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Graham John Clifton Bond (28 October 1937 in Romford, Essex – 8 May 1974 in Finsbury Park Station, North London) was an English musician, considered a founding father of the English rhythm and blues boom of the 1960s.
Technologically and musically, Bond was an innovator, described by critic Richie Unterberger as "an important, underappreciated figure of early British R&B.". Along with John Mayall and Alexis Korner, Bond was one of the great catalytic figures of '60s rock in England. Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker -- both later to find superstardom in Cream—came to prominence in Bond's group. Additionally, Bond was perhaps the first English musician to use the Hammond organ and Leslie speaker combination (in an R&B context), the first to "split" the instrument for portability, the first to build an electronic keyboard, and the first rock musician to use a mellotron, which can be heard on his first two LPs. Deep Purple's renowned organist Jon Lord cited Bond as an early influence. "He taught me, hands on, most of what I know about the Hammond organ," said Lord in a 1989 interview.
Bond was educated at the prestigious Royal Liberty School in Gidea Park, east London. He first gained attention as a jazz saxophonist as a member of the Don Rendell Quintet.
Afterwards, he was briefly a member of Blues Incorporated, a group led by Alexis Korner, before forming the Graham Bond Quartet. With a lineup of Bond on vocals and organ, Ginger Baker on drums, Jack Bruce on double bass, and, briefly, John McLaughlin on guitar, who was replaced by Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax and the name changed to the Graham Bond Organisation (GBO), they generally stayed close to their jazz and R&B roots. Bond was the primary songwriter, and he also produced the group's two studio albums, The Sound of '65 and There's a Bond Between Us.
The GBO is notable in popular music history for jump-starting the careers of two future Cream members, bassist/singer Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. One song Bruce and Baker originally recorded with Bond, "Train Time," later wound up in the repertoire of Cream.
Later when blues and R&B scenes erupted on the British gig circuit, the Graham Bond Organisation, sometimes spelled as ORGANisation and sometimes as Organization, became known for playing the most evil-sounding and dirty R&B heard in England. When Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker left the band, Jon Hiseman joined the GBO. In a sense, Bond was a catalyst in the formation of British groups Cream and Colosseum, as members of those groups came from Bond's group.
Although highly influential within English music circles, the GBO never experienced the popular chart success of their peers. One factor for this could have been Bond's rough, growling singing voice, which was an acquired taste. Another was the decided lack of conventional star appeal of the four members: Bond, Bruce, Baker, and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith. In addition, the group's studio albums were never released in the United States. Bruce, then Baker left the band to form Cream in July 1966.
Amid internal band struggles and Bond's worsening problems with substance abuse, the GBO disbanded in 1967. In the years which followed the breakup of his band, Bond's mental and physical health deteriorated. He exhibited symptoms of what today would be called bipolar disorder: erratic, manic episodes, wild mood swings, and periods of intense depression.
After the break-up of the last Organisation line-up, Bond did some solo recording and session work and eventually turned up in Ginger Baker's Air Force. He went to the USA to record and do session work, notably with Harvey Mandel and playing saxophone on Dr. John's The Sun, Moon & Herbs (1971).
Upon returning to England, Bond married singer Dianne Stewart. Later the couple teamed up with Pete Brown to record Two Heads are Better Than One in 1972. Bond and his wife shared an interest in magick, and together they subsequently formed and disbanded several groups, including Holy Magick which recorded We Put Our Magick On You (released in 1971). After the near-simultaneous collapse of his band and his marriage, Bond formed Magus with British folk-singer Carolanne Pegg. However, mainly due to financial problems, the group disbanded around Christmas 1973 without recording. During that same period, he discovered American singer-songwriter-guitarist Mick Lee, and took him under his wing. They played together live, but never recorded. The new band also had plans to include Chris Wood of Traffic, but never materialized due to Bond's death.
The following year found Bond at his lowest ebb. His financial affairs were in chaos, and the demise of Magus had badly hurt his pride. Throughout his career he had been hampered with severe bouts of drug addiction, and in January 1973 had spent a month in hospital after a nervous breakdown. He seemed on course again in 1974, however, until, on May 8 of that year, Bond died under the wheels of a train at Finsbury Park station, London (most sources list the death as a suicide). He was 36 years old. Friends agree that he was off drugs, although he was becoming increasingly obsessed with the occult (he believed he was Aleister Crowley's son).
01. Meditation Aumgn
02. Quabalistic Cross
03. Word of the Aeon
04. Invocation to the Light
05. Pentagram Ritual
06. Quabalistic Cross
07. Hymn of Praise
08. Gates to the City
09. Holy Words: IAO Sabao
10. (These Are the Words)
11. Aquarius Mantra
12. (In Egyptain) Enochian (Atlantean) Call
13. Abrahadabra the Word of Aeon
14. Praise ' City of Light'
15. Quabalistic Cross Aumgn
16. Return of Arthur
17. Magician
18. Judgement
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Forest released two albums, the first in 1969 which is not reputed to have sold well but certainly enabled the release of the second album in 1970. Interestingly a single was released in 1969 which pared 'Searching for Shadows' which was not on either album and 'Mirror of Life' which was on the first.
