On my first weekend at University, I saw Cream live and went up and had a brief chat with “God” otherwise known as Eric Clapton. This was late 1966, so round about the time that “Fresh Cream” was released. However, the album that to my mind still remains one of the greatest ever is their second one issued the following year, namely “ Disraeli Gears”.
As AMG says “Although Cream were only together for little more than two years, their influence was immense....Cream were the first top group to truly exploit the power trio format, in the process laying the foundation for much blues-rock and hard rock of the 1960s and 1970s......Cream could be viewed as the first rock supergroup to become superstars......they truly found their voice on Disraeli Gears in late 1967....it (Disraeli Gears) does get them to be who they truly are: a massive, innovative power trio....a quintessential heavy rock album of the ‘60s...Yes, it’s psychedelic trappings tie it forever to 1967, but the imagination of the arrangements, the strength of the compositions, and especially the force of the musicianship make this album transcend its time as well”.
Well, my first introduction came from my oldest brother who was a huge Bob Dylan "folk" fan but was somewhat disturbed when Dylan went Electric. I though it was terrific! Being an avid thrift/used record store and discount bin shopper, I managed to put together a decent library. Dylan had a huge influence on my musical influences and this is one of the first albums I bought brand new.
Santana’s performance at Woodstock was amazing and my love for their music and artistry was reinforced by their outstanding second album “Abraxas”.
“Black Magic Woman” has always been one of my favourite songs - both the Fleetwood Mac original and the very different but even better Santana cover version.
Déjà Vu is the first album by the rock band Crosby, Stills, Nash &
Young, and the second by the trio configuration of Crosby, Stills, and
Nash. It was released in March of 1970 by Atlantic Records, catalogue
SD-7200. It topped the pop album chart for one week and generated three
Top 40 singles: "Teach Your Children," "Our House," and "Woodstock." In
2003, the album was ranked number 148 on Rolling Stone magazine's list
of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Déjà Vu was greatly anticipated after the popularity of the first
CSN album and the addition of Young to the group. Stills estimates that
the album took around 800 hours of studio time to record; this figure
may be exaggerated, even though the individual tracks display meticulous
attention to detail. The songs, except for "Woodstock", were recorded
as individual sessions by each member, with each contributing whatever
was needed that could be agreed upon. Young does not appear on all of
the tracks, and drummer Dallas Taylor and bassist Greg Reeves are
credited on the cover with their names in slightly smaller typeface.
Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel on "Teach Your Children" and John
Sebastian plays mouth-harp on the title track. . . . .
I first came across King Crimson in 1969 via the Island Record sampler album “Nice Enough To Eat”. The included track was “21st Century Schizoid Man” and I can remember thinking what a fantastic song it was.
It was only when I listened to the whole album “In The Court Of The Crimson King” that I realised that this was something truly special, innovative and revolutionary In concept. AMG is spot on in saying “If there is one group that embodies progressive rock it is King Crimson.....one of the most daring debut albums ever recorded by anybody...At the time, it blew all the progressive/psychedelic competition out of the running”.
As ProgArchives says “King Crimson remains one of the interminably compelling bands playing within the domain of rock music to this day”. They rate the album as all time No. 4 in progressive rock but, to my mind, It should without doubt be No. 1.
Rate Your Music places it at No. 2 album of all time of any genre
To finish on a perfect note, Bill Bruford said in 1989 that “When you want to hear where music is going in the future, you put on a King Crimson album”.
This Danish band originated in Roskilde towards the ending of 1968 playing and utilizing a somewhat bizarre and sarcastic approach to both
music making as well as stage antics. Kristian POMMER was the instigator
of the group while at the same time handling keys, vocals and the
guitar. Circling around crazy thematics and a wonderful sense of
theatrics, POMMER handed over to Denmark what ZAPPA did to the English
speaking world: fun music revolving around blues rock, jazz and
psychedelia. Denmark was a hotbed for both psychedelic music as well as
jazz, yet it was down to a couple of groups such as BURNIN RED IVANHOE
and SECRET OYSTER all of which were headed by saxophonist extraordinaire
Karsten VOGEL and dear ol DR. DOPO JAM. Nobody would take the
sporadic shifts, avantgarde tendencies and cut up experimentations as
far as this band though.
Helping out in the original cast were
Poul "Skak" SNITKER on flute and trumpet, Lars RASMUSSEN on electric
guitar, Sten UGLEBJERG on percussion and something as wonderfully zany
as a washtub and last but not least Sten OLSEN wielding an earthy and
infinitely bouncy bass.
