Oldish Psych and Prog

Style: hard
Country: uk
Audio: mp3 (256k)
Size: 94mb

oe: also "Byronish" voice

Tapestry of Delights:
After this solo effort Verity joined Argent in November 1974 and dissolved his own Bradford-based band.

Style: psych, surf
Country: australia
Audio: lossless (flac 902k)
Size: 291mb

From forcedexposure.com.au:
Although the Sydney-based Tamam Shud (the unusual name is probably a corruption of Taman Shud, borrowed from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) was formed in 1967 by singer/guitarist Lindsay Bjerre, the band only sprang to prominence when their superb debut album, Evolution, was issued by CBS (SBP 233761) in 1969. Having established themselves with Evolution, the band went on to record their opus major for Warner Bros in 1970 in the form of the ambitious Goolutionites And The Real People (WS 20001), a stunning and imaginative work dominated by the prodigious talents of 16-year old guitarist, Tim Gaze. Gaze's precocious guitar work was conspicuously present throughout the album, although it was on 'A Plague' and 'Stand In The Sunlight,' both of which were to appear as 45s, that his playing really shone. Although Gaze left the band immediately after the album's release to join Kahvas Jute, he returned later the same year, and remained in the group until it disbanded in 1972. Goolutionites is widely recognised as one of the finest Australian prog-psych offerings of all time.

From howlspace.com.au
Tamam Shud belong to a rich vein of Australian music which has been spawned and supported by the alternative surf culture along Sydney's coastal north, and also gave rise to Midnight Oil; more recently Grinspoon. The group Tamam Shud grew out of the instrumental surf music scene of the mid- Sixties and became one of Australia's first 'progressive' rock bands.

The early Sixties instrumental sounds inspired by the Ventures and then the Shadows found another, perfect form of expression when it applied itself to the new surf music craze. Sydney's Atlantics led the field in Australia. In 1964 Newcastle instrumental group The Four Strangers distinguished itself in the field with a single, 'The Rip'. Once the Beatles and the Rolling Stones arrived those instrumental groups invariably became the new groups of the era, already equipped to play their music themselves. All they needed was a singer. The Four Strangers found Lindsay Bjerre, and moved into the Rolling Stones/r&b style. Now just called the Strangers, in late 1965 they became the Sunsets, a pop group playing alongside the heroes of the day, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs, and Ray Brown and the Whispers.

In late 1967 the group's line-up and musical philosophy changed again. The new adventure in music was 'progressive' rock. This was the post Sgt.Pepper time of Cream, Traffic, Jimi Hendrix. In Australia it found its own expression in the renamed Sunsets, taking as much from their local surroundings as they did from their global influences. Initially Tamam Shud (meaning 'the very end') took to the free-form aspects of progressive rock, stretching loosely structured songs into long rhythmic and melodic workouts. Film maker Paul Witzig saw the band and its music as a perfect complement to the surf movie he was creating. He set the band up in front of a screen and Tamam Shud spent two and a half hours playing and recording as they watched the surf footage. The result was the band's first album, which carried the same name as the movie, 'Evolution'. Witzig paid for the session and took four songs for the soundtrack of his film.

Tamam Shud were now at the spearhead of Australia's progressive rock movement, quickly followed by Tully and Spectrum. The second album was a more traditional and structured affair (comprising actual songs) but just as ambitious in a totally different way. Called 'Goolutionites And The Real People' the album was a concept suite, centred on the polluters of the world, the Goolutionites. The album featured the band's new 16-year old guitarist Lindsay Gaze, who left again just before 'Goolotionites' was released. Within four months he was back, having recorded an album as part of Kahvas Jute.

