Sunday, February 28, 2010

German Oak - Nibelungelied (1972-1976)
"The dark German collective back with completely catchy kraut-improvisations. All tracks deliver menacing heavy, fuzzy psychedelic moments that merit a serious listening. After their amazing and most popular effort, "Nibelungenlied" stresses the free-sonic-destruction dimension of their music. The sound is always dominated by screaming / electric bluesy guitar parts, sound experiments and macabre keyboards effects. "The heroic deeds of Siegfried" is a dark and minimalist, melancholic composition with a subtle "medieval" flavour. The savage percussion announces a delicate, simplistic guitar sequence in a moody tone. "Nibelungenlied I" is an agressive, dynamic guitar orientated composition, featuring really hypnotic, rocking sequences; all in improvisation with a repetitive bass line and some vicious guitar solos. "Gunter & Brunhild", "Hagen von Tronje" & "Siegfried's death" are bluesy-kraut jams with wha wha effects and strangely doomy, sinister atmospheres. Heavy, complex, weird & cool! A "poisoning" masterpiece. This album only has to be avoided by those who can't support an extremely poor, imperfect sound production" (Philippe progarchives.com)

1. The Heroic Deeds Of Siegfried
2. Nibelungenlied I
3. Gunter & Brunhild
4. Hagen von Tronje
5. Siegfried's Death
6. Dankwart, Ruediger & Hildebrand
7. Dietrich von Bern
8. Nibelungenlied II
9. Lament

Franz - Guitar, Vocals
Harry - Bass
Leo - Drums
Ulli - Guitar

EAC-FLAC-LOG-CUE-SCANS 295MB

Part 1__Part 2

Bye!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Climax Blues Band - The Harvest Years 69-72
"Following on the spurs of the British Blues Boom at the end of the sixties was The Chicago Climax Blues Band, shortly after shortened to Climax Blues Band, a little bit underrated and often overlooked band with among others a really outstanding guitarplayer Peter Haycock (who left the band in the beginning of the eighties). This album is a compilation of the highlights from their 3 years (EMI) Harvest-label period, in which short time 5 studio-albums saw the daylight, from which all the songs here are culled. The LP dates from 1975 and had 11 songs on it, this is now on CD expanded to 16. There is an ear for everyone. From straight blues ("Please Don't Help Me", the instrumental "Flight") to heavy rock ("Reap What I Sowed", with soarin guitarplay, "You Make Me Sick") till catchy acoustic folk-pop tinged tunes like "Mole on the Dole" and "That's All", wich proves that this band is undeserved underestimated. They knew how to write and perform a song and also how to play live (hear for yourself on the also excellent "FM/Live" concertalbum, recorded in one take). As a start to get known to this band may serve this compilation. I am sure that upon repeated listening you not only will enjoy this but also make you look out for the original studioalbums which are on CD available (some of which have also bonustracks) and maybe take an interest in their later efforts. This is alltime great music from a great band. They do still exist these days but have only one or two original members, if I am well informed. But from the time way back this album is a fitting document of how good this band actually was. Strongly recommended, even after more than 30 years." (J. Talsma amazon.com)

1. Please Don't Help Me
2. Hey Baby, Everything's Gonna Be Alright Yeh Yeh Yeh
3. Everyday
4. Towards the Sun
5. You Make Me Sick
6. Reap What I've Sowed
7. Shake Your Love
8. Looking for My Baby
9. Flight
10. Mole on the Dole
11. That's All
12. Take Out Some Insurance
13. Wee Baby Blues
14. Crazy 'Bout My Baby
15. Alright Blue
16. Cut You Loose

Colin Cooper - Harmonica, Clarinet, Saxophone, Vocals
John Cuffley - Drums
Peter Filleul - Keyboards, Vocals
Peter Haycock - Guitar, Vocals
Derek Holt - Bass, Guitar, Vocals
Richard Jones - Keyboards
George Newsome - Drums
Art Wood - Keyboards

