Herbie Hancock: Crossings (Speakers Corner)     There are so many good reasons to own a copy of this record, not the least being that it is a sonic treat. But there are other just as compelling reasons: it is jazz tinged fusion mixed with psych, funk and spacy sounds that reflect a unique, and perhaps most adventurous period in Hancock’s growth as an artist; it is highly experimental but embraces so much of what came before that it is a virtual primer of jazz sounds that are both eerily strange and strangely familiar; it is performed by a stellar band that includes Buster Williams on... Read More

BLAST FURNACE- Self Titled   Unlike Satori, this Danish hard rock album is very accessible musically and there is a decent reissue available from Polydor that is far cheaper than an original pressing. The album mixes psychedelia with unmistakable traces of a Broadway show tune—in between, the mix of strings, woodwinds and keyboards earns it a place in “prog rock” circles. It is a highly enjoyable album to crank up—it doesn’t require repeated listening to “get it”—it is very straightforward in the way hard rock sounded as it grew to maturity, but there’s enough unique... Read More

Flower Travellin’ Band- Satori      I never delved deeply into the Japanese psych scene, and this album probably serves as good a gateway as any—it is amalgam of powerful vocals, deranged guitar licks and an unholy mix of metal and the occasional Eastern motif, blended with a blues riff or two, and a lot of aggression. Fronted by singer Akira Yamanka a/k/a “Joe,” who also had a career as a movie tough guy, it’s not easy to put a label on this creation.       It was apparently recorded quickly, and the version sold in North America is different, containing... Read More

  Still Life- s/t (Vertigo Swirl) The scarcity of this record and mystery surrounding the band seem to overshadow its merits, which are considerable. It is a “one and done,” not unusual for the period, when bands were constantly morphing through different members, band names and styles. The band consisted of Graham Amos and Martin Cure, who had played together in a group called The Sabres. Terry Howells, the keyboard player, was recruited. The band, called Rainbows, became Still Life. They seemed to have difficulty keeping drummers (a problem not confined to fictional bands); UK... Read More

  MOUNTAIN CLIMBING! Mountain, like a number of powerful hard rock acts in the immediate post-Woodstock era, has fallen between the cracks, if not into outright obscurity. Perhaps it’s a question of changing taste, but there are plenty of great hard rock albums from the era that can give you goose bumps. This is one of them. Mountain’s records are readily found in the used bins and finding a clean-playing copy can be a challenge. Why bother? The band benefitted enormously from the production, bass playing and vocal abilities of the late Felix Pappalardi, whose credentials at the... Read More

  JERRY LEE LEWIS- LIVE AT THE STAR CLUB, HAMBURG   When the last words are written about “rock & roll,” Jerry Lee Lewis’s name will be first among them. He was a “rock star” before the concept existed, and delivered electrifying live performances in an era before The Beatles, when television was in its commercial infancy and the social and cultural upheavals of the ‘60s were still in the distant future. Riding the same crest of popularity that brought Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Little Richard and Chuck Berry to fame, Lewis was among the first of a breed of... Read More

Mott- Mad Shadows   Somewhere between rock and glam, between obscurity and fame, Mott the Hoople delivered an album—Mad Shadows— that was a commercial and critical failure. But its loose arrangements, odd juxtaposition of styles and “unfocused” quality give it a dark aspect that makes it worthwhile to listen today.   The record was produced for Island by Guy Stevens, a broken genius whose work spans some of the great pink label recordings (Free’s Tons of Sobs, certain tracks by Winwood and Traffic) and culminated in albums like The Clash’s London Calling. Stevens was a... Read More

Bachdenkel- Lemmings, Staligrad  Anybody who was into this band back in the day was probably a pretty deep “head”—it’s one thing to find some long lost album that has been forgotten in the crush of time, but these guys seemed to be pretty obscure even when they were at their peak. Their first album—Lemmings—was released by Philips France. I have yet to see a copy in the flesh. Most of the old pressings in circulation are somewhat later issues by the Initial Recording Company. My copy of Lemmings is “numbered” but has no “bonus EP”- the reissue on Initial was sold... Read More