they shoulda retitled this Overexposure?
MPEG Stream: "Breathless"
MPEG Stream: "North Star"

FRIPP, ROBERT Love Cannot Bear: Soundscapes - Live In The USA (Discipline Global Mobile) cd 15.98

FRIPP, ROBERT & THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN God Save The King (EG) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

FRITH, FRED Accidental: Music For Dance Volume 3 (Fred / ReR) cd 15.98
Accidental was originally commissioned in 1995 by Paul Selwyn Norton for his dance piece "Rogue Tool" which premiered the following year in Tel Aviv, Israel. On 'Accidental' Frith, a multi-instrumentalist if there ever was one, plays all instruments: guitar, violin, organ, an odd assortment of percussion, tapes, radio and voice. The music on 'Accidental' tends towards the dark and severe, with squeals of guitar feedback layered over ominous drones, percussive elements assembled from cut up vocals (either Fred's or taken from radio), but this shouldn't imply that the music on this album is non-melodic. On the contrary, at the music is at times even hauntingly beautiful while parts of 'Accidental' are even reminiscent of Frith's 1988 'Technology of Tears'.
RealAudio clip: "Hit And Run"
RealAudio clip: "Accidental"

FRITH, FRED Gravity (Fred / ReR) cd 15.98
Thankfully reissued once more, unthankfully with horrible new artwork and irritating top obi. Originally released in 1980 on Ralph Records, Gravity is Fred Frith's masterpiece of progressive-rock-infused pop, and in Windy and Byram's opinion this should be a staple of everyone's record collection. Yep, it's that great. And no matter how 'avant' our description makes it sound, this is one of the most listenable, most accessible avant prog pop things I've ever heard.
Gravity is a celebration of dance and dance musics from around the world. The range of influence spans the gamut, but Eastern European and Middle Eastern music seems to pervade Frith's inspiration primarily. Backed on one half of the album by Sweden's uber-prog folk heroes Zamla (formarly Samla) Mammas Manna and the other by the American improv-jazz-rock band The Muffins. Though all of the compositions are Frith's, each half of the album wears the corresponding musicians' influence like a badge. The Samla's playful, quirky and category-defying progressive, folk-influenced pop stylings are perhaps a slightly better match on the whole than The Muffins skronk (which shows up mostly as the segue material between tracks on the second half of the album.) Backed by Lars Hollmer and crew, "Spring Any Day Now" sounds like the theme song to an early eighties sit-com a la 'Three's Company' gone awry. Much of the album is seamlessly bridged together with nary a second of break betwixt songs, which suits an album inspired by dance that serves to inspire one to dance just fine.
RealAudio clip: "Spring Any Day Now"
RealAudio clip: "Hands of the Juggler"

FRITH, FRED Speechless (East Side Digital) cd 15.98

FRITH, FRED Step Across the Border (Winter & Winter) dvd 27.00

FROHMADER, PETER, & RICHARD PINHAS Fossil Culture (Cuneiform) cd 12.98
Classic Heldon guitar sound, rife with Frippisms, joined with Frohmader's heavy synthetic processing and electro rhythms. Almost like a drum n' bass "No Pussyfooting"?

FUSIOON Absolute Fusioon (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 16.98
Another awesome find from the diggers at Finders Keepers / B-Music! This '70s Spanish (Catalan) band, as their name implies, plays freaky fusion jazz/rock, kinda like a (more) wacked out Return To Forever! It's psychedelically groovy stuff, high on classical gasses, that at times even reminds us a bit of Bollywood, and much else besides (a goofier Goblin, anyone? Le Orme? Wolfgang Dauner?). Fusioon is for sure fun.
Ferinstance, the buzzy, bouncy synth and Spanish-languge chant of the quirky, rhythmic "Farsa Del Buen Vivir" is utterly delightful, deservedly drawing comparisons to old kid-friendly funk fave Stark Reality.
The dozen selections here, drawn from Fusioon's singles and lps for the Belter Progressiva label in the early/mid '70s, are percussively propulsive, sometimes soundtrack-suspenseful, and always packed with surprises, including symphonic-sounding bits and electronic blitzes...
And as always, the Finders Keepers folks fit this cd out with a booklet full of colorful photos, graphics, and extensive, expert liner notes (by Cherrystones and Andy Votel) delving into the details of Fusioon's career, and in general schooling us about the psych/jazz scene in Franco's Spain.
MPEG Stream: "Dialogos"
MPEG Stream: "Farsa Del Buen Vivir"
MPEG Stream: "Contraste"