In September 1969 the band went through
some changes as UGLEBJERG was replaced with not one but two drummers in
Niels "Vejmand" CHRISTENSEN and Bent CLAUSEN. Olsen?s spot was handed
over to a guy named Jesper HINDØ who was just as versatile as his
predecessor. This edition of the band continued to experiment and build
on the overt zany and eclectic sound ? only to yet again in 1972
rearrange the line up, now with the add on of trombone and saxophone.
Kristian POMMER additionally handed over the vocal bits to singer Lars
BISGÅRD.
- Speaking about Lars Bisgaard and his brilliant and very distinct falsetto . . .
- Jørgen Werner (Bass)
- Børge Robert Mortensen (Drums, Percussion)
- Bent Hesselmann (Flute, Saxophone (Alto and Soprano)
- Lasse Lunderskov (Leader, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Sitar)
- Niels Harrit (Piano, Electric Piano, Organ, Flute)
- Torben Enghoff (Saxophone (Tenor), Flute)
- Kjeld Ipsen (Trombone, Trombone (Basstrombone))
- Lars Bisgaard (Vocals, Percussion)
. . . . In 1967 , they acclaimed the first psychedelic show in Denmark called WE, a collage of scenes and songs. At the time with a very sensational light show, all handmade with gramophone motors, old glass ans slide projectors.
They collaborated with contemporary composer Per Norgaard, who wrote some songs for the group.
In October 1967 Maxwells supported Frank Zappa's "Mothers of Invention". For these concerts the band had composed a "collage style" set. The set the band put together for these concerts started with a recital of a Dada poem in a sort of acapella unisono singing, slowly developing into a wild climax 40 minutes later. The unique psychedelic lighting, which developed together with the music from a red triangle kept still during the recital to a crescendo of rotating lights turning the crowd into a frenzy! It was an instant success and the audience as well as the critics favoured Maxwells as the best band of the concert, which was a bit unfair to The Mothers, who had played the concert using Maxwells instruments as their equipment was sent to Lapland by mistake.
In December 1967 Niels Harrit (tenor saxophone/ flute/ Wurlitzer piano) joined the band. The band could now change its set-up during performances.
In 1967, they had their first TV appearance. This was a real success, followed by a radio broadcasting and interviews in the magazines.
Late 1967, they recorded their first single flower powder/what did she do? . . . .
And if we’re getting into Frank we really can’t miss out on his great friend Don Van Vliet, founder of “Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band”.
“Trout Mask Replica” is an outstanding album and I also really like the track “Zig Zag Wanderer” off theIr first album “Safe As Milk” which, amazingly, is still available on eMusic!
AMG says “Don Van Vliet was one of modern music’s true innovators. The owner of a remarkable four and one half octave vocal range, he employed idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist lyrics and an unholy alliance of free jazz......Beefheart’s impact was incalculable and his fingerprints were all over punk, New Wave and post-rock”.
“Trout Mask Replica is Captain Beefheart’s masterpiece, a fascinating, stunningly imaginative work that still sounds like little else in the rock and roll canon”.
ProgArchives says “Captain Beefheart is a true genius and definitely one of the most original and innovative musicians of the twentieth century”.
To quote Joe Strummer of “The Clash” “When I was sixteen, Trout Mask Replica was the only record I listened to - for a year”.
And if we’re getting into Frank we really can’t miss out on his great friend Don Van Vliet, founder of “Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band”.
“Trout Mask Replica” is an outstanding album and I also really like the track “Zig Zag Wanderer” off theIr first album “Safe As Milk” which, amazingly, is still available on eMusic!
AMG says “Don Van Vliet was one of modern music’s true innovators. The owner of a remarkable four and one half octave vocal range, he employed idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist lyrics and an unholy alliance of free jazz......Beefheart’s impact was incalculable and his fingerprints were all over punk, New Wave and post-rock”.
“Trout Mask Replica is Captain Beefheart’s masterpiece, a fascinating, stunningly imaginative work that still sounds like little else in the rock and roll canon”.
ProgArchives says “Captain Beefheart is a true genius and definitely one of the most original and innovative musicians of the twentieth century”.
To quote Joe Strummer of “The Clash” “When I was sixteen, Trout Mask Replica was the only record I listened to - for a year”.
There were two versions of the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra that played Frank Zappa's
music: the first version of the AEESO served as the ensemble backing
much of the orchestration on Lumpy Gravy, conducted by Sid Sharp, and
the 1975 Orchestral Favorites Incarnation, directed by Michael Zearott, which also played 2 live concerts in Los Angeles.
Barefoot Jerry 1971 to 1977 band whose style has been described as a fusion of country music and progressive rock, and as a seminal Southern rock band. While sifting through some bargain racks this album cover leapt out at me as it described my favourite pastime. Back then and still now. 1974 Watchin' TV (With The Radio On)
ProgArchives rates the album No. 14 in 1974 and says “With a seamless fusion of British folk and medieval rock, Gryphon developed a strong sound all their own”.
