Founded in 1966 as Bruno's Blues Band by guitarist Phil Miller, his elder brother, pianist Steve Miller, drummer Pip Pyle and bassist Jack Monck, the band gigged around London for a few years. In 1968, saxophonist Lol Coxhill joined them, and the band's name was changed to Steve Miller's Delivery. In 1969, the band teamed up with blues singer Carol Grimes and bassist Roy Babbington replaced Monck. The resulting line-up recorded and released one album: Fools Meeting. Although Grimes wanted to appear as a band member, the record company released the album under "Carol Grimes and Delivery". In 1971, Pyle left the band to join Gong and was replaced by Laurie Allan (who also later joined Gong). Soon after that, the band broke up.
Phil Miller went on to found Matching Mole with Robert Wyatt and Dave Sinclair, but a new Delivery line-up was assembled in the spring of 1972 consisting of the Miller brothers, Pyle and Richard Sinclair (bass and vocals), then Steve Miller's bandmate in Caravan. The band played a few live shows in August/September that year, but with Steve Miller being replaced by Dave Sinclair (from Matching Mole and Caravan), the band changed its name to Hatfield and the North. A final Delivery performance took place in November 1972 for the BBC's Radio One In Concert series, with an unusual line-up bringing together the Miller brothers, Pyle, Babbington, Coxhill and Sinclair, the latter on vocals only.
Steve Miller went on to release two shared (rather than "duo") albums with Coxhill for Virgin's Caroline budget label in 1973/74.
Roy Babbington, who had played with the Keith Tippett Group and Nucleus in 1971-73, went on to join Soft Machine from 1973-76. Laurie Allan rejoined Gong a couple of times, most notably appearing on 1973's Flying Teapot, and later Barbara Thompson's Paraphernalia.
Side one "Highway Star" – 6:05
"Maybe I'm a Leo" – 4:51
"Pictures of Home" – 5:03
"Never Before" – 3:56
Side two "Smoke on the Water" – 5:40
"Lazy" – 7:19
"Space Truckin'" – 4:31
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
Ian Gillan – lead vocals, harmonica
Jon Lord - keyboard
Roger Glover – bass
Ian Paice – drums
Nosferatu has the dubious honour of having produced one of the most over-priced collector's items of the German progressive rock genre, now selling easily for 800 DEM in mint condition. Originally their album was released in France and Germany on Vogue (a French label as you know). Nosferatu formed circa 1968. An early member of the band was guitarist Michael Win, a future member of Epsilon. Opinions are mixed about this album. Some regard it as one of the best heavy progressive records to be made in Germany, others think it is quite ordinary and certainly over-rated on the collector circuit. I'm sure most will agree that it contains a raw, rough and heavy progressive style. There were still some beat and psychedelic elements evident in the music, characteristic of the first wave of German progressive rock in 1969/70. I would compare it to the first Tomorrow's Gift album, Orange Peel or Hairy Chapter. Arguably the best moments are Felke's highly talented flute and sax playing. When Nosferatu disbanded, he became a member of Epsilon. There are only six tracks in all, with plenty of organ and guitar work. The production by Tony Hendrik could have been better. A counterfeit of the album appeared In 1989 at a more reasonable price than the originals. If you're keen on heavy progressive rock, go for Armageddon and 2066 & Then first, check out Nosferatu only if you find you need some more!
Enigmatic - Czesław Niemen's rock album released in 1970. It is considered to be the best polish rock album ever. Inspired in 1968 by Wojciech Młynarski Niemen decided to make his new album with polish poetry as lyrics. Recorded in 1969 and released in 1970 became very popular and was awarded with Golden record in 1971 (in communist Poland Golden Records were awarded for selling 160 000 album copies).
"Bema pamięci żałobny - rapsod" - 16:27 (music Czesław Niemen, lyrics Cyprian Kamil Norwid)
"Jednego serca" - 7:45 (music Czesław Niemen, lyrics Adam Asnyk)
"Kwiaty ojczyste" - 7:25 (music Czesław Niemen, lyrics Tadeusz Kubiak)
"Mów do mnie jeszcze" - 4:40 (music Czesław Niemen, lyrics Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer)
Famous for their eponymous album which is sought-after by collectors World-wide, Necronomicon came from Aachen, a city near the borders with the Netherlands and Belgium. They adapted the name Necronomicon from an H.P. Lovecraft novel and built up a spectacular live repertoire during 1971. It featured complex heavy progressive song arrangements with awkward German lyrics that dealt with ecological problems, the threat of a nuclear disaster, the end of mankind and pure despair. A demo recording of a performance at the Mensa, Aachen, 1971, was unearthed by the archaeologists at Little Wing and released as parts one and two of their lavish 4-LP + book Necronomicon-set (LW 1010/11/12/13), released in 1990 in co-operation with the band. Part one consisted of previously unheard compositions and part two of different versions of the songs that later would appear on their only album: Tips Zum Selbstmord. Necronomicon proved themselves to be a band with the same seriousness and sense of large scale works as the most extreme Italian bands. Sadly, the technical quality of these early recordings was on the same level as certain bootlegs and the performance a bit rough in places. Even so this historic document is absorbing.
