Indian Summer were a progressive rock quartet, formed in Coventry, UK, in 1969. The members were Malcolm Harker on bass, Paul Hooper on drums, Bob Jackson on keyboards and lead vocals and Colin Williams on guitar. Their manager was Jim Simpson who was managing Black Sabbath at the time. After signing Sabbath to the Vertigo label, he then signed Indian Summer with the same production team to record their debut album. Indian Summer's album of the same name was released two and a half years later, in 1971. Indian Summer (full album): https://youtu.be/XhfRVTcVaRI :
The mysterious group Rumplestiltskin was the idea/brainchild of a succesful record producer Shel Talmy, his intent was to create a supergroup from highly respected, seasoned session man to rival the rock monoliths of the day. The “band” were all top British session players who all played under pseudonyms. The line up comprised of Peter Charles Greene (Peter Lee Stirling - vocals), Andrew Balmain (Alan Parker - guitar), Jeremy Eagles (Alan Hawkshaw - keyboards), Jackson Primrose (Herbie Flowers - bass) and Rupert Baer (Clem Cattini - drums). Alan Parker, Herbie Flowers, and Alan Hawkshaw also worked as part of Blue Mink for several years, and Hawkshaw wrote music for various TV shows and films. Clem Cattini ended up in one of the variants of Colloseum for a while, This great band was comprised of some of the best musicians in the UK at the time, although, probably for contractual reasons, they weren't allowed to use their real names. Bassist Herbie Flowers and guitarist Alan Parker were the main characters in this hard rock band, as was vocalist Peter Lee Stirling, who'd been in Hungry Wolf. They released two fairly rare albums in the early seventies and split, with the various members getting involved with the likes of Donovan, Sky, Lou Reed and Marianne Faithfull. Both albums were released on CD by Repertoire Records a number of years ago and are certainly worth checking out. It was Shel Talmy's idea to form a supergroup that might rival the highly successful outfits that dominated the early Seventies, such as Status Quo and Led Zeppelin. Instead of picking young, untried rockers, Talmy brought together highly experienced professional session men. Among them was drummer Clem Cattini. Although Rumplestiltskin wasnt a hit, it was nevertheless a serious project, as can be heard on the eight powerful tracks on their classy album, first released in 1970. The band also featured singer Peter Lee Stirling, who later scored a hit single with Beautiful Sunday under the name of Daniel Boone. The first album is good bluesy rock with longish organ and guitar solos but nothing particularly progressive about it. Black Magician was released on Bellaphon, the same label as Nektar. Members: Peter Lee Stirling (vocals) Alan Hawkshaw (keyboards) Alan Parker (guitar) Clem Cattini (drums) Herbie Flowers (bass) Make Me Make You (1970): http://youtu.be/LJeYSG1k6EA
This is a great documentary by David C. Robin and produced by Scott Smith on prog rock history which is not limited to the four or five well-known British bands of the 70's. It covers the history of progressive rock from the 70's to the 2000's and includes bands from the international prog scene. http://youtu.be/1_8PtTGFh9w
On the softer side of krautrock, Bröselmaschine are sometimes considered “krautfolk” a more unique subgenre. With the talented and published musician Peter Bursch leading them, they released albums in the 70s with melodic acoustic guitar and slightly Eastern influenced styles and some psychedelic certainly in the scheme.
After six adventurous and successful years the original and first line-up disbanded in 1974. Some members went to India whilst others moved to the countryside (all members came originally from Duisburg). That was when the founders Peter Bursch and Willi Kissmer reformed Bröselmaschine. Klaus Dapper, a sax player and flutist from the jazz scene, joined as a new member. The musicians already knew each other from diverse sessions and common gigs. It was Conny Plank then who put them under contract and recorded their new record in his studio. Since the band hadn't reached its full line-up at that time, Bröselmaschine's friends viz Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru), Roland Schaeffer (also Guru Guru) as well as Jan Fride (Kraan) helped them by playing at their studio recordings. Line-up: Peter Bursch (guitar, vocals) Klaus Dapper (sax, flute) Willi Kissmer (guitar) Roland Schaeffer (bass) Jan Fride (drums) Mani Neumeier (percussion) Mahendra Kapadia (tablas)
Liquid Visions was founded in Berlin at the turn of the year 1994/95 by Hans-Peter Ringholz (guitar, vocals), Dave Schmidt (aka Sula Bassana) on bass, Robert Terkhany (guitar, vocals) and drummer Markus Rometsch. Over the years the band saw a bunch of line-up changes and developed the sound which basically is a blend of garage/fuzz rock and spacey trips in combination with a lightshow concept when playing live. The band soon started playing gigs. In 1996 besides the remaining Ringholz, Terkhany and Schmidt the crew also featured Alex Bulgrin on vocals, Mike Ostrich (organ) and drummer Wolfgang Seidel. The eponymous debut album came out another two years later, released on Nasoni Records. The live album 'Endless Plasmatic Childhood Overdose' offering three extended tracks followed in 2000 and shortly Katja Wolf joined playing organ, theremin and celebrating a blacklight dance-performance with her flourescent painted body to the swirling sounds of the band. The next album 'Hypnotized' (2002) also features Kiryk Drewinski (vocals, guitar) and new drummer Chris Schwartzkinsky. This line-up remained stable until January 2004 when Dave Schmidt left to concentrate on other tasks. He was substituted by Eric Haegert. The same year saw the release of another album called 'From The Cube'. Liquid Visions went into hibernation though, played the last concert so far on New Year's Eve 2004.