All of this would mark the band as an obscurity of only minor interest until you listen to their music. Immediately it becomes apparent that this is not traditional folk music as we know it, there are no old songs, the performances are not simple renditions. Equally this is not folk-rock, the dynamics are not straight forward, there is little rhythmic emphasis. Instead we have a surreal evocation of the hidden parts of a lost pagan existence concerned with the remote, strange dark aspects of earlier life. It is like listening to ancient folklore given voice in the same way that Arthur Machen often in books like 'The Novel of the Black Seal' gave a glimpse of the same hidden parts of Britain in writing.
The songs are loosely normal in that they use conventional verse and chorus and have normal instruments such as guitar and harmonica. This may evoke Bob Dylan and while his surreal word play might be a reference point musically this has little in common. Of more direct influence seems to be the impish instability of Syd Barrett in the early Pink Floyd line-up and the nonsensical lyrics of their first album.
Vocals are in harmony, weaving around each other, nasal, sometimes atonal but carrying twisting and evolving melodies. This is not music with an ounce of compromise, it has a vision and clear intent. In this respect like their closest peers Incredible String Band they can initially be quite a daunting listen. It's perhaps a given here that they won't be appreciated by everyone (or perhaps even all folk fans) being such a unique proposition. Although there are not a huge amount of layers it is quite individual, unique and vividly intense. This intensity can be intimidating but as you sit and listen the harmonies, melodies and arrangements are gradually revealed.
There is a church like element to some of the songs like early hymns and the use of pipe and reed organs within the sound can reinforce this. The guitars pick out chiming and mysterious patterns. A listener may feel they are hearing a riddle that they cannot initially understand, there are no drums or bass guitars and the lyrics while evocative often reveal little. Some songs like 'Rain On My Balcony' or 'Do You Want Some Smoke?' have a playful Puckish quality.
With the use of mandolin and pipes the sound often evokes nature as though giving the mischievous mythical figure of Pan breath. Interestingly these instruments often associated with Celtic music here are assumed into a purely English folk sound that combines psychedelia with acoustic instruments (and no doubt soft drugs). Song structures often twist and turn, sections appear giving way to others before returning. There is a whimsical surreal edge as though listening through a dream. Although it is highly unlikely that folk music of previous centuries sounded like this, somehow these eras are directly evoked on the first album in songs like 'A Fantasy You' and 'A Glade Somewhere'.
01. Bad Penny
02. A Glade Somewhere
03. Lovemaker's Ways
04. While You're Gone
05. Sylvie (We'd Better Not Pretend)
06. A Fantasy You
07. Fading Light
08. Do You Want Some Smoke
09. Don't Want To Go
10. Nothing Else Will Matter
11. Mirror Of Life
12. Rain Is On My Balcony
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Full Circle is a really pleasent album that hits a few bumps and doesn't really hit many high points. Forest' sound is really great, a true folk prog sound with that usual dark/light transition found everywhere. What Forest is trying to do I think is pulled off perfectly; There is no real craziness happening, but just a band trying to get through their ideas and enjoying what they are doing. For this we have alot of, perhaps, "boring" songs to some, but to folk fans there is alot to enjoy. "Hawk the Hawker", "Graveyard" and "Famine Song" alone make this album a must listen for those interested...these songs are incredible, and are Forest at their peak! The rest of the album has some good moments but the songs feel a bit disjointed and sometimes you may only want to hear a part of a specific track. Again, though, the melodies are there and the music is fine, there is much to enjoy, you just find yourself a bit hopeful sometimes for something more, and it doesn't quite get there! Still good, though.
This album has both brutal and beautiful elements, and the raw acoustic tunes create weird and very enchanting music. There are much medieval influences here, but the overall aesthetics are not luckily very idealized or fantasy related, but sincere and realistic, filled with mystery, misery and violence. Music is peaceful but partly disturbing too. "Bluebell” was quite good track, and the last song "Autumn Childhood" is very weird with strange rhythm changes and several parts. “The Midnight Hanging of A Runaway Serf” was also quite affecting in it’s brutality and realism. "Graveyard" is also very beautiful and quite accessible song, but maybe best of them all is “Gypsy girl & Rambleway”, describing a love affair with very raw medieval sounds. Before this number is also a fine instrumental track “To Julie”, which could have been performed by real ancient bards. This record is recommended sincerely for fans of depressing middle age music. As a hint, at least for me this album took several spins to open up properly!