FUSIOON Absolute Fusioon (B-Music / Finders Keepers) lp 25.00
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!
Another awesome find from the diggers at Finders Keepers / B-Music! This '70s Spanish (Catalan) band, as their name implies, plays freaky fusion jazz/rock, kinda like a (more) wacked out Return To Forever! It's psychedelically groovy stuff, high on classical gasses, that at times even reminds us a bit of Bollywood, and much else besides (a goofier Goblin, anyone? Le Orme? Wolfgang Dauner?). Fusioon is for sure fun.
Ferinstance, the buzzy, bouncy synth and Spanish-languge chant of the quirky, rhythmic "Farsa Del Buen Vivir" is utterly delightful, deservedly drawing comparisons to old kid-friendly funk fave Stark Reality.
The dozen selections here, drawn from Fusioon's singles and lps for the Belter Progressiva label in the early/mid '70s, are percussively propulsive, sometimes soundtrack-suspenseful, and always packed with surprises, including symphonic-sounding bits and electronic blitzes...
MPEG Stream: "Dialogos"
MPEG Stream: "Farsa Del Buen Vivir"
MPEG Stream: "Contraste"

GALACTIC ZOO DOSSIER #6 (Drag City) magazine + 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Plastic Crimewave's immense, amazing psychedelic music zine (almost also a comic book 'cause it's all hand lettered and drawn, and does indeed include some underground comix, as well as a feature on "psychedelic superheroes"), the one and only Galactic Zoo Dossier, returns with issue number six!! This time, you'll find interviews with quite an odd/interesting assortment of folks: Vanilla Fudge, Keith Rowe (ex-AMM), John Renbourn, and Pip Proud. Plus features and bits on psychsters old and new and heavy and obscure including Acid Mothers Temple, Debris, Stackwaddy, Rodriguez, Edgar Broughton, Uriah Heep, The Lemon Drops, Exuma, The Outsiders, etc.
And, beyond the 'zine, you get the second set of Crimewave illustrated "Damaged Guitar Gods" trading cards -- including John DuCann (Atomic Rooster), Michael Yonkers, Wally Gonzalez (Juan De La Cruz), Davy Graham, Dorothy & Helen Wiggins (The Shaggs), Erik Brann (Iron Butterfly), Erkin Koray, BoAnders Persson (Trad Gras Och Stenar) and dozens more. Pretty darn cool. Plus, that's not all: there's also a freakin' double cd compilation entitled Ascension Days When We Rise: Ultra-Rare Avant/Psych/Garage 1960's-1990. It features Acid Mothers Temple, The Heads, Six Organs Of Admittance, Miminokoto, The Hototogisu, Oneida, Michael Karoli, and a bunch more, some we've never heard of before but are eager to check out. This 'zine is just such a "turn on" regarding the underground sounds obsessed about within. Something about everything in the magazine being handwritten not only gives it more of an organic, '60s psych vibe but also utterly underscores how much of a labor of love this is, just how incredibly ENTHUSIASTIC Plastic Crimewave and Co. are about this stuff. Right on.