With the economic support of a friend, Necronomicon set off to a semi-professional studio in the Netherlands to record (in March and April 1972) what has become the ultimate collector's item for purveyors of German progressive rock: Tips Zum Selbstmord, released in a lavish multi fold-out cover, in the shape of a cross. The highly talented drawings were done by Harald Bernhard and pictured tortured bodies and painful faces, building up an intricate whole, reminiscent of some nightmarish Hieronymus Bosch work (but no fantasy monsters!). Few would deny that this is one of the best and most unique German records of the early seventies. ...
There were biting guitar leads throughout, shimmering, painful vocals, a garage organ trying to battle with Bach, sudden shifts of tempos and moods, including passages of more primitive heavy garage rock. For the want of hotter comparisons: imagine the best elements of vintage Uriah Heep with the lyrical awareness of a political rock band like Floh de Cologne. Perhaps this is the music that Wagner would have made if he had lived in 1945 and experienced the bombing raids over Germany, freaked out in the sixties and decided to be a rock musician and then had bad trips for years due to the daily news on TV! Remarkably enough, the album was recorded on just two backs, approximately recorded live in the studio. It was released in a limited edition of 500 copies and is probably THE most hunted German record. The odd copy that turns up sells easily for 1,700 OEM or more. It is cheaper to purchase it as part 3 of the Little Wing 4 LP box! From 1972 to the end of 1973 the group worked on new material with a revised line-up: guitar player Walter Sturm quit to join Rufus Zuphall, Fistus Dickmann was replaced with Dieter Ose and Detlev Hakenbeck replaced by Gerd Libber. Some of the new compositions lasted for sixty minutes! In fact, such material proved to be almost impossible to play live, and the songs were consequently edited down to a length of 10 to 15 minutes. As such, they were recorded live in their rehearsal room in 1974. Walter Sturm had now returned to the band. Little Wing compiled 45 minutes from the only remaining source, a low quality cassette. It's only interesting for collectors as another historic document of their development. The desperation had now faded to mere resigned statements about mankind's cynical nature. As such they were now closer to other refined political rock bands.
Stated simply: Get something from this band! National Health was the brain child of Dave Stewart (no, not of the Eurythmics) and Alan Gowan. The group developed in 1975 in response to the end of "thinking man's" rock music. In the liner notes for the CD, Stewart describes National Health as ."..a large scale rock ensemble playing intricate, mainly instrumental music," a far better description than I could derive. To paraphrase Stewart, the Ramones they are not! The music is strongly structured and composed, not at all free form, but not sounding forced, either. Within a composition, the music develops well and easily flows from one section to another, continuously developing the theme and sounding coherent the entire time. The first two albums represent the band during their peak, despite many troubles that beset the band and its members during that time (humorously elucidated by Stewart in the liner notes.) Song lengths range from eight seconds ("Phlakaton" - an obligatory drum solo, but far from what you would expect from such a solo) to 14'32 for both "Elephants" and "Tenemos Roads" (."..an epic about ancient civilizations on Planet Mercury..."), and intricate they are. To put on one of these tunes simply for background music is to do it and yourself injustice. The music is quite involved and complex - instrinsic, indeed! Both key modulations and time changes abound. I'm not sure there is a 4/4 time signature on any tune, and I know (from the liner notes) that part of "Elephants" has a moog solo over a 25/8 rhythm. Not a tune you tap your foot to while doing other things. One listen to "The Collapso" (or the even better "Apocalypso") will make you sit up and pay attention. "The Apocalypso" is one of my favorite cuts (most favorite goes to "Tenemos Roads") on the CD and also one of the least serious. It is a rewritten and extended version of "The Collapso," recorded in 1990. If there is an apocalypse, this is how it will sound and it *WILL* be fun. Though quite detailed, the compositions never made me feel like the musicians were just trying to fit in another note or move to another time signature "just because they could." National Health's third and final release, D.S. al Coda, is a tribute to Alan Gowan, who died in 1981. All compositions, with the exception of "Arriving Twice" and "TNTFX" (both by Gilgamesh, Gowan's prior band) were written by Gowan. These tunes are decidedly jazzier and noticably shorter, on average. Though "I Feel A Night Coming On" fits well in the old vein, these songs represent more the direction of Gowan and not National Health. I spend most of my ear time listening to the band's first two releases, however, because I feel they are much more involved than Gowan's compositions. This band and CD are currently on my all-time top ten and are there they are likely to remain.If you have ever listened to Egg or Hatfield and the North, you'll have a feel for the music style of National Health. If you haven't, then I strongly recommend that you get this CD, then pick up some Egg and Hatfield. Shoot, pick up nearly anything with Dave Stewart (with the possible exception of Stewart/Gaskin) on the keys. You will not be disappointed. -- Mike Taylor
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