FOREST were a late 60’s minstrel/medieval type of folk-prog trio in the style of The INCREDIBLE STRING BAND, FAIRPORT CONVENTION and DR. STRANGELY STRANGE. They released a couple of albums with dark but subtle acid lyrics, incorporating pipes, harmonium, harpsichord, mandolin, 12-string guitar and percussion to their sound. Their music doesn’t have the electricity normally associated with rock, yet it can’t be described as straight folk either, the lyrics being rather strange and the band’s approach being far too eclectic – thus their inclusion here.
Their eponymous album (1969) is practically a clone of The INCREDIBLE STRING BAND whereas “Full Circle” (1970) shows more original songwriting and more diverse arrangements, with themes still dealing with nature, mystery and darkness. Both albums are altogether esoteric, pastoral, serious and communal as befit the times.
Not essential but if you like the spirit of COMUS, GRYPHON or MELLOW CANDLE, you may want to check them out, for a bit of hippie nostalgia. [www.progarchives.com]
Line-up/Musicians:
- Derek Allenby / mandolin, whistle, harmonica, percussion, vocals
- Hadrian Welham / guitar, violin, bass, cello, percussion, whistle, vocals
- Martin Welham / guitar, 12 string guitar, piano, violin, whistle, harmonium, electric harpsichord, percussion, vocals
Guest musician:
Gordon Huntley / steel guitar (01)
01. Hawk the hawker (5:48)
02. Bluebell (3:10)
03. The midnight hanging of a runaway serf (5:04)
04. To Julie (3:36)
05. Gypsy girl & rambleway (4:01)
06. Do not walk in the rain (3:54)
07. Much ado about nothing (3:10)
08. Graveyard (5:46)
09. Famine song (traditional, arr. Forest (2:12)
10. Autumn childhood (6:22)
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EARTH & FIRE's "Song Of The Marching Children" falls somewhere within the song-oriented prog category. The album consists of short tracks on side A, and a larger epic on side B (my CD also came with a bonus track, but there is another CD that features SOTMC, and Atlantis). All of the tracks on Side A feature some of the best qualities found in more adventurous progressive rock, and they end up sounding like miniature epics. The side- long track sounds like 5 songs pieced together. Overall, the music from this band has a strong European symphonic sound, meaning that Baroque, classical, and even circus influences are all over the place.
The band likes to weave in and out of major/minor chords and scales, so the music alternates between happy and sad moods. I also hear a noticeable early KING CRIMSON sound (heavy on the orchestral mellotron sound). EARTH & FIRE had a female lead-singer with one of the warmest, and charismatic, voice that I've heard in prog. She is usually mentioned first when people talk about the band. Some of her lyrics are silly in a surreal, counterculture, sort of way, but her beautiful voice quickly makes you forgive the naive lyrics. This is a majestic album that will please fans of early KING CRIMSON, PFM's "Per Un Amico", and FANTASY.
The albums “Song of the Marching Children” and “Atlantis” belong to the best of the Dutch progrock history. The epic title tracks from both albums (between 16 and 19 minutes) are recommended: the sound is very warm and melodic with lots of changing atmospheres, accelerations and surprising breaks.
The one moment you hear a mellow organ, twanging acoustic guitars and a fairy-like voice from Jerney, the other moment there are bombastic eruptions with majestic Mellotron, heavy floods of organ and some fiery electric guitar work, topped by the powerful voice of Jerney. By the way, she has been married for almost 30 years with Bert Ruiter, former bass player from FOCUS...!
01. Carnival of the animals (2:42)
02. Ebbtide (3:06)
03. Storm and thunder (6:25)
04. In the mountains (3:00)
05. Song of the marching children (18:20)
...a) Theme of the marching children - 2:20
...b) Opening the seal - 1:10
...c) Childhood - 3:10
...d) Affliction - 1:30
...e) Damnation - 2:53
...f) Purification - 4:17
...g) The march - 3:02
Bonus tracks on Polydor cd release:
06. Lost forever (2:48)
07. Invitation (3:50)
08. Song for the marching children (single version) (4:08)
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1973's Atlantis was the third album by Earth & Fire, and without a doubt their most Mellotron heavy album ever. Again the band explores another concept: the rise and destruction of Atlantis, all told on the first half of the album. The side-length title track sounds more or less like a collection of separate songs as often there are silent gaps between them. Whatever the case, it's the theme that ties together this piece. Guitar and Mellotron starts off the whole thing, then the music mellows out with acoustic guitar and Jerney Kaagman's voice. The Mellotron is often quite present throughout this side-length piece, and the album. There are a couple of passages which are much more aggressive, especially "Destruction (Rumbling from Inside the Earth)", which obviously makes sense, given its about Atlantis' final destruction. You will hear themes recur, like the end part called "Epilog (Don't Know)" which was a reprise of "Prologue (Don't Know)".
