Sweet Smoke - Darkness To Light (2013 Eastworld Records) 1972

Biography Second album of unique psychedelic jazz-rock band Sweet Smoke that celebrates its 40th anniversary, surely is one of those albums which left deep and influence to rock music, but like many somehow was left behind.

Although band`s origins are from Brooklyn in New York where they have been formed in 1967, their true inspiring and creating territory was Germany. To be precise the social community to where they moved from USA at the end of the sixties. Like many hippy free-living communities that functioned in America and Europe, it gave many vibrations for creating a lot of good free-spirit music. After their master-piece debut album “Just a Poke” from 1970 (that ingeniously consisted of only two twenty-minute songs with long and technically sophisticated instrumental parts, that individually where placed on each side of the vinyl LP), they went farther in experimenting with second. This six-song story is practically the aftermath of their first album. Five-piece band enlarged to seven members. The debut formation, that consisted of Marvin Kaminovitz  (lead guitar and vocals), Andy Dershin (bass guitar), Michael Paris (tenor saxophone, alto recorder, vocals, percussion), Jay Dorfman (percussion and drums) and Steve Rosenstein (guitar and vocals) added Rochus Kuhn (violin, cello) and Jeffrey Dershin (piano, percussion, vocals) in order spread the musical possibilities.

“From Farkness to Light” is more acoustic and diversified that the first one. Each of six songs have their own stories, that create an, practically, tangible atmosphere. Album starts with “Just another empty dream” - maybe the only song that more or less reminds of the first album, maybe because of its tempo and rhythm brakes in the middle. Second song “I'd Rather Burn Than Disappear” is a deep-minded confession in folk sounding acoustic manners, accompanied with alto recorder’s soft and pure sound. That`s where the band already moved the barriers of their musical experimenting. Much farther they went with the third, last A side song – Kundalini, that shows how much they were influenced and inspired by yoga and Indian culture they experienced in commune. Song transforms to jazz jamming closer to the end.

B side begins with folk rock track “Believe me my friends” that has that Crosby Stills and Nash groove and multi-vocal support. At some parts it even goes more progressive, and of course more jazzy. Next “Show Me the Way to the War” is funky-jazz oriented song probably inspired by Vietnam and the whole cold political situation that they observed from the peace environment they were at the moment. The last song album-titled “Darkness to Light” is almost thirteen-minute mix of various influences demonstrated in this combination of soft singing poem and good individual solos with many rhythm breaks.

Maybe this is not band`s best issue, especially comparing it to their debut, but it`s definitely the album each psychedelic rock fan must hear, because of its diversity in innovation of the arrangements and writing. Review by Andrija Babovic

Tracklist

01.Just An Empty Dream 4:24

02.I'd Rather Burn Than Disappear 4:18

03.Kundalini 13:28

04.Believe Me My Friends 4:30

05.Show Me The Way To The War 5:33

06.Darkness To Light 12:50

Line-up

Michael Paris - saxophone, block flute, percussion, vocals

Marvin Kaminowitz - lead guitar, vocals, percussion

Steve Rosenstein - rhythm guitar, percussion, vocals

Jeffrey Dershin - piano, percussion, vocals

Andrew Dershin - bass guitar, percussion

Jay Dorfman - drums, percussion

Rochus Kuhn - violincello

and

Marty Rosenberg - percussion on "Believe Me My Friends" and tenpura on "Kundalini"

Puppa Kuhn - flute on "Darkness to Light"

Peter von de Locht - alto saxophone on "Darkness to Light"