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3

Later

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Lamb - A Sign Of Change (1970)
"The minor San Francisco group Lamb tend to be remembered only for their appearance on the Fillmore: The Last Days concert album, where they were one of several non-star artists on a set dominated by bigger names like the Grateful Dead, Santana, and Boz Scaggs. The band did actually put out three albums in the early 1970s, however, and were quite an interesting group. Not only were they not readily comparable to other acts on the San Francisco rock circuit, but it's debatable whether they could be fairly categorized as a rock band at all. Their music blended jazz, folk, singer-songwriter pop, gospel, and even some classical and avant-garde influences. Certainly the dominant figure was singer Barbara Mauritz, whose bluesy and earthy vocals had considerable resonance, but which could also traverse the band's frequently mystical, poetic lyrics with much delicacy and nuance. Reminiscent in spots of such varied artists as Tim Buckley, Judy Collins (in her art-song phase), David Ackles, and Savage Rose (in that band's most gospel-soaked period), their records were ultimately idiosyncratic enough to defy ready comparison to anyone. And they were, too, ultimately too inaccessible to make much commercial impact, despite plenty of tracks of considerable power, beauty, and enigma. Lamb were formed by the duo of Texan singer Mauritz and multi-instrumentalist (though primarily guitarist) Bob Swanson, who with Swanson (writing both separately and together) was responsible for the band's material. They attracted attention in San Francisco when they opened for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for a few nights at Winterland in November 1969. Impresario Bill Graham became their manager, and producer David Rubinson, who had worked with notable groups such as Santana and Moby Grape, acted in that capacity for their first record. Their debut album on the Fillmore label, A Sign of Change, was perhaps their most uncompromising and experimental, relying largely on jazz-folk acoustic arrangements and spotlighting Mauritz's impressive voice on impressionistic, dream-like lyrics. They moved over to Warner Brothers (while retaining Rubinson as executive producer) for the follow-up Cross Between, which moved toward slightly more mainstream rock arrangements and a more pronounced gospel feel on several tracks. Yet others were throwbacks to the first album in their obscure but enchanting poesy, sometimes owing more to a classical-influenced art song tradition than conventional pop music. Lamb went yet further toward gospel-rockish material on their third and final album, Bring Out the Sun, which was their most mainstream outing, though hardly mainstream overall, with a couple of tracks again giving vent to their more experimental jazz-folk-classical side. The LP was co-billed to Lamb and Barbara Mauritz, though Swanson was still involved as a composer and instrumentalist on much of the material. Whether or not this co-billing was intended as a transition from Lamb to a solo career, Mauritz was soon recording as a solo, putting out Music Box for Columbia. Her solo career didn't take off, however, although she continued to perform and write (composing the music for many commercials). In the mid-1980s, Bob Swanson returned full-time to photography. [The Lamb founded by Swanson and Mauritz, incidentally, had no relation to either the Christian rock band Lamb that began to record later in the 1970s, or the drum'n'bass duo Lamb that began recording in the late 1990s." (Richie Unterberger - All Music Guide)

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"From Beaumont, Texas originally, Barbara Mauritz was born into a very musical family that claims Gypsy blood. At the age of four she began playing piano and at fifteen started playing in the local clubs. There she met artists like Edgar and Johnny Winter and Janis Joplin, the latter being a close friend of Barbara's sister.

A year later, Barbara moved first to Houston, where she opened for Lightning Hopkins and The American Blues, and then New Orleans. Around this time she started playing guitar and composing songs, but it wasn't long before the attractive "new sounds" coming out from California led her to settle in San Francisco.

There she formed Lamb with Bob Swanson and after being spotted by producer David Rubinson, got to open for CSN & Y at the Winterland for four nights. Suitably impressed, Bill Graham took Lamb under his wing. In 1969 their first album for the Fillmore label, A Sign Of Change was released. Still today it has a unique and very distinctive sound, enhanced by the unusual instrumentation: classical guitars, upright bass, cello, flute, oboe and Barbara's beautiful voice. Traveler's Observation, In My Dreams and The Odyssey of Ehram Spickor are real gems of acoustic psych-rock." (Fuzz Acid & Flowers"

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"First of three albums, this was released 1970, followed by 2nd album Bring Out The Sun, and 3rd album, Cross Between, none of which have yet been available on CD.

Great vocals, dreamy folky bluesy jazzy swirl of songs, minor key, classically tinged, very melodic; not too different than Tim Buckley's Blue Afternoon, Lorca, etc. with a little bit of the haunting Jefferson Airplane (Triad, Wooden Ships, Lather, etc,).

Very dry production, but Barbara Mauritz's awesome voice and band's acoustic chamber pop attack give this a dreamy otherworldly feel.

A true forgotten gem..." (zphage amazon.com)

1. Traveler's Observation
2. Adventures of the Incredible Mr. Sandman
3. In My Dreams
4. Barbara's Soul II
5. Odyssey of Ehram Spickor
6. Preacher's Holiday
7. Where I'm Bound

Barbara Mauritz - Vocals, Guitar, Tambourine
Bob Swanson - Guitar
Bill Douglass - Bass
David Litwin - Wind & String Arrangements
Walter Rapaport - Shepherd
Diva Goodfriend-Koven - Flute
Robert Hubbard - English Horn
Douglas Blumenstock - Cello
Ed Bogas - Viola

EAC-FLAC-LOG-CUE-SCANS 222MB

Bye!

