Tag Archives: 70s progressive rock
A DREAM?
Un Rêve Sans Conséquence Spéciale (“A Dream Without Special Consequences”) is the fourth album by Heldon. Released in 1976 on the French Cobra record label, it is atmospheric in a dystopian, unsettling way. Francois Auger (Drums, synthesised percussion) Patrick Gautier (synthesiser, tapes) Richard Pinhas (Guitar, Synthesizers [Moog B, Moog III, EMS], Tapes) All but one […]
HEY JOE
Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand? Hey Joe, I said, where you going with that gun in your hand? I’m going down to shoot my old lady You know, I caught her messing around with a hair metal band Back in the 1970s I found Colosseum a tad bombastic. But […]
SOFT MACHINE 1975 – 1978
There is so much change and restless creativity in the Soft Machine catalogue it can take quite a while to get one’s head around it. Took me years. The first two albums explode with Sixties eccentricity, mischief, and brain-pinging energy. But then there is an apparent u-turn into the sprawling, magnificent Third; an album demanding […]
MAN FROM THE EAST
Classically trained percussionist Stomu Yamashta recorded for Island Records between 1972 and 1976, releasing seven albums of extraordinarily creative and enjoyable progressive music. With elements of formal composition, jazz-rock, electronica and progressive rock, Yamashta’s ability to fuse East and West into an intriguing and entertaining whole was remarkable. Although I have most of the Island […]
1972 COUNTDOWN — #35 – 31
35 CHICAGO — LIVE IN JAPAN Coming out the year after their epic four LP set Chicago Live At Carnegie Hall, this is a far superior document of the brass-driven outfit in concert. The playing is energetic and powerful while the recording is much, much better than the tinny sound of the 1971 release. The […]
JOIN THE YES UNION
The orchestral strains of Stravinsky’s Firebird ease into a smooth wash of synthesiser chords as the musicians take their places. A caped Rick Wakeman strokes the keyboard producing those electronic strings. Bill Bruford sits at a Simmons electronic drum kit, dressed for judo. Steve Howe is wearing a silky, brightly hued shirt while Jon Anderson, […]
1972 COUNTDOWN… #45 — #41
45 TULLY — SEA OF JOY Australia and beaches seem to go together. Probably something to do with being an island continent. With endless coast and hot summers come beach culture, including the beguiling but not-so-easy-to-master sport of surfing (read about the writer’s efforts here). In the early 1970s a number of iconic surfing films […]
1972 COUNTDOWN… #50 — #46
50 PENTANGLE — SOLOMAN’S SEAL The last album in Pentangle’s original run, Solomon’s Seal is not well regarded by critics who, in my opinion, are being too hard by half. Yes, this LP does seem a little light on the bubbling invention and restrained exuberance of earlier works, but it is solid and thoroughly enjoyable. […]
1972 COUNTDOWN… #72 — #70
A new year, another trawl through some favourite fifty-year old albums, records that still have some pep in their step and are worth a listen for more than nostalgic reasons. Not to denigrate nostalgia, of course. Perfectly valid reason to look up an old friend. The VC holding from 1972 is edging towards the three […]
SOME PROGRESSIVE TREATS (1975 EDITION)
Although variety is a hallmark of Vinyl Connection, the heart of the matter is a love of all things progressive. Inspired by a posting of the fourth Greenslade album on a fb group, I found myself diving down a 1975 rabbit hole. It was great fun, with progressive jazz-rock being a wobbly kind of through-line. […]
JUTE THE OBSCURE
Rare records with eye-watering price tags do not always live up to their reputation nor their scarcity-inflated value. Although Vinyl Connection does not own a vinyl copy of the one and only Kahvas Jute album Wide Open, the excellent Aztec Music re-issue is playing as I write. Thus it can be loudly proclaimed: this is […]
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