Exploring unheralded rock songs from many genres including classic rock, hard rock, psych, garage, metal, proto-punk, punk, post-punk, and the occasional blues tune...
Time for a little thrash metal. While I'm not a huge fan of gravelly vocals on metal songs, the music of this Passaic, NJ band cannot be denied. Here is track one off of the debut album, Power and Pain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QFNFB6whpg&feature=youtu.be
Today, let's listen to a short-lived L.A. psych band that put out two interesting albums in 1968, but broke up shortly thereafter. That's too bad as this band seemed to have some potential.
This Canadian rock band had a string of rock hits in the late 60's/early 70's including No Sugar Tonight, Share the Land, and the tragically overplayed American Woman. This was a band that could play hard or soft with considerable success. Here they are from 1972 with a real corker(after the 45 second intro).
This modern day punk band from Austin, Texas has released an impressive freshman effort in 2015's Catharsis. It will be interesting to see how the band develops from here. For now, check out the this track off of the debut.
La Revolucion De Emiliano Zapata started out as a Mexican psych rock band who managed to have a hit in Mexico and Europe with their song Nasty Sex. As the years went by, there were lineup changes and the band's sound changed considerably and not for the better IMHO. But, here they are from their first effort, 1971's self titled debut.
The recently departed Texan was known as the Godfather of Fusion. For a person like me who really enjoys fusion, that is a lofty position to have held. But regardless of whether or not you like fusion, Larry Coryell was a damn fine guitarist. Here is is off of his 1969 release, Coryell, that shows off a small part of his talent.
Now time for a Japanese hard rock power trio that never got their due. Speed, Glue & Shinki was, perhaps, not a great name for a band trying to crossover into a North American/European dominated genre. In any case, this band released a couple of powerful albums and we can enjoy them in retrospect. Here they are off of their first release, Eve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYRe2nBUeNY
The Apple Pie Motherhood Band was a Boston psych rock band who put out a couple of albums in the late 60's as part of a (failed) attempt by record company execs to create a "Bosstown Sound" to compete with San Francisco. Still, there was some good music recorded in that time. Here is the Motherhood Band with a cover of the Chuck Berry classic off of their second and final album, Apple Pie. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBDv72XyBAU
Eero Koivistoinen was a Finnish saxophonist who was originally trained in classical music. As a young man, however, he found his way to Boston where he learned jazz at the Berklee College of Music. He went on to have a wonderful career in differing styles of jazz. Here he is from a decidely jazz/rock period.
In the mood for some rockabilly(not 80's/90's revival rockabilly, but original rockabilly). So here is one of Akron's finest with a song about nagging his girlfriend...
Chubby Checker made new music in the 70's?? I know, I was confused too when I first heard this track on college radio last year. I remember hearing the song and thinking what a cool funky tune I just heard. I was floored when it was back introduced as a Chubby Checker song. I guess there was more to Chubby that Twist variations. Decide for yourself.
Ah, the Police, so much promise. Yet, to my ears, they only partially delivered. While they could deliver a song like Roxanne, which is maybe one of the top ten rock singles of all time, they put a lot of popular drivel out there (I'm looking at you Every Breath You Take and Wrapped Around Your Finger). But when they were good, they were great. Here they are with the B Side of Message in a Bottle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98ZCW3AaxsY
The Insect Trust was a New York psych rock band that leaned a bit more towards the rock side. Most of their music was a little light for me, but I do enjoy a few tunes. Here is one of them, the title track, off of their second and final album.
In the early 80's, I was not into hard rock or heavy metal, but I was into J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. That's why I was at least peripherally aware of the metal band, Cirith Ungol, which was named after a location from Tolkien's book. But, not being a metal fan, I did not dive into Ungol's music until much later.
As it turns out, Cirith Ungol formed in California in 1972, but it would be nine years before they would record their first and arguably best album, Frost and Fire. Here is the second song off of that album featuring their classic heavy metal sound.
For those of you expecting some Nordic heavy metal due to the name of the band and the song title, you may be disappointed. Dungen is a modern day Swedish prog rock outfit making some fine music in an underserved subgenre. Check them out here off of their 7th album, Allas Sak. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AONx6UaHKh8&feature=youtu.be
The Ruts were an English punk band that had a style similar, to my ears, to the Clash. They incorporated a lot of reggae sounds into their music which helped that cause. Here they are, though, from a 1979 B side that is decidedly un-Reggae. Enjoy.