Captain Beyond are top of my list of those many 60s/70s Bands which deserved to have been so much more successful than they actually were. A quasi supergroup made up of ex members of Deep Purple, The Johnny Winter Band and Iron Butterfly their first self titled album is one of my all time favourites, particularly the track “Dancing Madly Backwards”.
AMG says “Captain Beyond is a one-of-a-kind progressive album with rock, heavy metal and jazz influences with a “space rock” lyrical bend”.
And what a great album cover!
Sufficiently great to justify me buying a matching Captain Beyond t-shirt and face mask!
Comments
As AMG says “Although Cream were only together for little more than two years, their influence was immense....Cream were the first top group to truly exploit the power trio format, in the process laying the foundation for much blues-rock and hard rock of the 1960s and 1970s......Cream could be viewed as the first rock supergroup to become superstars......they truly found their voice on Disraeli Gears in late 1967....it (Disraeli Gears) does get them to be who they truly are: a massive, innovative power trio....a quintessential heavy rock album of the ‘60s...Yes, it’s psychedelic trappings tie it forever to 1967, but the imagination of the arrangements, the strength of the compositions, and especially the force of the musicianship make this album transcend its time as well”.
P.S. You will see that this album cover is what I have chosen to go with my eMusers moniker @peterfrederics!
1965 Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
It just makes sense to include The Band here as well. Another favourite "Rock" record!
1968 The Band - Music From Big Pink
As ProgArchives says “King Crimson remains one of the interminably compelling bands playing within the domain of rock music to this day”. They rate the album as all time No. 4 in progressive rock but, to my mind, It should without doubt be No. 1.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-court-of-the-crimson-king-mw0000252242
- Lars Rasmussen / lead guitar, violin
- Kristian Pommer / rhythm guitar, piano, Moog, vocals, composer & arranger (excl. 6)
- Anders Gaardmand / tenor & soprano saxophones, flute
- Poul "Skak" Snitker / trumpet, flute, bass, composer & arranger (6)
- Vagn Hansen / bass
- Niels "Vejmand" Christensen / drums
- Bent Clausen / drums, vibraphone
Helping out in the original cast were Poul "Skak" SNITKER on flute and trumpet, Lars RASMUSSEN on electric guitar, Sten UGLEBJERG on percussion and something as wonderfully zany as a washtub and last but not least Sten OLSEN wielding an earthy and infinitely bouncy bass.
In September 1969 the band went through some changes as UGLEBJERG was replaced with not one but two drummers in Niels "Vejmand" CHRISTENSEN and Bent CLAUSEN. Olsen?s spot was handed over to a guy named Jesper HINDØ who was just as versatile as his predecessor. This edition of the band continued to experiment and build on the overt zany and eclectic sound ? only to yet again in 1972 rearrange the line up, now with the add on of trombone and saxophone. Kristian POMMER additionally handed over the vocal bits to singer Lars BISGÅRD.
“Trout Mask Replica” is an outstanding album and I also really like the track “Zig Zag Wanderer” off theIr first album “Safe As Milk” which, amazingly, is still available on eMusic!
AMG says “Don Van Vliet was one of modern music’s true innovators. The owner of a remarkable four and one half octave vocal range, he employed idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist lyrics and an unholy alliance of free jazz......Beefheart’s impact was incalculable and his fingerprints were all over punk, New Wave and post-rock”.
ProgArchives says “Captain Beefheart is a true genius and definitely one of the most original and innovative musicians of the twentieth century”.
To quote Joe Strummer of “The Clash” “When I was sixteen, Trout Mask Replica was the only record I listened to - for a year”.
Bruce Springsteen
1973 The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle 1975 Born To Run
A great double album, always find something new on every listen.
1971 to 1977 band whose style has been described as a fusion of country music and progressive rock,
and as a seminal Southern rock band.
While sifting through some bargain racks this album cover leapt out at me as it described my favourite pastime.
Back then and still now.
1974 Watchin' TV (With The Radio On)
ProgArchives rates the album No. 14 in 1974 and says “With a seamless fusion of British folk and medieval rock, Gryphon developed a strong sound all their own”.
Bruce Cockburn
1970 Bruce Cockburn 1971 High Winds White Sky
1971 Sunwheel Dance 1973 Night Vision
1974 Salt, Sun And Time
ps - one for my musical friends!
https://youtu.be/JtUQlLLgJJ8
https://youtu.be/mYPfmOhua3o
AMG says “Captain Beyond is a one-of-a-kind progressive album with rock, heavy metal and jazz influences with a “space rock” lyrical bend”.
And what a great album cover!
Sufficiently great to justify me buying a matching Captain Beyond t-shirt and face mask!