The Habibiyya - If Man But Knew (2007 Sunbeam Records) 1972

Biography : The Habibiyya "If Man but Knew" Inspired by a trip to Morocco and a religious conversion to Sufi Islam, the Habiyya (a group that included members of Mighty Baby and The Action) created these beautiful spiritual devotionals, utilizing an array of unusual instruments and gorgeous collective singing. Folksy, atmospheric work with plenty of Mid-Eastern touches -- the only album ever issued by The Habibiyya, and one of the oddest sets ever from early 70s Island Records! The album's got a very spare, dream-like sound -- one that was inspired by the group's visit to Morocco before the record, and carried off here in a blend of percussion, piano, organ, and flutes - plus more exotic instrumentation like koto, shakuhachi, and mandola. The sound is often quite spacious -- stretching out on its own, almost organic accord -- and when vocals are included, they're often very low in the mix, echoing the sufi roots that inspired the group. The Habibiyya’s sole album stands as one of the earliest and most beautiful pieces of world music ever recorded in Britain. The musicians involved (including three members of UK underground legends Mighty Baby) had been profoundly affected, both musically and spiritually, by visiting Morocco in 1971, and became adherents of the sufi faith. Upon their return to London they made If Man But Knew, featuring exotic instruments such as koto, shakuhachi and mandola alongside guitar, organ and drums, conjuring a hypnotic, other-worldly ambience in the process. It makes its long-awaited CD debut here, accompanied by detailed liner notes, previously-unseen photographs, five rare bonus tracks and an introduction by the group’s leader, Ian Whiteman. acidvisions.com

Tracklist
01.Two Shakuhachis
02.Koto Piece
03.Eye-Witness
04.Mandola
05.If Man But Knew
06.Fana-Fillah
Bonus Tracks
07.Procession of the God Intoxicated
08.Peregrinations
09.Peregrinations Continued
10.Another Ode
11.Bird in God's Garden

Line-up
Ian Whiteman - shakuhachi, piano, vocals, Bina organ, pipe organ, oboe
Susan Archuletta - shakuhachi, koto, vocals, viola, guitar
Conrad Archuletta - shakuhachi, vocals, nay flute, zither, banjo
Zahara Archuletta - viola, shakuhachi, flute, koto, vocal
Mike Evans - mandola, guitar
Roger Powell - drums, Safi drum

REPOST : McKendree Spring - Tracks (1993 Line Music) 1973 (REQUEST)

Biography : Named after Connecticut-raised frontman Fran McKendree, the Columbus-based 4-piece McKENDREE SPRING (with Martin Slutsky, Larry Tucker and Michael `Doc’ Dreyfuss) began performing a residency at NY’s Bitter End venue in 1969. A hybrid of country, blues and folk, the group had several years developing their blend on the North American circuit, although their recording successes were somewhat overshadowed by their top-billing cohorts such as The EVERLY BROTHERS and JAMES TAYLOR; subsequent tours alongside FRANK ZAPPA/Mothers Of Invention, BILLY PRESTON and AVERAGE WHITE BAND followed.

The eponymous McKENDREE SPRING (1969) {*6} laid the foundations for their Top 200-breaking sophomore effort, SECOND THOUGHTS (1970) {*6}; cover highlights on the sets included TOM RUSH’s `No Regrets’, BOB DYLAN’s `John Wesley Harding’ and JAMES TAYLOR’s `Fire And Rain’. With much the same formula for McKENDREE SPRING 3 (1971) {*6}, Messrs NEIL YOUNG (`Down By The River’) and ANNA McGARRIGLE (`Heart Like A Wheel’) came in for some retrospection, while easily McK SPRING’s best song came courtesy of `God Bless The Conspiracy’ – virtuoso electric violinist Dreyfuss’s best post-Mahavishnu workout by far; bassist Fred Hollman had also superseded Tucker. A lean but funky/Little Feat-like rock period in 1973 produced a couple of below-par LPs, TRACKS {*4} and the prog-like SPRING SUITE {*4}, but a change of motivation, line-up and outlet (Pye Records) was needed; Hollman was also duly replaced by Chris Bishop and drummer Carson Michaels.

This move came on the self-descriptive GET ME TO THE COUNTRY (1975) {*5}, their best-selling set to date (reaching No.118) and a record that cloned the peaceful, easy feeling of the Eagles. Ditto album number seven, TOO YOUNG TO FEEL THIS OLD (1976) {*3}, by which time the band was on the verge of a split. While individual members of the group found subsequent work for major television companies (ABC, NBC, Fox and Discovery among them), the McKENDREE SPRING trio re-grouped for a one-off show in Cleveland in 2006, which resulted in concert CD LIVE AT THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM (2007).