Members: Hans-Peter Ringholz / guitar, vocals David Schmidt / bass, keyboards, synth Robert Terkhany / guitar, vocals Markus Rometsch / drums Alexander Bulgrin / vocals Thommy Habjanec / drums Klaus Bühler / drums Smolle / drums Daryal / guitar Gülay / vocals Amanda / vocals Wolfgang Seidel / drums Michael Strauß / organ Steffen Schurz / drums Katja Wolff / theremin, organ, performance Kiryk Drewinski / guitar, vocals Chris Schwartinsky / drums
Van der Graaf Generator is an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriter Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s.
Years active: 1967–1972, 1975–1978, 2005–present
The band formed at Manchester University, but settled in London where they signed with Charisma. They went through a number of incarnations in their early years, including a brief split in 1969. When they reformed, they found minor commercial success with The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, and after the follow-up album, H to He, Who Am the Only One, stabilised around a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton, saxophonist David Jackson and drummer Guy Evans. The quartet subsequently achieved significant success in Italy with the release of Pawn Hearts in 1971. After several exhausting tours of Italy, the band split in 1972. They reformed in 1975, releasing Godbluff and frequently touring Italy again, before a major line-up change and a slight rename to Van der Graaf. The band split in 1978. After many years apart, the band finally united at a gig at the Royal Festival Hall and a short tour in 2005. Since then, the band has continued as a trio of Hammill, Banton and Evans, who record and tour regularly in between Hammill's concurrent solo career. Their most recent album, ALT, was released in June 2012. The group's albums have tended to be both lyrically and musically darker in atmosphere than many of their prog-rock peers (a trait they shared with King Crimson, whose guitarist Robert Fripp guested on two of their albums), and guitar solos were the exception rather than the rule, preferring to use Banton's classically influenced organ, and, until his departure, Jackson's multiple saxophones. While Hammill is the primary songwriter for the band, and its members have contributed to his solo albums, he is keen to stress that the band collectively arranges all its material. Hammill's lyrics frequently covered themes of mortality, due to his love of science fiction writers such as Robert Heinlein and Philip K Dick, along with his self-confessed warped and obsessive nature. His voice has been a distinctive component of the band throughout its career. It has been described as "a male Nico" and would later on be cited as an influence by Goth bands in the 1980s. Though the group have generally been commercially unsuccessful outside of early 1970s Italy, they have inspired several musicians, including John Lydon and Julian Cope. Current Members: Peter Hammill – guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals (1967–1972, 1975-1978, 2005–present) Hugh Banton – organ, bass pedals, bass (1968–1972, 1975-1976, 2005–present) Guy Evans – drums (1968–1972, 1975-1978, 2005–present) Former members: Chris Judge Smith – vocals, drums, wind instruments (1967–1968) Nick Pearne – organ (1967–1968) Keith Ellis – bass (1968–1969; died 1978) Nic Potter – bass (1969–1970, 1977–1978; died 2013) David Jackson – saxophone, flute (1969–1972, 1975-1977, 1978, 2005–2006) Graham Smith – violin (1977–1978)
Discography: The Aerosol Grey Machine (1969) The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other (1970) H to He, Who Am the Only One (1970) Pawn Hearts (1971) Godbluff (1975) Still Life (1976) World Record (1976) The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome (1977) Present (2005) Trisector (2008) A Grounding in Numbers (2011) ALT (2012) More Info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_der_Graaf_Generator
Fairport Convention - "It All Comes 'Round Again" - documentary - 1987 “A 2 hour documentary tracing the history of Britain's premier folk-rock group, Fairport Convention. It features interviews with band members past and present, journalist Patrick Humphries and record producer Joe Boyd.”