Style: beat
Country: sweden
Audio: mp3 (160k)
Size: 90mb

from home site:

In the early 60s, skiffle was not only a big craze in England, it hit Sweden pretty hard too. In a small town outside of Gothenburg, a 16-year old lad named Tommy Blom had just received a guitar from his parents. One day he met an old school chum, Anders Töpel, who also had a guitar, and who in turn knew a third guitar player, Danne Larsson. These three young boys started playing together, and soon a fourth member was added, Göran Lagerberg. On purpose they chose the "geeky" name Tages (from Danne's middle name) to make fun of all guitar based pop bands with their slick attitude and suits.
Soon, however, the four youths decided to change their style, after having been introduced to the new "Mersey" sound. A drummer, Freddie Skantze, was added, and within a short time a reshuffle of the instruments followed. Lagerberg took up the bass, while Danne and Anders were to play rhythm and lead guitar respectively. This left Tommy as lead singer and tambourine player.
Their first gig was held on 23 December 1963. Their name was becoming locally known and in August 1964, a Swedish newspaper held a contest called "The Beatles of the West Coast". Many different groups applied, but finally Tages were the victors, earning the right to make a record for the new company Platina. This first recording session took place on 20 September 1964. While the studio was pretty basic, Tages did bring two good songs to the sessions, Sleep little girl and Tell me you’re mine, which were released as a single about a month later. One day, not knowing that the single was going to be tested for the Swedish Top Ten, the boys heard themselves on the radio, and just one week later, the single had reached no. 1, replacing none other than the Beatles.
A couple of months later, the next single followed: I should be glad b/w I cry. This was not only a commercial success, but the critics liked it too, and now Tages were accepted by the large crowd. On 31 March 1965, Tages got to open for the Rolling Stones on their performance in Gothenburg. New singles followed, and the first eponymous LP was released in November. At about the same time, Göran and Freddie were allowed to play together with Chuck Berry in Stockholm.

The first single after the LP was a change of direction. Their music had previously been rather similar to that of the Beatles and other beat groups, but just like the Beatles, Tages felt the need for change. So for the next single, So many girls, a new instrument was added, the recorder. A more soft sound was the result, and the single was a great success. Therefore, Tages and their management decided that it was time to break the English market. Very thorough preparations followed, new clothes, new equipment, etc. Unfortunately, what the management had forgotten was that work permits would be necessary for Tages to be allowed to play in Britain. The boys had to turn back to Sweden, beginning work on their second LP, simply to be called "2".
Another setback was the resignation of original drummer, Freddie Skantze. A replacement was soon found in Tommy Tausis, who had been playing with another important Swedish pop group, the Strangers, until their break-up. Tausis is also present on some tracks on the second LP, which was released in July 1966.
Musical experiments became increasingly important to the boys, who were very eclectic in their choice of music, playing many original songs, as well as some carefully chosen covers. The next LP, "Extra Extra", was released towards the end of 1966, and, like its predecessor, consisted of 6 original songs and 6 covers. Covers were taken from many different styles of music: soul, pop, and Motown. On "Extra Extra", there were a number of interesting original songs, showing the band’s willingness to experiment. One song, Extra, featured a theremin, just like Good vibrations by the Beach Boys. Other songs had controversial lyrics, like Secret room. This was also their last release at Platina, since they had signed a contract with the Swedish branch of Parlophone.
Tommy Tausis had never really settled in the group and after the release of the third LP, he resigned. The next drummer in Tages was Lasse Svensson, and the first release he was featured on was a revelation: the single Every raindrop means a lot. Finally, psychedelia had reached Sweden. Nonsensical lyrics were combined with a strange musical arrangement, and hey presto, a new change in direction had been made. Together with their producer, Anders Henriksson, Tages now began producing incredibly clever and interesting music, as can be heard on the two 1967 LPs, "Contrast" and "Studio". Contrast only has four covers (plus one especially written for them by producer Henriksson and Thorstein Bergman). Criticism of society, love songs, psychedelia, everything can be found on this LP.

