Crack in the Cosmic Egg:
The history of Xhol is not that well documented. Though we do know that they originated in the mid-1960's as Soul Caravan, changing name in late-1968 to Xhol Caravan after playing at the Essener Songtage. This new name heralded a more progressive blend of new ideas, and the developing their sound with a big conceptual opus now documented on disc 1 of the MOTHERFUCKERS LIVE set.
Still finding their feet, and moving on Xhol Caravan debuted with a single in the vein of SHADES OF DEEP PURPLE, still soul-edged but much more progressive. Though, it never hinted at all at the album that was to follow a few months later. ELECTRIP was one hell of a remarkable album, especially for the 1960's, an electric saxophone and organ fronted fusion (kind of classic "Uncle Meat" jamming Zappa territory) with a great deal of invention and energy, hinting at later records by Nosferatu, Faust, et al. It is also full of surprises and unlikely diversions, dazzling studio trickery and humour amongst its features. Remarkable throughout!
Whether they existed much beyond this, we don't know. We do know that the band name led to some confusion, and the name was shortened to just Xhol. The latest recording we knew of, dated from July 1970, and that's the "posthumously issued" live album HAU-RUK, which continues from ELECTRIP on a more esoteric level, overtly trippy in feel with one lengthy improvisation per side, the cosmic Annexus Quam like "Breit" and the psychedelic blues "Schaukel" with its X-rated variation on "Rock Me Baby". Confusingly MOTHERFUCKERS GMBH & CO KG proclaimed on the cover to be "2 years old" placing it in-between ELECTRIP and HAU-RUK. Obviously a collection of archive recordings: a few snippets of Soul Caravan can be heard in the opening "Radio" as well as a short slice of ELECTRIP, a Faust-like opening to a very varied album, with its superb lengthy organ piece "Orgelsolo", spaced-out flute lead instrumentals and a lengthy psychedelic blues number "Love Potion 25". A superb epitaph.
wikipedia:
The second solo album by former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt. It was released on 26 July 1974 by Virgin Records. Although Rock Bottom is technically Wyatt's second solo LP, he has stated in several interviews that he considers its predecessor The End of an Ear as juvenilia and not part of the recognised "canon" of Wyatt solo records. The album was produced by Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason.
The band Matching Mole disbanded soon after the release of Little Red Record in 1972, and Wyatt began composing the material that later appeared on Rock Bottom. The album's preparation was interrupted by an accident on the night of 1 June 1973. During a raucous party, at Vale Court, Hall Road, Maida Vale in London, an inebriated Wyatt fell from a third-floor bathroom window and was paralysed from the waist down. Wyatt has used a wheelchair ever since. He later called the event the beginning of his maturity and in hospital he continued to work on the songs that would appear on Rock Bottom "in a trance." "I was just relieved that I could do something from a wheelchair," Wyatt confesses. "If anything, being a paraplegic helped me with the music because being in hospital left me free to dream, and to really think through the music."
Within six months he was back at work in the recording studio and appeared on stage at London's Rainbow Theatre with Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, who lent financial support by playing a benefit concert for him. Although the music itself is intense and often harrowing, and the lyrics to the songs are dense and obviously deeply personal, Wyatt has denied that the material was a direct result of the accident and the long period of recuperation. Indeed, much of the album had been written while in Venice in early 1973 prior to Wyatt's accident, where his partner and future wife (the poet Alfreda Benge) was working as an assistant editor on Nicolas Roeg's film Don't Look Now.
genre: sympho prog folk
state: france
quality: lossless (flac, cue, log, covers)
time: 37:49 size: 267 mb
progarchives: Wurtemberg is the musical project of instrument-maker Alain Carbonare. If you don't know this name, he is best known internationally for the making and playing of his own "traditional" style instruments, the dulcimer, psaltery, lyre, among others. The group places a heavy emphasis on sophisticated arrangements, as nice parts on acoustic guitar and authentic medieval stringed instruments.
The music on "Rock Fantasia Opus 9", only cd of this French band, is totally instrumental fusing classical, renaissance music, French folk and progressive rock. The music is calm and breezy, with a lot of air between the strings and piano. For fans of bands such as Clearlight, Gryphon, early After Crying, Malicorne, and Minimum Vital. An essential addition to any collection of French symphonic music. Good stuff, so don't miss it!