Adding the returning Bishop, McKENDREE SPRING emerged from the studio with five songs a self-financed EP, `Recording No.9’. This featured covers of The Subdudes’ `One Word’, MARC COHN’s `Ellis Island’ ballad, KEB MO’s `Everything I Need’, TOM RUSH’s `River Song’ and an instrumental climax, `The Jig’s Up’. A few of these pieces and selections from their past endeavours appeared on 2015’s TIME LIKE THESE {*6}, recorded live at Douglas Corner, Nashville, in May 2013 with honorary members Paul Hollowell (keyboards) and Alan Stoker (drums); guest spots from saxophonist Rock Williams and backing singers Sharon Ferrera and Carol Anderson. FRAN McKENDREE has released a handful of sets over the years: `Via Transforma’ (2001), `Listening For The Heart’ (2001), `Cairn’ (2003), `Rise’ (2008) and `Awake’ (2015). the great rock bible

Tracklist

01.Don't Keep Me Waiting 3:51

02.Underground Railroad 3:16

03.The Man In Me 3:24

04.Watch Those Pennies 3:05

05.Shoot Me 3:34

06.Two Of Me 3:55

07.Train To Dixie 3:30

08.Friends Die Easy II 4:10

09.Road To Somewhere 3:25

10.Light Up The Skies 5:00 

Line-up

Martin Slutsky - Electric Guitar

Fran McKendree - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

David Woods - Guitar 

Hank DeVito - Guitar Pedal Steel

Fred Holman - Bass, Backing Vocals

Ron MacKinnon - Piano, Organ

Andy Newmark - Drums

Artie Kaplan - Saxophone 

Michael Dreyfuss - Violin, Viola, Synthesizer Moog, Arp

Jo Ann Vent - Backing Vocals

Bob Hipwell, John Montgomery - Backing Vocals

Sandy Denny & The Strawbs - All Our Own Work 1973

The Strawbs had only recently shortened their name from the Strawberry Hill Boys when leader and principle songwriter Dave Cousins heard Sandy Denny sing at a folk club in London, and was impressed enough to ask her to join his group that evening. Denny's tenure with The Strawbs lasted less than a year, but she was with them long enough to record an album with the group, cut in 1967 for a label in Denmark. The LP, titled All Our Own Work, has been reissued in a variety of forms over the years, and this 2010 edition on Witchwood Media is the most complete presentation to date, featuring the original 12 tracks from the album, nine outtakes, alternate versions, and demos, and three early demo recordings that appear here for the first time. In some respects, this music is atypical for both Denny and The Strawbs; this is a far cry from her more complex and traditionalist work with Fairport Convention and as a solo artist, and the progressive elements of The Strawbs music hadn't quite taken hold yet, with this music suggesting a middle ground between folk and pop with a dash of psychedelia. But if this is juvenilia for Denny and Cousins, it's also lovely music. Denny clearly possessed a glorious voice, and the two early recordings of "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" show she had the talent that would make her an icon of British folk, while in her performances of "And You Need Me" and "Sail Away to The Sea" she was a splendid interpreter of Cousins' material. Cousins' own singing is strong, confident, and charming, he was writing fine folk-leaning songs, and the two bluegrass-style instrumentals boast great picking from Cousins, Tony Hooper, and Ron Chesterman. All Our Own Work is ultimately a footnote in the careers of Sandy Denny and The Strawbs, but even though the band and their short-term female vocalist would go on to different things, this captures a fresh, youthful spirit and creative enthusiasm that's charming and thoroughly pleasing. allmusic.com

Tracklist:
01.Nothing Else Will Do
02.Who Know Where The Time Goes
03.How Everyone But Sam Was A Hypocrite
04.Sail Away To The Sea
05.And You Need Me
06.Poor Jimmy Wilson
07.All I Need Is You
08.Tell Me What You See In Me
09.I've Been My Own Worst Friend
10.On My Way
11.Two Weeks Last Summer
12.Always On My Mind
13.Stay Awhile With Me
14.I've Been My Own Worst Friend (Bonus)
15.Two Weeks Last Summer (Bonus)