The next single, She’s having a baby now, relating the story of an unwanted teen pregnancy, was maybe too critical for the public to accept it, and suddenly, the band lost many of its followers, in spite of the great music they made. A final attempt to break into England was made with the single Treat her like a lady, a cover of a Crewe/Knight song. The promo movie was made by Peter Goldmann, more famous for his work with the Beatles, but the song did not become a hit (allegedly because the wrong people were paid).
The England tour was not a total flop, however, since the band was allowed to record a few songs in the legendary studio, Abbey Road. Also, many celebrities, such as Cat Stevens and Roger Daltrey from the Who, really liked Tages music, and the Kinks’ Ray Davies said that Tages’ stage show was wonderful, and that the band really should have a future in Britain. But, unfortunately it was not to be.

Having returned to Sweden, Tages recorded their next and last LP, "Studio". Probably the finest LP ever made in Sweden, it is heavily influenced by Swedish folk music. Rock songs featured unusual instrument, such as accordions and flutes, while the softer songs had even stranger instruments. But never did the band lose touch with their rock background, and the LP stands today as testimony to the talent of this Swedish band, who was never to make it big.
Tages soldiered on for a year or so, releasing three more singles, before Tommy Blom decided to leave the band. The band changed its name to Blond, but it was to no avail, and soon the rest of the boys decided to call it quits. A sad ending to one of the (if not THE) greatest bands outside the UK and the US

Style: sympho prog
Country: finland
Audio: lossless (flac 798k)
Size: 234mb
Issue: Love Records LRCD 135 (1997)

Gibraltar:
Finnish prog, mostly on the mellow side, but very enjoyable melodic stuff. Symphonic, if you like; pathetique in a positive sense. Lyrics are in Finnish, but those who don't understand them aren't missing much... Jukka Gustavson from Wigwam guests on and co-produced the second album.

Ekkedien Tanssi was the second album by this Finnish five piece who created a type of mellow, melodic prog not unlike the music of Camel. Indeed, this album is comparable in both style and quality to Camel's Moonmadness or Rain Dances. The instrumentation here includes guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, and vocals; a pretty standard lineup and thats exactly how it is used. There is some nice multi-tracked acoustic guitar along with the more aggressive, bluesy electric guitar which serves as the main melodic instrument. The keyboards stay in the background for the most part, serving up organ and string-synth pads along with piano and elctric piano backing. The bass anchors the chord changes, the drummer keeps time, and the vocalist is there, singing in Finnish; nothing spectacular, yet nothing distracting either. So basically there is nothing terribly original, complex, virtuosic, or flashy to be found here, but nevertheless the music is quite good and strong enough so as not to be at all boring, save for one or two rather unengaging tunes. There are nine tracks, all pretty much in the 5-6 minute range, and the mood remains fairly mellow and laid back throughout. There is the occaisonal guitar solo, but for the most part the playing will remind one of Andy Latimer or maybe some Steve Hackett, utilizing melodic leads rather than blistering solos. Fans of mid-period Camel or other melodic prog groups would probably enjoy this very much, while those who seek highly intricate music (like me :-)) might want to take a listen to Tabula Rasa before putting down the money to get this.

I was a little worried when I found out that the only keyboard instrument on the first Tabula Rasa album was an acoustic piano (Actually, there's a taste of string-synth at the very end). Surprise! I actually like it. Nonetheless, don't plunge into this album expecting complex arrangements and wild solos, because you won't find it here. You will find, however, a pretty, melodic type of progressive with prominent piano, flute, and Andy Latimer-esque guitar. A number of the songs ("Gryf" in particular) are a touch rockier, but most are somewhat Nordic folk-orientated, overtaking you with beauty, in particular, the eight-minute "Vuorellaistuja." Vocals are all in Finnish, no great problem for me. I find them quite charming. The flute player left before Ekkedien Tanssi, the second album. Here they added a full-time keyboardist, but the style hadn't changed at all. Actually, not as good as its predecessor. Established fans will want it, though, for the song "Omantunnon Rukous." It may well be the most beautiful thing they ever recorded. The melody is unforgettable. -- Mike Ohman