The second half consists of mostly unrelated stuff, but the material is excellent. First off is the pop-oriented "Maybe Tomorrow, Maybe Tonight", which was released as a single and became a hit in Holland. It's a great piece full of more great Mellotron work. "Interlude" is an instrumental piece, very much dominated by Gerard Koerts' Mellotron, although Chris Koerts (his twin brother) gives some nice guitar work with the wah-wah effect. Then comes the epic "Fanfare". The lyrics are about the instruments in a brass band, but Gerard Koerts really lays it on thick with Mellotron, especially those brass sounds. Earth & Fire was one of the rare bands to use the M300 model of Mellotron (the Moody Blues, Barclay James Harvest and Gentle Giant all used one, and apparently Rick van der Linden when he was with Ekseption, although one gets the suspicion that the M300 he used was the same one Earth & Fire used, and was likely Phonogram Studio's Mellotron, Phonogram being the Hilversum studio that both Earth & Fire and Ekseption had recorded in). "Theme From Atlantis" is obviously a theme from the title track, this time revisted on the second half of the album. "Love, Please Close the Door" is the closing acoustic piece, a nice piece to close the album.
Atlantis is often thought of as the companion piece to Song of the Marching Children (1971), their previous album, and for a good reason, they go together well, have similar themes, heavy use of Mellotron, and obviously Earth & Fire at the top of their game. Atlantis features some really stunning artwork, and if you get the original LP (with gatefold), you get treated with even more stunning artwork, with no print to interfere with it (aside from the Polydor logo, which was the label the band recorded for, the original LP came with an insert that had song listings, lyrics, and members of the band and what they played).
There is no doubt about it, both Song of the Marching Children and Atlantis are the two albums you should get from Earth & Fire.
01. Maybe tomorrow, maybe tonight
02. Interlude
03. Fanfare
04. Theme from Atlantis
05. Love please close the door
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1971 was a year of major upheaval for Jefferson Airplane. Grace Slick and Paul Kantner had begun a relationship during 1970 and on January 25, 1971 their daughter China Wing Kantner was born. Grace's divorce from her first husband had come through shortly before this, but she and Kantner agreed that they did not wish to marry.
In March 1971, Airplane's founder and co-lead singer Marty Balin decided to officially leave the band after months of isolation from the others. Although he had remained part of the band's live performances after the band's creative direction shifted from the brooding love songs that he specialized in, an emerging drinking problem, compounded by the evolution of the polarized Kantner/Slick and Kaukonen/Casady cliques, had finally left him the odd-man-out. He had also been deeply affected by the death of his friend Janis Joplin and began to pursue a healthier lifestyle; Balin's study of yoga and new teetotaler lifestyle further distanced him from the other members of the group, whose prodigious drug intake continued unabated. This further complicated the recording of their long-overdue follow-up to Volunteers, as Balin had recently completed several new songs, including "Emergency" and the elongated R&B-infused "You Wear Your Dresses Too Short" (both of which would later see the light of day on archival releases).
On May 13, 1971, Grace Slick was injured in a near-fatal automobile crash when her car slammed into a wall in a tunnel near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Her recuperation took several months, which forced Jefferson Airplane to cancel most of their concert and touring commitments for 1971.
The band still managed studio dates during 1971. Their next LP Bark (whose cover featured a dead fish wrapped in an A&P-style grocery bag) was issued in September 1971 as the inaugural release on the band's Grunt Records vanity label. Although it was the final album owed to RCA under the band's existing contract, manager Bill Thompson eventually struck a deal with the company to distribute Grunt.
The single lifted from the LP, "Pretty As You Feel", was excerpted from a longer jam featuring Carlos Santana and featured lead vocals by Joey Covington, the song's composer. It was the last Jefferson Airplane single to place on the US singles chart, peaking at #60.
By this time, creative and personal tensions within the group were becoming a major factor. Even with the departure of Balin, the creative & personal divisions between Slick and Kantner on the one side and Kaukonen and Casady on the other persisted. (Jorma Kaukonen's song, "Third Week In The Chelsea," from Bark, chronicles the thoughts he was himself having about leaving the band). These problems were exacerbated by escalating drug use – namely Slick's alcoholism – which caused the Airplane to become increasingly unreliable in their live commitments and led to some chaotic situations at concerts. By the beginning of 1972 it was evident to most people close to the group that Jefferson Airplane was teetering upon collapse.
The band held together long enough to record one more LP, Long John Silver, which was begun in April 1972 and released in July. It was clearly a rather desultory effort from this once-great group, since by this time the various members were far more engaged with their various solo projects -- Hot Tuna, for instance, had released a second (electric) LP during 1971, which proved even more successful than its predecessor, while the sessions for Bark were interspersed with Hot Tuna and Kantner/Slick duo sessions. Though still a nominal member of the band, Joey Covington had immersed himself in the production of his own album with Peter Kaukonen and Black Kangaroo on Grunt; consequently, John Barbata (formerly of The Turtles and CSNY) played on most of the album and continued on for the promotional tour that followed. The Long John Silver LP is notable mainly for its cover, which folded out into a humidor (presumably for the storage of marijuana).