The Strawbs:
Dave Cousins - vocals, guitars, banjo
Tony Hooper - vocals, guitars
Ron Chesterman - bass
Sandy Denny  vocals, chorus vocals, guitar
Ken Gudmand - drums, tablas
Cy Nicklin - sitar

Accolade - Accolade 2 1971

ACCOLADE were a short-lived band (1969-1971) whose musical emphasis was on combining acoustic instrumentation and light jazz/fusion arrangements with bucolic British folk lyrics and sensibilities. They released just two albums and a single in their brief tenure, though managed to tour throughout most of their active existence. The original lineup consisted of woodwind player Brian Cresswell, singer/guitarist Gordon Giltrap, drummer Ian Hoyle and guitarist Don Partridge. The band's first album included their most lasting contribution to music in the form of a version of American bassist eden ahbez' (aka George Aberle aka Eden Abba) "Nature Boy", a languid and complex folk tale first recorded by NAT KING COLE in the 1940's, and since covered more than seventy times, including by MILES DAVIS, HARRY CONNICK JR, CELINE DION, JAMES BROWN, JOSE FELICIANO, the GATHERING's Annie Haslam, and most recently by the Greek psych band WILL-O-THE WISP. The song has charted as a single five times in that period. Pool would depart the band after a 1970 tour incident in Sweden involving Partridge, touring briefly with COLOSSEUM before leaving the music business altogether for a career in graphic design (Giltrap had already left by that time and would go on to a lucrative solo career). Guitarist Wizz Jones would join for the band's second album, which was released only in the UK; and they dissolved shortly after its release. ACCOLADE existed but for a brief period and failed to achieve popular success despite a wealth of individual talent in the group. Their recorded legacy however, earns them a place in the Progarchives and is a collection well worth seeking out. progarchives.com

Tracklist:

01.Transworld Blues 3:22
02.The Spider to The Spy 2:33
03.Baby, Take Your Rags Off 3:17
04.Cross Continental Pandemonium Theatre Company 11:02
05.Snakes In a Hole 3:25
06.The Time I've Wasted 2:37
07.Sector Five Nine 2:20
08.If Only I'd Known 2:08
09.William Taplin 4:55
10.Long Way to Go 5:07

Accolade:
Don Partridge - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Vibraphone
Malcolm Poole - Contrabass, Fiddle
Ian Hoyle - Drums
Brian Cresswell - Flute, Alto Saxophone
Wizz Jones - Vocals
Mike Moran - Piano

Claudio Rocchi - Volo Magico n°1 1971

Claudio Rocchi was born in Milan in 1951. He is another of the artistically fruitful Italian solo artists whose career spanned multiple genres over the decades, making him difficult to categorize like his contemporaries Alan Sorrenti, Lucio Battisti, and Franco Battiato.

Rocchi started as part of the legendary band Stormy Six and participated on their debut before quickly moving to solo work. Early albums embraced folk music but in a unique way, with elements of Eastern influence, psychedelia, and the burgeoning RPI scene around him. He worked with many of the major RPI players of the day including Mauro Pagani, Elio D'Anna (Osanna), Mino Di Martino (Giganti), and Paolo Tofani (Area). After the early experimental-folk period there were albums veering toward Italian pop and also a very interesting period of experimentation in electronic sound. Then in the late 70s came more commercially oriented pop/rock before he retired to spend many years in a Hare Krishna community. Many considered his 1971 album Volo Magico N. 1 to be his strongest with its side-long suite, but he made several good albums including his gentle debut Viaggio, the improvised and meditative Essenza from 1973, the experimental electronic work Suoni di Frontiera from 1975 to name just a few.