GHOST Hypnotic Underworld (Drag City) cd 14.98
Hallelujah! Ghost are back! Since Drag City's simultaneous release of their Snuff Box Immanence and Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet albums back in 1999, we hadn't heard hide nor hair of Japan's wonderful acid-folksters Ghost (unless you count their liason with Damon & Naomi). Indeed we'd begun to wonder what was up with Masaki Batoh, Michio Kurihara and crew -- we missed them! And in those four or five years, it seemed that fans of '70s inspired Japanese psychedelic music had switched their allegiance to the much more prolific Acid Mothers Temple camp led by Kawabata Makoto who emerged in the meantime. But we Ghost fans know that, as good as AMT can be, in the realm of cosmic communal Japanese hippy rock, there is no comparison. Ghost rule that particular hypnotic underworld. Depth, beauty, originality -- on all those counts they have it over AMT. Unlike the excessive pastiche of AMT, there's nothing tongue in cheek about Ghost. And as for quality control, well, you do the math.
So, needless to say, we were supremely excited to get this brand new Ghost album! The sun was sure 'tangging' the day this showed up. Word was that this might be Ghost's best album yet, and while we each have our favorites (mine's Lama Rabi Rabi, with their self-titled debut in close competition) this was immediately revealed as a contender. In short, it's freakin' great. Ghost explore some heavier, rockier, more prog-tastic directions in some of these songs, yet let their incomparable delicate psych-folk flow as well. Stirring guitar/drums workouts coexist with Batoh's fragile vocals and trembling sunshine melodies. And Terrascopic trainspotters will be interested to know that Ghost interpret songs by both Syd Barrett and the obscure '70s Dutch prog-rock act Earth & Fire, and make them completely their own. The album takes its name from the four-part, 25-minute suite that opens this disc, which ventures from lovely, hazy jazz-inflected jams to bombastic, utterly prog-rock flourishes complete with grandiose choirs. That alone is worth having waited four or five years for!
MPEG Stream: "Piper"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 2: Escaped And Lost Down In Medina"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 3: Aramaic Barbarous Dawn"

GHOST Hypnotic Underworld (Drag City) 2lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hallelujah! Ghost are back! Since Drag City's simultaneous release of their Snuff Box Immanence and Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet albums back in 1999, we hadn't heard hide nor hair of Japan's wonderful acid-folksters Ghost (unless you count their liason with Damon & Naomi). Indeed we'd begun to wonder what was up with Masaki Batoh, Michio Kurihara and crew -- we missed them! And in those four or five years, it seemed that fans of '70s inspired Japanese psychedelic music had switched their allegiance to the much more prolific Acid Mothers Temple camp led by Kawabata Makoto who emerged in the meantime. But we Ghost fans know that, as good as AMT can be, in the realm of cosmic communal Japanese hippy rock, there is no comparison. Ghost rule that particular hypnotic underworld. Depth, beauty, originality -- on all those counts they have it over AMT. Unlike the excessive pastiche of AMT, there's nothing tongue in cheek about Ghost. And as for quality control, well, you do the math.
So, needless to say, we were supremely excited to get this brand new Ghost album! The sun was sure 'tangging' the day this showed up. Word was that this might be Ghost's best album yet, and while we each have our favorites (mine's Lama Rabi Rabi, with their self-titled debut in close competition) this was immediately revealed as a contender. In short, it's freakin' great. Ghost explore some heavier, rockier, more prog-tastic directions in some of these songs, yet let their incomparable delicate psych-folk flow as well. Stirring guitar/drums workouts coexist with Batoh's fragile vocals and trembling sunshine melodies. And Terrascopic trainspotters will be interested to know that Ghost interpret songs by both Syd Barrett and the obscure '70s Dutch prog-rock act Earth & Fire, and make them completely their own. The album takes its name from the four-part, 25-minute suite that opens this disc, which ventures from lovely, hazy jazz-inflected jams to bombastic, utterly prog-rock flourishes complete with grandiose choirs. That alone is worth having waited four or five years for!
MPEG Stream: "Piper"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 2: Escaped And Lost Down In Medina"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 3: Aramaic Barbarous Dawn"