Monday, February 08, 2010

Demon Thor - Written In The Sky (1974)
"The project of one Tommy Fortman (Englishified version of his real name), Demon Thor were more a borderline pop-rock band on the whole, with a very Anglo-American style. Their finest moment was the conceptual opus WRITTEN IN THE SKY, of which the side-long title track was full of invention, mainly due to being aided by a number of notorious Krautrock musicians, for an apocalyptic rock-opera suite drawing-in elements of the Twenty Sixty Six And Then and Emergency styles. It would be really good if it weren't for the dreadful "gospel" singers towards the end!" (Crack In The Cosmic Egg)

"Essentially the project of British singer/composer/mutli-instrumentalist Tommy Fortman, this second Demon Thor album assembles some sizable Anglo/German/Swiss talent. Guest vocals are handled by Geff Harrison (formerly of I Drive and the legendary Twenty Sixty Six and Then, later with Kin Ping Meh), Peter Bischof (ex-Orange Peel, later with Emergency and Munich) and Gita Walter (don’t know anything about her, but she’s a fine and authoritative rock vocalist). In such illustrious company, Fortman’s own vocals can’t help but seem paltry by comparison, but he’s far from bad, just not in the same league.

This is another album like the Gash album, with one side an absolutely mindblowing, orchestrated suite, and the other side full of junky songs that are an utter waste of time. Especially “Pink Mary,” which is one of the dumbest songs ever written. Though I have a soft spot for “For One Little Moment”, as it’s a spotlight piece for Peter Bischof, and I’ve always been fond of his voice. And “Sweet Caroline” (a Geff Harrison spotlight tune) gets in some of that sumptuous phase-shifting that was Dieter Dierks’ production trademark." (Progbear, last.fm)

1. Written In The Sky
2. Pink Mary
3. For One Little Moment
4. Good Morning
5. Sweet Caroline

Tommy Fortman - Vocals, Instruments
Stephen Nuesch - Organ
Claude Thoman - Drums
Geff Harrison - Vocals
Peter Bischof - Vocals
Gita Walter - Narrator
Veit Marvos - Electric Piano, Synthesizer
Oliver Freytag - Vocals

EAC-FLAC-LOG-CUE-SCANS 249MB OK bye!

Monday, February 01, 2010

Toad - Yearnin' Learnin' Live 1978
"This previously unreleased live performance by Toad was recorded near Geneva in 1978. As Vic Vergeat is finely accompained by Werner Froehlich and Cosimo Lampis, the gig soars at very high levels of energy. The difference here is that at the time Vergeat was heavily influenced by black music (funky) and all that results in covers like Yearnin’ Learnin’ by Earth Wind & Fire and other funkyish stunts. You also get Tomorrow Blue, the heavy boogie rock in Down to the Bone, and of course Hendrix.The virtuosity and versatility of Vergeat’s guitar come out in full, and this is a must-have for all the fans of Toad as well as of good blues-rock."

"Swiss hard rock and blues-rock outfit Toad leaped (sorry) onto their country's charts with their debut single, "Stay," in 1972 -- paving the way for the massive Swiss metal movement of the early '80s and such notable bands as Krokus and Celtic Frost. Mainly a three-piece, consisting of Vittorio "Vic" Vergeat (guitar/vocals), Werner Frohlich (bass), and Cosimo Lampis (drums), Toad often enlisted the help of an additional lead vocalist in much of their studio work (Bens Jaeger sang lead on their debut, but departed the group as soon as recording was completed). That same year, the live album Open Fire: Live in Basel 1972 hit stores, taking advantage of the band's constant and successful touring. Tomorrow Blue followed shortly after, appearing in 1973, and the band released Dreams early in 1974. A few live albums, compilations, and studio works continued to trickle out during the rest of the '70s and early '80s, with the core Toad lineup still firmly in place. By the early 2000s, interest in the early European hard rock scene in general (and Toad in particular) led to a slew of deluxe CD reissues and collections -- the best of which were to be found on the Italian imprint Akarma.". (J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide)

1. 'Cause You're Not
2. Yearnin' Learnin'
3. Makin' You Feel Alright
4. I'm Going
5. Behind the Wheels
6. Tomorrow Blue
7. Mama Come Back
8. Down to the Bone
9. Bring It Up
10. I Wish You Were Here
11. Usin' My Life
12. Purple Haze
13. Red House
14. Drums Solo

Vic Vergeat - Guitar, Vocals
Werner Froehlich - Bass
Cosimo Lampis - Drums

Not my rip, thanks to original uploader "thewall"
EAC-Separate Flacs-Log-Cue-Scans 386MB

Part 1__Part 2__Part 3

See ya