He returned to music in the 1990s and in 2007 even directed a film called Pedra Mendalza, recording the soundtrack as well. He is certainly not a typical RPI artist but like many in the genre he was an important part of the 1970s musical movement in Italy, and he contributed some very interesting mélanges of Italian rock, psych-folk-Eastern, pop, and electronic music. The RPI team believes his work would be of great interest to fans of the genre and that the work deserves inclusion, even if does not check all the boxes of the more obvious anchor groups. progarchives.com

Tracklist:
01.Volo Magico N.1 18:31
02.La realta' non esiste 2:33
03.Giusto amore 11:10
04.Tutto quello che ho da dire 4:05

Line-up:
Claudio Rocchi - guitars, vocals, piano
Eugenio Pezza - keyboards, piano, mellotron
Alberto Camerini - guitars
Ricky Belloni - guitars
Eno Bruce - guitars, bass, harmonica
Lorenzo Vassallo - drums
Donatella Badi - vocals
Gigi Belloni - vocals
Michel Kanah - vocals
G. F. Lombardi - vocals

One (1) - Come 1972

Come is 1's only album. The band had been signed by Paul Kantner to Grunt Records. Pat Ieraci was assigned to help produce the album, and encountered the lead singer, named Reality D. Blipcrotch, demanding such things as a marijuana leaf popping out of the record, and the record self-destructing at the end of side B.
The keyboardist of the band, Roger Crissinger, had previously played with Pearls Before Swine. The drummer, Mark Baker, would later drum with Ministry on the album Houses of the Molé. Fuzz Acid & Flowers

Tracklist:
01.1 of a Kind 4:29
02.II Car Raga 8:38
03.Free Rain 5:12
04.3 Songs 10:09
05.Old Englishhh 7:56

One:
Mark Baker - Drums
Reality D. Blipcrotch - Voice,Percussion
Roger Crissinger - Organ,Piano
Frank Trevor Fee - Bass
Donald Ensslin - Rhythm Guitar, Banjo
Marc Granat - Guitar,Sitar,Dulcimer
Sarah Oppenheim - Voice,Autoharp
Laurie Paul - Voice,Tampura
Theodore Teipel - Flute,Harmonica,Piano

January Tyme - First Time From Memphis 1970

January Tyme was a New York band formed around the in-your-face vocal work of Janis Joplin-wannabe January Tyme. The band consisted of Tyme on lead vocals, keyboards, and percussion; Anthony Izzo on vocals and lead guitar; William Brancaccio on rhythm guitar, vocals, and keyboards; Steve Ciantro on bass; and Allen Cooley on drums and vocals. In 1969 the band released their only album for the Enterprise label, titled First Time from Memphis. Falling somewhere between Jefferson Airplane and Big Brother and the Holding Company style of music, the band failed to establish their own identity. Despite their songwriting competence and energetic performance on the 11 songs on this album, January Tyme faded into rock obscurity. allmusic.com

Tracklist:
01.Rainy Day Feeling
02.The Music
03.Sleepy Time Baby
04.Ancient Babylon
05.Hold Me Up To The Light
06.Love Is Blind
07.Are You Laughing
08.Down To The River
09.I Could Never Love You
10.Take This Time
11.Love Surrounds Me

January Tyme:
January Tyme - lead vocals, keyboards, percussion
Anthony Mony Izzo - guitar, vocals
William Brancaccio - guitar, keyboards, vocals
Steve Ciantro - bass
Alan Cooley - drums, vocals

Loudest Whisper - The Children Of Lir 1973

Biography : In 1972, Loudest Whisper guitarist Brian O'Reilly composed a folk-rock song suite of sorts, The Children of Lir, based around the legend of the Irish King Lir. As a theatrical production, it opened in Fermoy, Ireland in January 1973, and subsequently was staged in other towns. Shortly after that, the band recorded an album version of Children of Lir for the Irish branch of Polydor, though the resulting LP wasn't released outside of Ireland, and is rumored to have been pressed in a quantity of just 500 copies. The record is respectable if unexceptional folk-rock with tinges of progressive rock, and like many such early- to mid-'70s albums with roots in the hippie era made outside of music industry capitals, it has a slightly lagging-behind-the-times feel in its basic production and earnest naïveté. It's a pleasant listen, though, integrating some guest female lead and backup vocals into a record that -- unlike some other Irish albums of the period that are sometimes billed as "folk-rock" -- really is full-band folk-rock, not an album of traditional folk material using some modern instruments or sensibilities, or a folk album of non-traditional contemporary material. Indeed, very occasionally -- particularly when high male vocals come to the fore, and especially on "Septimus" -- they sound like the quirkily wistful late-'60s British rock group Thunderclap Newman, who are far from most people's idea of an Irish folk-rock band. For those who collect this sort of thing, it can be enjoyed without following the ostensible story line, the songs usually standing on their own as modestly enjoyable, if low-key and slightly somber, '70s British Isles folk-rock with harmony vocals and varied acoustic/electric instrumentation (including flute and string arrangements). The album's been reissued on CD several times; the CD version with the most material is the 2006 version on Sunbeam, which adds historical liner notes and bonus cuts in the same style as the LP, including both sides of their rare 1974 single "William B."/"False Prophets"; "Wrong and Right," the 1976 B-side of their second single; two mid-'70s demos; and a ten-minute audio track from an Irish TV program with different versions of three of the songs from Children of Lir. allmusic.com