With the formal departure of Covington and addition of Kantner's old friend David Freiberg on vocals, Jefferson Airplane began a tour to promote the Long John Silver LP in the summer of 1972, their first concerts in over a year. This tour included a major free concert in Central Park that drew more than 50,000 people.
They returned to the West Coast in September, playing concerts in San Diego, Hollywood and Albuquerque, culminating in two shows at Winterland in San Francisco (September 21-22), both of which were recorded. At the end of the second show the group was joined on stage by Marty Balin, who sang lead vocals on the final song, "You Wear Your Dresses Too Short".
Although no official announcement was ever released, the Winterland shows proved to be the last live performances by Jefferson Airplane until their reunion in 1989. By the beginning of 1973 Casady and Kaukonen had left the group to concentrate on Hot Tuna and their recently acquired love of speed skating, which Freiberg had reluctantly taken up in an attempt to bolster group camaraderie. With Kantner and Slick, he would record the unsuccessful Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun before the creation of their own Airplane offshoot, Jefferson Starship; both Kantner and Slick would record further solo albums.
Jefferson Airplane's second live album, Thirty Seconds Over Winterland was released in April 1973. It is now best remembered for its cover art, which depicts a squadron of flying toasters, a design that the band later alleged was plagiarized for the famous "After Dark" computer screensaver design.
In 1974, a collection of leftovers -- singles and B-sides, including "Mexico" and "Have You Seen The Saucers," as well as other non-album material -- was released as Early Flight, the last official Jefferson Airplane album.
The final Jefferson Airplane studio album — if their half-hearted 'reunion' from 1989 isn't (and really shouldn't be) counted — presented yet another alteration in the band's lineup. Not only would Long John Silver (1972) be the second project minus co-founder Marty Balin (vocals), who left after Volunteers (1969), but Joey Covington (drums) also split before the long-player was completed, forming his own combo, the short-lived Black Kangaroo. Covington contributes to a pair of Paul Kantner's (guitar/vocals) better offerings "Twilight Double Leader" and "Story of Jesus," while Hot Tuna kinsman Sammy Piazza (drums) lends a hand to Jorma Kaukonen's (guitar/vocals) whimsical "Trial by Fire." Eventually, Turtles' and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young percussionist John Barbata (drums) would fill the drummer's stool for the remainder of the Airplane's rapid descent.
He would likewise make the transition alongside Kantner, Grace Slick (piano/vocals) and Papa John Creach (violin) into the brave new world of Jefferson Starship. Even more so than on their previous platter, Bark (1971), the material featured on Long John Silver rather blatantly exposes the two disparate factions to have emerged from the once unified Airplane. The Kaukonen/Jack Casady (bass) offshoot — à la Hot Tuna — and Kantner/Slick, whose Blows Against the Empire (1970) from two years earlier clearly pointed to the exceedingly cerebral approach evident on Slick's indistinct "Aerie (Gang of Eagles)" and "Easter?," or the mid-tempo meandering of Kantner's "Alexander the Medium." The edgy, blues-infused rocker "Milk Train" is one of the few standouts on Long John Silver, giving Creach a platform for his ever-adaptable and soaring fiddle.
Quite possibly the heaviest selection on the package is the Slick/Kaukonen co-composition "Eat Starch Mom." Appropriately, it concludes the effort on a positive charge with the Airplane hitting on all cylinders before landing the craft (for all intents and purposes) the last time. When the LP hit store shelves in the summer of 1972, it became instantly notorious for the cover that transformed into a cigar (read: stash) box. The inner sleeve went as far as reproducing the image of tightly compressed domestic ganja, replete with sticks, seeds and stems.
01. "Long John Silver" (Jack Casady / Grace Slick)
02. "Aerie (Gang of Eagles)" (Grace Slick)
03. "Twilight Double Leader" (Paul Kantner)
04. "Milk Train" (Papa John Creach / Grace Slick / Roger Spotts)
05. "The Son of Jesus" (Paul Kantner)
06. "Easter?" (Grace Slick)
07. "Trial by Fire" (Jorma Kaukonen)
08. "Alexander the Medium" (Paul Kantner)
09. "Eat Starch Mom" (Jorma Kaukonen / Grace Slick)
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2nd and last album from legendary power trio featuring John Cann, John Gustafsson and Paul Hamond, ex ATOMIC ROOSTER, QUATERMASS etc. They only made 2 albums, and both are serious hardrock killers !!
Hard Stuff's second album isn't as brutally heavy as their debut album, but it does still have some quite heavy guitar work. They sound a little more polished though, and they do experiment with some different styles.
There are some hard edged power chording going on but there's also some ventures into funk and weirdness. 'Mermany' is strange acoustic rock that kind of grows on you after a while. 'Libel' has a groovy bass line layered with r&bish vocals, and 'Bolex Dementia' is a fuzzy conglameration of shortwave radio noises, scratchy noise samples, and a psychotic sounding guitar riff.
