Blues Creation ‎– Demon & Eleven Children   This album is no secret to aficionados of the early Japanese psych rock scene—it is usually on “best of” lists for that genre and era. The band followed the typical evolution of the late ‘60s UK blues-rock sound, but broke ground with this album in 1971. It owes much of its power to guitarist Kazuo Takeda who, as of this writing, is still revered as major influence in the sound of the era and has enjoyed a long career as a session player, both in the United States and Japan. Interestingly, subsequent to the release of Demon... Read More

Atlantis Philharmonic-s/t     Here’s another one that completely escaped my notice at the time. In fact, I hadn’t heard (of) it until it came in a box of records from the East Coast- Ken was already texting me- “did you listen to Atlantis Philharmonic yet?” “Uh, no, the box got here like five minutes ago.”   Well, it took me a couple days to get around to it for reasons that aren’t worth explaining. Whoa!   Heavy, prog, hard rock with the drive and brutality of early Sabbath, mellowed by keyboards and those “soundscapes” characteristic of period prog. But,... Read More

John Fahey- Blind Joe Death     John Fahey is remembered as seminal figure in the original blues revival movement that flourished in the early-mid ‘60s. His efforts, along with those of others, led to seismic change in popular music, when more traditional rock and roll was replaced by blues-driven harder rock in the later ‘60s. (I think the impact on folk/acoustic scene was more limited, commercially, for a variety of reasons). Fahey was part of the effort to locate still living rural blues performers – including Skip James–who had been all but forgotten in the era from the... Read More

TOO MUCH- s/t     Too Much, by the band of the same name, is a pretty rare Japanese psych record with English lyrics issued in Japan by Atlantic in 1971. Critics have rightly dismissed it because it contains some tracks that should never have been included: a cover of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” and some long form prog that winds up the end of side two. But for heavy rock fans, the other tracks, including “Grease it Out” more than make up for those transgressions.   Original pressings are scarce; Warner Japan reissued the album in 2011, and again in 2016. I recently... Read More

Winter in America- Gil Scott-Heron (Strata-East)   Exploring the Strata-East catalog, you’ll no doubt see Winter in America by Gil Scott-Heron (and Brian Jackson). Even if you aren’t hunting down Strata-East records, you inevitably see older copies in stores and online because it was the most popular of the original Strata-East records. And for good reason—it’s a killer.   Most people know of Gil Scott-Heron (“GSH”) through his famous “The Revolution will not Be Televised.” That piece- a spoken word poem capturing the domestic turmoil and... Read More

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