Tracklist
01.Silent O' Moyle 5:54
02.The Overture 5:30
03.Lir's Lament 2:25
04.Good Day My Friend 3:31
05.Wedding Song 2:41
06.Children's Song 2:13
07.Mannanan 1 2:53
08.Mannanan 2 3:09
09.Children Of The Dawn 3:02
10.Dawning Of The Day 4:32
11.Septimus 4:44
12.Farewell Song 3:16
13.Cold Winds Blow 4:45
14.Sad Children 3:15
Bonus Track
15.Rock & Roll Child 3:40
16.The Wheel Of Life 2:39
17.Silent O' Moyle 5:52

Loadest Whisper:
Brian O'Reilly – guitars, piano, keyboards, vocals
Geraldine Dorgan – guitar, vocals
Paud O'Reilly – drums, harmonies
Mike Russell – bass guitar

Kensington Market - Aardvark 1969

Around for only two years in the late '60s, Kensington Market consisted of Alex Darou, Luke Gibson, Eugene Martynec, Keith McKie, John Mills-Cockell and Jimmy Watson. The Toronto band recorded several singles before their debut album Avenue Road appeared in 1968. A varied sound and excellent songwriting made the LP one of the best Canadian efforts of the decade, though Kensington Market broke up just after the release of 1969's Aardvark. allmusic.com

Tracklist:
01.Help Me - 2:47
02.If It Is Love - 2:41
03.I Know You - 1:58
04.The Thinker - 2:27
05.Half Closed Eyes - 2:29
06.Said I Could Be Happy - 2:20
07.Ciao - 1:13
08.Ow-ing Man - 2:35
09.Side I Am - 3:16
10.Think About The Times - 2:52
11.Have You Come To See - 3:03
12.Cartoon - 2:31
13.Dorian - 6:46

Kensington Market:
Gene Martynec - vocals, guitar
Keith McKie - vocals, guitar
Luke Gibson - vocals, guitar
Alex Darou - bass
Jimmy Watson - drums
Guest
John Mills-Cockell - organ
Felix Pappalardi - bass, organ, piano

Dulcimer - Room For Thought 1971

Dulcimer were a longstanding collective consisting of three musicians, all multi-instrumentalists: Dave Eaves, Pete Hodges and Jem North. The band's origins are sketchy, but they recorded their debut 'And I Turned As I Had Turned As a Boy' as a trio under the direction of Troggs manager Larry Page in 1970. The album made little impression at the time but is widely sought-after by serious UK folk music collectors today. The album has been reissued several times on both vinyl and CD.
The band recorded twice more in the early seventies before fading into obscurity, but neither 'Room for Thought' or 'A Land Fit for Heroes' (with rural English author Fred Archer) would find their way into official release until years later.
Dulcimer had a resurgence of sorts in the nineties thanks to the small President Records label, who released a trio of the band's albums as well as the shelved 'Room for Thought' project on CD ('A Land Fit for Heroes' had been issued thanks to the band's own financing in 1980).
Their music has been described as folk-rock and is mostly acoustic, but the band's penchant for odd themes, creative arrangements and occasional progressive forays merits them inclusion here in the Archives. Dulcimer will appeal to fans of understated, acoustic-driven music with classic folk instrumentation such as mandolins, acoustic guitars, flutes and of course dulcimers. progarchives.com