The album's reigning acheivement has to be 'Spider's Web'. Great guitar riff, Great bass playing, a bit funky but not as funky as Deep Purple's Stormbringer. 'Roll A Rocket' would be the album's 'Speed King'. It would make for a perfect soundtrack of to a muscle car chase from an old 70s B movie.
Heavy, but not as evil as one might think, 'Bolex Dementia' is a solid effort that is a bit more experimental than the previous album.
01. Sick N' Tired - 4:04
02. Mermany - 5:58
03. Jumpin' Thumpin [ Ain't That Somethin' ] - 2:55
04. Dazzle Dizzy - 3:41
05. Bolex Dementia - 3:41
06. Roll A Rocket - 5:19
07. Libel - 3:58
08. Ragman - 3:01
09. Spidere Web - 4:55
10. Get Lost - 3:01
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Hard Stuff was an English hard rock and early heavy metal group, which included John Du Cann and Paul Hammond formerly of Atomic Rooster. Also in the lineup were vocalist Al Shaw), and John Gustafson, formerly of Quatermass.
Du Cann and Hammond had left Atomic Rooster due to disagreements with Vincent Crane over the increasingly bluesy, soulful direction he wanted to take that band in. Consequently, compared with Atomic Rooster's more progressive leanings, Hard Stuff were based more heavily on aggressive guitar.
Originally, Du Cann, Hammond and Shaw had formed a band provisionally entitled Daemon, with the intention of eventually touring and recording under the name Atomic Rooster. Gustafson was invited to join them on that basis, but after finding out that Crane retained the rights to the Atomic Rooster name, the quartet decided to continue anyway, but under the name Bullett instead.
As Bullet, the band released one single, "Hobo", the first on Deep Purple's Purple Records label. Following that release, however, they were prompted to change their name yet again, this time to Hard Stuff, due to a legal threat from a US band also called Bullet.
Hard Stuff toured heavily across Europe, particulary in Germany and Italy, often as support to Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. Their career was curtailed by a car crash in which Du Cann and Hammond were badly injured. Although the release of a second album went ahead, the band were soon to fold.
Hard Stuff's first album featured Shaw, but he had left the band by the time of its release and was uncredited.
John Cann, the guitarist for Hard Stuff, came hot off the heels of Andromeda and Atomic Rooster, a hard driving prog rock group led by keyboardist mastermind, Vincent Crane. Hard Stuff's Bulletproof, which was released under Deep Purple's Purple Label in 1972, was considerably heavier with thick mounds of aggressive guitar chords and lightning fast leads. The music itself is very rooted in the 70s and doesn't age as well as say, Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. But that's really if your ear is untrained to true 70s hard rock authenticity.
Hard Stuff is to Blairwitch Project as Led Zeppelin is to Nightmare on Elm Street, with the latter being more raw, gritty, and not filtered through big production values and commercialism. Songs on the album like the hard hitting blues fest 'Sinister Minister' or the heavy metal self-document 'Time Gambler', convey a sense of soul, strength, and edginess which seem to be missing in most of today's contemporary hard rock music. To sum up, if you want to experience the vintage sounds of of an obscure long-haired, 70's metal group, then this is it.
01."Jay Time"
02."Sinister Minister"
03."No Witch at all"
04."Taken Alive"
05."Time Gambler"
06."Millionaire"
07."Monster in Paradise"
08."Hobo"
09."Mr. Longevity: RIP"
10."The Provider: Part One"
+ Bonus
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Astonishingly daring debut album, not as focused or overpowering as King Crimson's first but still crashing down barriers and steamrolling expectations. The mix of medieval harmonies and electric rock got stronger on subsequent albums, but the music here is still pretty jarring.
Kerry Minnear was probably the only prog rock keyboard player of the era who allowed his synthesizers to sound like themselves and not mimic orchestras; Gary Green's guitars are alternately loud and brittle or soft and lyrical, and always surprising; and the presence of saxes and trumpets (courtesy of Phil Shulman) was unusual in any rock band of the era — all of which explains how Gentle Giant managed to attract a cult following but hadn't a prayer of moving up from that level of recognition.
"Funny Ways" was the softest prog rock song this side of Crimson's "I Talk to the Wind," but a lot of the rest is pretty intense in volume and tempo changes. "Nothing at All" by itself is worth the price of purchase.
Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era in 1969, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-'70s to break out of its cult-band status, but somehow never made the jump. Somewhat closer in spirit to Yes and King Crimson than to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or the Nice, their unique sound melded hard rock and classical music, with an almost medieval approach to singing.