Sonic's Rendezvous Band was a Detroit supergroup in the mid to late 70's that featured Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5 and Scott Asheton of the Stooges. It sounds just as you imagine it would; powerful, guitar-driven, and unapologetic. During the time of their existence, they only managed to release one single, City Slang. However, years later, some of their other recordings and some live shows have surfaced. Here they are from early 1978.
Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight is certainly a trippy title, and I've heard a few. Next to probably Kraftwerk, there was no more influential band in the early 70's Krautrock scene. Formed out of a German art commune, Amon Düül II was a wonderful amalgamation of musicians making interesting music. It was never dull!
Oz was a Finnish metal band by way of Sweden where they recorded most of their music. Their second album, Fire in the Brain, was by far the most successful as it was released during heavy metal's first peak. Here they are with a track off of that album.
Lucio Battisti was one of Italy's best rockers who never managed to have much success outside of Italy. Still, we have the music to explore now. Here is Lucio from his third album, sounding a bit like an Italian John Fogerty.
It's been a while since I featured a soul track in this space, and that's a shame. I will attempt to make up for it in some small measure by sharing this tune by Lee Dorsey. There was a lot more to his career than his big hit, Working in a Coal Mine. Here he is from a couple years later.
Kleenex was a Swiss punk band formed in 1978 that managed to release a few singles and a homemade cassette album over the next couple of years. Unfortunately, the Kleenex tissue company made them change their name as they were starting to get a following. By 1980, the band was known as LiLiPUT and by 1983 they were done. Here they are with their second single.
King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard is an unfortunately-named yet musically wonderful neo psych band from Melbourne, Australia. This group sounds to me like Devo would have sounded like if the Mothersbaugh brothers got into psych rock instead of punk. In any case, King Gizzard has been extremely productive. They just released their ninth album since their first in 2012. And, they will be releasing their 10th album shortly on the heals of their 9th. This is a Ty Segall level of production. Here they are from their 2016 release, Nonagon Infinity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXXBbTDmrUc
Long before Americans knew "Barry Goldberg" as a TV character on "The Goldbergs", keyboardist Barry Goldberg was making great music in the 60's. At the ripe age of 22, Barry played keyboards with Bob Dylan at the infamous Newport Folk Festival appearance. Later, he would go on to form The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield. After the Flag fizzled, he formed Barry Goldberg Reunion and released one album. Today's selection is from the first single off of that album featuring a lot of wah wah guitar.
I don't know much about this British heavy psych band, except that I stumbled across this tune on the internet and liked it a lot. If you like fuzz, you'll like it too. This would end up being the only music released by Rainbow Family. Enjoy!
801 was a band formed by Brian Eno and Roxy Music guitarist Phil Manzanera and others for the purpose of playing three concert dates in 1976. The third date was recorded and released as 801 Live. They were quite tight by the third performance. The music comes off as a mix between rock and jazz fusion. You can definitely hear the fusion elements in today's selection.
Stone Garden was a late 60's high school band from Lewiston, Idaho. They developed a hard rockin' sound and managed to record a single in a friend's basement studio. That pressing of 300 was enough to get some local deejays at the time to generate some buzz for this band. This lead to a recording session in Vancouver in the summer of 1969 as most of the band was preparing for their senior year in high school. For a number of reasons, though, the album never got released. By 1972, the band members were moving on with their lives and Stone Garden would be all but forgotten. That is, until decades later when, in 1998, those Vancouver tapes finally got released as the band's self titled LP. The entire album is a hard rock/psych masterpiece and it is a shame that the band did not get some more initial success as they likely had a lot more to offer.
Jim Ford was not your typical 1960's white country artist from Kentucky. Instead of playing straight up country, he incorporated a lot of soul and funk to create his own blend of country music. While continuing to record music, Jim became quite the songwriter in the 70's, writing tunes for Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, and Nick Lowe, among others. But here he is from his debut LP, Harlan County. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2oJ-BzhODk