01. Rumble 2:27
02. The Swag 2:21
03. Raw-Hide 2:07
04. Dixie-Doodle 2:10
05. Ramble 2:15
06. Ain't That Lovin' You Babe 2:48
07. Jack the Ripper 2:22
08. The Black Widow 1:52
09. Big City After Dark 2:53
10. Run Chicken Run 1:57
11. The Shadow Knows 2:28
12. Deuces Wild 2:24
13. Hang On 2:27
14. Ace of Spades 2:23
15. I'm Branded 2:05
16. Batman Theme 2:01
17. Hidden Charms 2:42
18. Climbing a High Wall 4:02
19. Switchblade 3:14
20. Jack the Ripper (live) 4:45
genre: rock
state: uk
quality: lossless (flac, cue, log, covers)
time: 37:49 size: 232 mb
allmusic:
Shortly after the Bonzo Dog Band broke up in 1970, Neil Innes formed the short-lived band the World, also including ex-Bonzos bassist Dennis Cowan and future King Crimson/top session drummer Ian Wallace. Their sole album, Lucky Planet, was also issued in 1970, and stands up neither to the Bonzo Dog Band nor to the best of the music Innes would make in his solo career. While Innes is one of the best rock parodists, Lucky Planet -- like, in some ways, the Bonzos' own final 1960s album, Keynsham -- leans too much toward straight rock, and not often toward comedy. There's still much subtle humor in what's often a pastiche of late-'60s Beatlesque rock, but while subtlety is one of Innes' great virtues, perhaps the wit in these tunes is a bit too subtle to generate the kind of laughs you might expect. On casual hearing, in fact, they sound a little like run-of-the-mill 1970 British rock tunes, though close patient listening reveals "Angelina" to have an unusually heavy streak of self-pity; "9-5 Pollution Blues" as a droll take on white-boy blues-rock, complete with blatant Cream-like riffs; and the very Byrdsy "Lead Us" as a spoof on the youth culture's hunger for heroes. "Godzilla's Return" is so much an of-its-time prog rockish mélange that it treads the line between a satire and the real article. When reissued, the album has been billed to Neil Innes & the World, including a bonus track in a second version of "Come Out into the Open." ~ Richie Unterberger
wikipedia: Relayer is the seventh studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1974 on Atlantic Records. It is their only studio album recorded with keyboardist Patrick Moraz in the band's line-up; he joined in August that year after Rick Wakeman left over differences regarding Tales from Topographic Oceans (1973) to pursue his solo career.
Following Wakeman's decision to leave the band, the remaining members proceeded to work on new material for Relayer. The group wrote and rehearsed new songs and proceeded to record in Squire's home in Virginia Water, Surrey. Relayer has the same format as Close to the Edge (1972), with one track occupying side one and two tracks on side two. The album saw Yes experiment with elements of funk and jazz fusion.
Upon release, Relayer helped continue the band's success in the mid-1970s, peaking at number 4 in the UK and number 5 in the US.
genre: heavy
state: uk
quality: lossless (wv, cue, log, covers)
time: 54:24 size: 339 mb
Tapestry of Delights:
An obscure progressive/heavy rock group whose debut album has few memorable moments but has become quite collectable because of the label it's on. The vocals are poor, the composition's weak and the playing is ponderous. The pick of a poor batch are I Really Do, Za Za Za Zilda (also released as a 45), Love's Desire and Oh Mariya, but all four were in a similar, rather flat, heavy rock style.
Album reissue includes five previously unreleased tracks from a second projected album which never saw daylight. The best of these was Strange Kind Of Magic, which had a good voodoo beat and some distorted guitar. Overall, they were stronger than the material on the original album. Cat's Eyes had some decent heavy rock guitar riffs. The CD featured three additional tracks to the album but I can only really recommend this to Zior and Black Sabbath fans. Zior had their roots in Southend's early sixties R&B scene. Kevin Bonsor had previously been in a local R&B outfit, The Essex Five, and then classical/rock fusion outfit, Cardboard Orchestra. Pete Brewer had been in another Southend R&B band, The Night Riders. He and Bonsor were Zior's founding members recruiting Truba and Skeels (who'd once played in a London band called The Bum) via a 'Melody Maker' advert. Zior did have a reputation as a wild live band. They were heavily into Black Magic and Satanic Mass etc. They recorded an album on the Beacon label, later in 1971, which was credited to Monument, though in fact it featured all four members of Zior.
Pete Brewer eventually ended up a successful musical instrument/equipment dealer in Southend. Skeels sells dress jewellery in his native Newcastle. Bonsor worked for many years as an engineer/producer at Tin Pan Alley Studios and also became a dee-jay in the late seventies, hosting 'Capital's Big Night Out' at 'The Lyceum' in London's Strand.
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