Gentle Giant was born out of the ruins of Simon Dupree & the Big Sound, an R&B-based outfit led by brothers Derek, Ray, and Phil Shulman. After switching to psychedelia in 1967 and scoring their only major hit that year with "Kites," as Gentle Giant the group abandoned both the R&B and psychedelic orientations of the previous band; Derek sang and played guitar and bass, Ray sang and played bass and violin, and Phil handled the saxophone, augmented by Kerry Minnear on keyboards, and Gary Green on guitar. Their original lineup also featured Martin Smith on drums, but they went through several percussionists in the first three years of their existence.
In 1970, Gentle Giant signed to the Vertigo label, and their self-titled first album — a shockingly daring work mixing hard rock and full electric playing with classical elements — came out later that year. Their second effort, 1971's Acquiring the Taste, was slightly more accessible and their third, Three Friends, featuring Malcolm Mortimore on drums, was their first record to get released in the U.S. (on Columbia). Their fourth album, 1973's Octopus, looked poised for a breakthrough; it seemed as though they had found the mix of hard rock and classical sounds that the critics and the public could accept, and they finally had a permanent drummer in the person of John Weathers, an ex-member of the Graham Bond Organisation.
In 1974, however, Gentle Giant began coming apart. Phil Shulman decided to give up music after the Octopus tour, and became a teacher. Then the group recorded the album In a Glass House, their hardest-rocking record yet, which Columbia's U.S. arm rejected as too uncommercial. The two-year gap in their American release schedule hurt their momentum, and they weren't heard from again until the Capitol release of The Power and the Glory in 1975.
Gentle Giant released Free Hand, their most commercial album, in 1976, but then followed it up with the jarringly experimental Interview. After the 1978 double-album Playing the Fool, the group went through a seeming change of heart and issued a series of albums aimed at mainstream audiences, even approaching disco, but by the end of the 1970s their popularity was in free-fall. Minnear, who had been playing an ever-more central role since the mid-'70s, had already left the group when Gentle Giant called it quits in 1980. Ray Shulman later became a producer and had considerable success in England working with bands like the Sundays and the Sugarcubes, while Derek Shulman became a New York-based record company executive.
01."Giant" (D Shulman, P Shulman, R Shulman & K Minnear) – 6:22
02."Funny Ways" (D Shulman, R Shulman & K Minnear) – 4:21
03."Alucard" (D Shulman, P Shulman, R Shulman & K Minnear) – 6:00
04."Isn't It Quiet And Cold?" (K Minnear) – 3:51
05."Nothing At All" (D Shulman, R Shulman & K Minnear) – 9:08
06."Why Not?" (K Minnear) – 5:31
07."The Queen" (Trad Arr. D Shulman, P Shulman, R Shulman & K Minnear) – 1:40
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Acquiring the Taste was the second album of English progressive rock band Gentle Giant, released in 1971.
This was a departure from the blues and soul styles found on their self titled debut. It was more experimental, more discordant, and with more varied instrumentation. In the sleeve text, the band made this famous declaration:
"...It is our goal to expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of being very unpopular. We have recorded each composition with the one thought - that it should be unique, adventurous and fascinating. It has taken every shred of our combined musical and technical knowledge to achieve this. From the outset we have abandoned all preconceived thoughts of blatant commercialism. Instead we hope to give you something far more substantial and fulfilling. All you need to do is sit back, and acquire the taste."
The recording was made at the following studios
Advision Studios - (Engineers: Martin Rushent, Big A & Garybaldi)
A.I.R. Studios, London - (Engineer: Bill Price)
The band's second album is a major advance on its first, featuring superior singing, playing, and songwriting, as well as a more unified sound, without sacrificing the element of surprise in the first record. Many of the melodies and even the riffs here (check out Gary Green's first guitar flourish on "Pantagruel's Nativity") have a pretty high haunt count, and all of the musicianship displays an elegance seldom heard even in progressive circles — but the record also, amazingly enough, rocks really hard as well. Elements of hard rock and Gregorian chants mix freely and, amazingly enough, well throughout this album.
01."Pantagruel's Nativity" – 6:50
02."Edge of Twilight" – 3:47
03."The House, The Street, The Room" – 6:01
04."Acquiring the Taste" – 1:36
05."Wreck" – 4:36
06."The Moon Is Down" – 4:45
07."Black Cat" – 3:51
08."Plain Truth" – 7:36
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Three Friends (1972) is a concept album by the British progressive rock band Gentle Giant. The group's third album was also their first American release to chart, peaking at #197 on the Billboard 200. It marked a change in drummers from Martin Smith to Malcolm Mortimore.
It is Gentle Giant's first concept album, dealing with three childhood friends whose lives take them very different places. It was also their first self-produced album. The two former albums were produced by David Bowie and T.Rex producer Tony Visconti.
Gary Green's guitar solo on "Peel the Paint" uses an echoplex belonging to Mike Ratledge that Green's brother Jeff, a roadie with Ratledge's band Soft Machine, had borrowed.