Tracklist:
01.To Need Her
02.Status in Maryland
03.Mr. Rip Van Winkle
04.The Planters Cottage
05.Running on Down the Road
06.Empty Hallways
07.Grey Lady Morning
08.Missing the Head
09.Mr. Time
10.Sandalwood Sailors
11.Scarlet Lady
12.But Maybe Not

Dulcimer:
Dave Eaves - vocals, guitar
Pete Hodge - vocals, guitar
Jem North - vocals, bass

Tully - Sea Of Joy 1971

Tully was an Australia progressive rock band that performed in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.
The first of two Tully incarnations was initially a quartet- John Blake, Robert Taylor, Richard Lockwood, and Michael Carlos met playing together in Levi Smith?s Clefs in 1968, an R&B group. The four men left to form Tully. They began playing improvisational music at the defunct Caesar?s Disco, but were sacked as the patrons complained that they couldn?t dance to the music. The band recruited Terry Wilson to sing, and soon the quintet were commissioned by Bill Munro of the Australian Broadcasting Commission to do six TV shows that would be called Fusions. Fusions earned them a wider audience, and it wasn?t long before Tully were invited to perform at other venues and to play whatever they desired.
Entrepreneur Harry Miller got Tully to perform as the backing band for the Australian cast production of the rock musical Hair. Annoyed by their antics and practical jokes, however, Miller eventually replaced Tully. At this time, Blake left the group, and Taylor?s friend, Ken Firth, filled in. This line-up recorded Tully?s first LP. Their live performances kept true with their psychedelic generation, as sometimes their sets meandered into avant-garde improvisations, the drummer setting his kit up as a work of art rather than as something to be played, and all five of them standing at the front of the stage and proclaiming ?I love you? to the audience.
The Arts Council brought together Tully and their antithesis- a delicate and gentle group called Extradition- to tour together. Surprisingly, this pairing not only became friends, but decided to unite as a new band, still under the banner of Tully. This more robust group recorded the second Tully album, Sea of Joy (soundtrack to a Paul Witzig film), and their third and final album, Loving is Hard. Tully disbanded not long after this, as income became sparse and ideologies became varied. progarchives.com

Tracklist:
01.Sea Of Joy (Part 1) - 4:21
02.Pseudo-Tragic-Dramatic - 1:10
03.Follow Me - 3:44
04.Cat-Clarinet Mit Orgel - 3:55
05.Trinidad - 3:08
06.I Feel The Sun - 5:35
07.Thank You - 3:18
08.Syndrone - 6:42
09.Softly, Softly - 4:29
10.Brother Sun - 3:12
11.Down To The Sea - 3:35
12.Sea Of Joy (Part 2) - 2:28

Tully:
Shayna "Karlin" Stewart - female vocals
Richard Lockwood - piano, clarinet, flutes, saxophone, vocals
Colin Campbell - electric & acoustic guitar, strings, vocals
Michael Carlos - organ, piano, bass, guitar, drums, sitar, vocals
Ken Firth - bass, electric guitar, tambura, drums, vocals
Paul Witzig - gong, gamelan
Barber - drums

Dulcimer - And I Turned As I Had Turned As A Boy 1971

The debut album by this English progressive/folk trio has aged extremely well. The songs, although not strikingly original, offer an eerie mix of traditional- and fantasy-based (and even science fiction-inspired) lyrics that are rather striking to hear in the 21st century. And much of the music successfully melds archaic and progressive influences within an acoustic instrument framework, reminiscent in some respects of the bolder work of Amazing Blondel, but with a greater emphasis on lyricism. Of course, it's difficult to listen to a spaced-out folk revival piece like "Ghost of the Wandering Minstrel Boy" without a chuckle, though the haunt count of the chorus puts that song over, and the mix of folk melody and deep-space sensibilities makes one wonder if this song might have been part of the inspiration for Brian May's "39" from Queen's A Night at the Opera. The simple beauty of the music is almost overwhelmed at times by too-elaborate production, though the presence of actor Richard Todd as narrator on "Sonnet to the Fall" and "Caravan" isn't nearly as jarring today as it seemed in the early '70s. He sounds too much like Richard Burton, but "Caravan," the track on which he is most prominent, holds together well as a piece of faux-medieval folk-rock. allmusic.com