GILES, GILES, & FRIPP The Brondesbury Tapes (1968) (Mister E) cd 13.98
Delightful, somewhat melancholy pop-psych with jazz and folk flavorings from this obscure pre-King Crimson outfit. (Michael) Giles, (Peter) Giles & (Robert) Fripp released an LP on Decca in 1968 that was not a commercial success (not too surprising since their label described them in press materials as "one of countless groups who have come to London with the vain hope of making good" -- a style of humor that may have backfired on this Monty Python-esque looking group). Undaunted (well, perhaps somewhat daunted), the trio carried on, building a primitive home studio in their flat at 93a Brondesbury Road and turning out quite a few amazingly well-done tracks with just a second-hand Revox F36 stereo tape recorder and some old microphones and a makeshift mixer. These songs appear on this cd for the first time (mostly). There's some really lovely stuff here, much of which benefits from the presence of ex-Fairport Convention singer Judy Dyble (Fairport's pre-Sandy Denny female vocalist) and her musical cohorts, songwriting partners Ian McDonald and Peter Sinfield. These three met up with the GG&F trio via a Melody Maker ad, and, aside from these long-lost tapes, eventually made rock and roll history when McDonald and lyricist Sinfield became part of King Crimson along with Fripp, Michael Giles, and Greg Lake, for that group's groundbreaking "In The Court of The Crimson King" debut. So, one audience for this "Brondesbury Tapes" cd would certainly be Crimson fans curious about the origins of that band. True Crim heads will recognize some of their material here in early form. But, you'll find nothing like "21st Century Schizoid Man". This is a fine record in its own right, more pop than prog, both eerie and whimsical, demonstrating both Beatles and Beach Boys influences, and incorporating UK folk-psych sounds that of course recall both Fairport and the more gentle, pastoral stuff done by early Crimson. Quite nice! And, actually, quite a bit better than Decca's offical Giles, Giles & Fripp release, if only because it doesn't suffer from Fripp's silly/annoying narration all throughout (another bit of British humor that didn't really work for GG&F). The liner notes provide a detailed history of the group and, from Peter Giles, details of their multi-track recording methods (layering overdubs by bouncing tracks back and forth on a 2-track machine) complete with schematic charts illustrating the process. He's rightly proud of what they managed to accomplished, back in the days before home studios were commonplace.
RealAudio clip: "I Talk To The Wind"
RealAudio clip: "Why Don't You Just Drop In"
RealAudio clip: "Digging My Lawn"
RealAudio clip: "Under The Sky"

GIRTH Living In Truth (Hector Stentor) cd 9.98
FINALLY BACK IN STOCK!
Wow! This is one for all of you always seeking out the ultimate mathy heaviness. Girth are a guitar and drums duo from up Seattle way, and they dish out some seriously deranged, detailed, devastating instrumental mayhem here. There's a dozen songs on this 42 minute debut and they're all hella herky and jerky and heavy. Did we just say Hella? Well that'd be one comparison, along with Bozart and Breadwinner, though Girth are way more of a metal-riffed monster that those bands, something of which we totally approve. Girth's spazzy string-strangulation and amazing octopoidal drumming is balanced by their crushing low-end chunk and high-tension rocka rolla, and there's even some nice, calming interludes of post-rockish near melody. It's sorta like Crom-Tech or Orthrelm, but just a bit less maddening, more musical. At times this could be the Melvins, playing Black Flag's Process Of Weeding Out while on a caffine binge, throwing in some Entombed or Eyehategod riffs while they're at it. Or the Fucking Champs and Slayer as possessor demons doing battle for control of the same host body. The most important point is, that as hectic and heavy as this can be, it manages to be super listenable as well, something that we don't always get from the math core crowd. We like it. A lot. An impressive debut for sure, packaged with some suitably beautifully chaotic yet precise Stephen O'Malley designed graphics.
MPEG Stream: "Defaced By Her Unconscious"
MPEG Stream: "Discreet Rendezvous"
MPEG Stream: "Monopolizing The Pleasure Dome"