Gentle Giant's third album (and their first self-produced effort, Tony Visconti having run the sessions on the two previous records) was another advance, this time in the direction of a harder rock sound — everything sounds turned up here, especially the guitars, the bass, and the electronic keyboards. Three Friends hardly sacrificed any of the group's progressive intentions, however, and there are some softer moments here, such as the playful, sprightly first half of "Schooldays"; the harmonies and arrangements still had a distinctly medieval feel, and the melodies, though a little harder to discern here (which made them even more appealing when they did become obvious), were quite engaging. This is supposed to be a concept album, about the relationship between three friends across a lifetime, and the original notes and lyrics have been reprinted, but none of that is necessary in order to enjoy the songs here.
01."Prologue" – 6:13
02."Schooldays" – 7:37
03."Working All Day" – 5:12
04."Peel the Paint" – 7:31
05."Mister Class and Quality?" – 5:51
06."Three Friends" – 3:04
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"Octopus" is a fitting title, since the band is playing here like they've got extra arms. I have yet to hear any GG album so skillfully wrought as "Octopus"; if you're approaching the band from the outside, this is definitely the right appetizer. When describing the band's music, words like "medieval", "madrigal", "complex" and "counterpoint" usually find their way into the text, and all of them would apply here. But the album's real achievement is delivering all of these qualities in a remarkably soft sell. They're not out to dazzle you, their genius is simply a natural outcropping of the individuals involved. "The Advent of Panurge" sets the stage for this, introducing all manner of music in as natural and organic a setting as possible so that listeners don't gag on the amount of substance crammed into a single song.
Elsewhere, the humorously bleak "A Cry For Everyone" (which seems to poke a little fun at brooding acts like BLACK SABBATH and JETHRO TULL) and playful experiments like "Knots" and "Dog's Life" reveal a band maintaining a sense of humor in a genre (progressive rock) known for being self-consciously serious. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention how good Derek SHULMAN's voice sounds on this record; Derek can sometimes come across as an acquired taste, but he's as smooth as butter on "Octopus". New drummer John WEATHERS also adds some wonderful touches, like the xylophone solo on "Knots."
Coming on the heels of having listened to GENESIS' Trespass, I'm reminded of how the word "sublime" is overused in musical criticism. To call "Octopus" "sublime" is perhaps to miss the point, since the band works hard to keep their heavenly arrangements earthbound.
This is quintessential GENTLE GIANT, inspired at every turn, their sticky genius on display from any angle.
01. The Advent Of Panurge (4:45)
02. Raconteur Troubadour (4:03)
03. A Cry For Everyone (4:06)
04. Knots (4:11)
05. The Boys In The Band (4:34)
06. Dog's Life (3:13)
07. Think Of Me With Kindness (3:31)
08. River (5:52)
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Again released on the Vertigo swirl label, JH's third effort at least managed a very promising artwork spread over a gatefold (and posters), but alas the musical propos didn't follow the hopes the fantasy drawings were hinting at. Still reduced as a trio live and inviting a drummer (amongst other musicians) in the studio to beef up their sound. Compared to the previous album, keyboardist Brian Chatton is also involved in the songwriting, which makes them a full and equal trio, but the overall sound of the group won't be altered too much, still hovering on a soft folk rock with west coast influences (CS&N or America or Bread etc..., even some Steely Dan) but without any trace of country rock. Again Giles plays on most tracks (bar two), but he rarely shows what he was up to in Crimson, no anymore than Jackson shows his The Nice chops.
Musically and sonically, RF is quite close to FAB in many regards and it's certainly not the string arrangement on the would-be single of Maureen (the opening track) that will recuse that statement. The following Your Beauty does however spell some kind of proggy ambiance and is linked to As She Starts, both tracks hovering around The Guess Who and Steely Dan. In the same realm, Bebop is a nice tidbit (mellotrons detected >> yummy!!!). Other tracks like Chips And Chicken or the title track to Poor Peter and Bellyful Of Water were ranging from Honky Tonk to hillbilly roadside blues and fun roll-out rollicking rock.
Catch A Thief could almost be a good The Nice track, relying on a wild piano, while Chorale IS a The Nice track (a part of the Five Bridge Suite) with Jackson singing almost Gabriel-like. But most of the second side's tracks remind in some ways the short crazier and zanier The Nice tracks from their first two albums.
Again very deceiving an album, JH was now standing its last leg and everyone decided that they should try out for a full blown-out extravaganza, with full deluxe works; which on the view of the first three albums has me guessing why in the world would someone risk so big with so few in hand (a little more on paper though). In either case RF is a slight improvement on FAB, probably the closest to The Nice in spirit and the album by which you'd want to start to investigate, should you really wish to do so!
01. Maureen
02. Oh You Beauty
03. As She Starts
04. BeBop
05. Catch A Thief
06. Ragamuffin's Fool
07. Chorale (Five Bridges Suite)
08. Chips And Chicken
09. Poor Peter
10. Bellyfull Of Water
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