Tracklist :
01.Sonnett to the Fall
02.Pilgrim from the City
03.Morman's Casket
04.Ghost of the Wandering Minstrel Boy
05.Glochester City
06.Starlight
07.Caravan
08.Lisa's Song
09.Time Is My Life
10.Fruit of the Musical Tree
11.While It Lasted
12.Suzanne

Dulcimer :
Dave Eaves - acoustic guitars, woodwinds, vocals
Pete Hodge - acoustic guitars, mandolin, dulcimer, vocals
Jem North - bass, assorted percussion

Synanthesia - Synanthesia 1969

Though recorded quickly over two days -- and indeed, literally recorded live in the studio with no overdubs -- Synanthesia's sole album from 1969 is a gentle treat for anyone interested in the obscurer realms of late-'60s U.K. folk and its descendants. It's always a pleasure to hear something that did not deservedly go out of print -- and therefore get an unnecessary reputation. Instead, the combination of bandleader Dennis Homes' gentle vocals and delicate guitar work, Leslie Cook's equally strong talents, and the ace-in-the-hole performing of sax and flute player Jim Fraser is often quite magical. That the band openly has a debt to the Incredible String Band and Bert Jansch practically goes without saying, but there's a difference between mere aping and finding a particular spin on a sound, and Synanthesia firmly comes down on the side of the latter. For such a rushed and in-the-moment album, the sound is often quite rich -- credit not only to Vic Gamm's inspired engineering, but to the band's clear abilities as a solid live act. Hearing Homes' gentle vibes work on "Peek Strangely and Worried Evening" or Cook's flourishes on mandolin for "Fates" shows how well each complements the other songwriter's work. Yet Fraser in many ways is the key throughout -- clearly picking up on jazz influences as much as folk ones, much like his bandmates, and the result is a detailed, fluid series of performances on his chosen instruments, ranging from the restrained then strutting sax parts on "Morpheus" to gentle background flute on "Rolling and Tumbling." The band's weakest element might be the lyrics, but nothing is outright bad, just sometimes awkward. Sunbeam's 2006 re-release, in keeping with the label's similar work, features not only excellent sound but winning, retrospective liner notes from Homes and a slew of rare pictures, plus a bonus track, "Shifting Sands," that originally appeared on an obscure compilation album from 1970. allmusic.com

01.Minerva - 4.15
02.Peek Strangely And Worried Evening - 2.47
03.Morpheus - 5.51
04.Trafalgar Square - 3.02
05.Fates - 2.01
06.Tale Fo The Spider Adn The Fly - 5.58
07.Vesta - 4.45
08.Rolling And Tumbling - 3.14
09.Mnemosyne - 5.20
10.Aurora - 3.51
11.Just As The Curtain Finally Falls - 5.01
12.Shifting Sands (Bonus Track) - 3.12

Synanthesia :
Dennis Homes - vibes, guitar, vocals
Jim Fraser - alto soprano saxophone, oboe, alto nose concert flute
Les Cook - guitar, bongos, violin, mandolin, vocals

Flac + Complete Scans 316 Mb
Pass : SDB

Gurnemanz - Fair Margaret And Sweet William 1972

 Fair Margaret And Sweet William 1972

01.Fair Margaret And Sweet William
02.Schäfertanz
03.The Riddling Knight
04.Allemande
05.Ghost Lover
06.Improvisation 1
07.Upon A Summer's Time
08.To His Love
09. Complain My Lute
10.Fair Margaret And Sweet William (Live, Bonus track)
11.Upon A Summer's Time (Live, Bonus track)
12.Complain My Lute (Live, Bonus track)

Gurnemanz :
Wolfgang Riedel - Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Sitar
Siegfried Bushuven - Bass Guitar
Manuela Schmitz - Vocals, Flute, Acoustic Guitar
Wolfgang Scheel - Vocals, Lute, Voice

Wav CD317 Mb + Scans 177 Mb