GNIDROLOG In Spite Of Harry's Toe-Nail (Lady Eleanore) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Just got a handful of this obscure prog cd reissue so we thought we'd list it. Definitely one for anyone who's dug previous AQ prog recommendations. Actually the UK's Gnidrolog kinda combine a lot of our favorite over-the-top prog moves into one elpee. You'll hear some Magma, some Van Der Graaf...King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Shub Niggurath, Osanna...even some Comus. It's crazed and hectic and bombastic, with zany Zappa'd mathematical rock n' roll raveups (complete with harp blowin'), fitted out in extreme prog fashion with cello, sax, oboe, piano, and flute. (Let's not forget the flute!! that's where the Comus and Tull comparisions come in.) From pretty, rustic folk song to unhinged dramatic vocalizations to doomy rock chords and even some super-skronky guitar noise, this 1972 LP was definitely *out there* as far as progressive rock goes. In Spite Of Harry's Toe-Nail was their debut, but this cd version includes as bonus tracks alternate versions of two from their second album Lady Lake, including the epic Wishbone Ash-ish "I Could Never Be A Soldier".
MPEG Stream: "Long Live Man Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Snails"

GNIDROLOG In Spite Of Harry's Toe-Nail / Lady Lake (BGO Records) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two Gnidrolog albums on one disc!

GNIDROLOG Lady Lake (Si-Wan) cd 22.00

GOBLIN Buio Omega (OST) (Cinevox) cd 16.98

GOBLIN Contamination (OST) (Cinevox) cd 17.98
This is the soundtrack for 1980 Italian movie Contamination directed by Luigi Cozzi. To heighten the tension in the gory scenes and to capture the mood of pure panic towards the end, the director called on the Italian prog mayhem masters, Goblin. You can tell this soundtrack was written in the '80s. There are some out and out Miami Vice / Hill Street Blues sounding riffs. Embarrassing most of the time but a horror soundtrack nonetheless.
RealAudio clip: "Connexion"
RealAudio clip: "Bikini Island"

GOBLIN Nonhosonno (OST) (Pick Up) cd 18.98
After 22 years Dario Argento and Goblin reunited for this 2000 thriller. The music is as you might expect very Goblinesqe. Despite the technological breakthroughs that have occured since Goblin worked with Argento on such great films as Deep Red, not much has changed in the Goblin camp, with their signature sound intact: mysterious, melodic, dark and scary and proggy.
RealAudio clip: "Endless Love"
RealAudio clip: "Arpeggio-End Title Theme"
RealAudio clip: "The Rabbit"

GOBLIN Patrick (OST) (Cinevox) cd 16.98
The soundtrack for Patrick, a Richard Franklin Film from 1978 (he did Psycho 2 and a few other un-notables) featuring the kings of horror soundtrack prog, Goblin! The film sounds great: a comatose patient named Patrick uses his psychokinetic powers to terrorize the staff of the hospital in which he is confined and there's supposed to be a creepy fucked up ending. The promotional teaser was "Patrick is nearly dead and still he's killing". And while I'm now all psyched to see the film, the soundtrack is sadly Goblin at their worst, which is too bad 'cos Goblin are the *best* at what they do, but this is way later in their career (the eighties); the sound is funky, wanky and cheesy and not really all that scary. Far from the spinechilling eerie prog we've come to expect.
RealAudio clip: "Transmute"
RealAudio clip: "Snip Snap"

GOBLIN Phenomena (OST) (Cinevox) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Known in the USA as "Creepers", starring Donald Pleasence, written and directed by horror master Dario Argento. This edition features alternate versions of songs *not* used in the film. While the original soundtrack LP of 1985 was a blend of Goblin songs with rock tracks from various other artists, this new disc can be considered the instrumental sequel to that work -- all tracks composed and performed by Goblin, with the addition of 4 movie takes and 11 unissued tracks. The cd starts with a Halloweenesqe riff with far away female vocals. Slowly it evolves into crazy wanking guitar and hectic drums. This soundtrack is eerie and suspenseful, just like the film. A great example of Italian prog rock soundtrack geniuses Goblin.
RealAudio clip: "Phenomena"
RealAudio clip: "Jennifer"
RealAudio clip: "The Wind ("Insects" - Film Versions suite 2)"