This visual history of Fairport Convention contains only one song performed by Sandy Denny, Solo, in a black&white amateur recording, but includes several interviews which allude to Sandy, and there are many photos of her. Full documentary: http://youtu.be/xtms24UBn08
In the picture: Simon Nicol ... June Tabor Richard Thompson ... Dave Pegg Dave Swarbrick ... Ric Sanders Dave Mattacks ... Trevor Lucas Sandy Danny ... Jerry Donahue Ian Matthews ... Martin Lamble Judy Dyble ... Bruce Rowland Martin Allcock ... Ashley Hutchings Joe Boyd ... Patrick Humphries
You hear a re-recording in DVD format videotape embodying Fairport Convention at the time of 1987 in action at the annual festival in Cropredy, England. The tape was released in the same year, in honor of the 20-year anniversary team. The plot is not limited to one of the festival: individual songs interspersed comments of former and current at the time of the group and videos of different years in order since 1968. Thus, we see the difficult history of Fairport Convention for 20 years of career, marked by repeated changes of composition and tragedies. However, all of these obstacles could not undermine the spirit of the musicians. Tracks: The Lark In the Morning Cat on the Mixer Three Left Feet Time Will Show the Wiser A Sailor's Life (Roud 273; Laws K12) Come All Ye The Hens March Through the Midden / The Four Poster Bed Now Be Thankful Hand of Kindness Angel Delight It'll Take a Long Time When I Was Sixteen Rosie Polly on the Shore (Roud 811) Solo Adieu, Adieu (Roud 490; Laws L12) Fiddlestix The Hiring Fair Matty Groves (Roud 52; Child 81) The Rutland Reel / Sack the Juggler Meet on the Ledge
Alexandra Elene Maclean "Sandy" Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer and songwriter, perhaps best known as the lead singer for the folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". Sandy Denny - Under Review - documentary Preview: http://youtu.be/9F17gs8zHC8
Biography: Pangee were a band out of Quebec who released one album in 1995. Their name comes from the original supercontinent at the birth of planet Earth, later split into Laurasia and Gondwanna. This band only managed one album (so far) and no news have filtered through for another. The album is of a conceptual nature, is totally instrumental and deals with the early mythology of our planet. The name of the group and the sleeve artwork reinforces this. The music can be described as a cross between King Crimson and Shylock (who were Crimson influenced). The band obviously takes its inspiration from the "classic" 70's era, and does not sound like a 70's retro act. In many ways, Pangée bears some similarity to Anglagard, especially in their heavy instrumental emphasis, and alongside the dark, starkly satisfying King Crimson-meets-Shylock approach that both bands adopt at times.
But where Anglagard provides respite with touches of Scandinavian folk and other related influences, Pangée retain a distinctly French vibe throughout. Members: Thierry B. Gateau - bass, clarinet, guitar, bass pedals Julien Bilodeau - guitars Jean-Francois Bergeron - keyboards Pierre-Olivier Nadeau - violin
Biography: Osiris The Rebirth is the brainchild of veteran space-rocker Dave Adams. In 2007, while Dave was playing bass with reknowned Hawkwind tribute band Assassins of Silence, but looking for more musical outlets, he had the thought of resurrecting one of his early bands, Osiris. The original Osiris blueprint was anchored in the space-rock genre, with some prog tendencies (think Warrior-era Hawkwind)… so Dave’s first stop was fellow Assassins founder-member Milo Black, another veteran of the music wars with a 20-year recording pedigree. The duo began reworking some of the more promising old Osiris songs, and new songs also quickly began to take shape. Dave was keen to keep the Osiris name… as were all the other bands in the world called Osiris… the name Osiris The Rebirth not only gave a nod to the 1987 version of Osiris, but also referenced Egyptian mythology in an appropriate manner. After some experimentation with additional personnel, it became clear that the duo were all-but self-sufficient as a recording unit, and the band settled as a collective, with Dave and Milo as core members and guest contributions from other artists, to add colour and variety. Members: Dave Adams / bass, background vocals, narration
Milo Black / guitars, vocals, synths, effects, noises End Of Something (from the album "Remnants Of Life") : http://youtu.be/RyPv_1EzzXA Discography: Remnants of Life (2009) Lost (2011) "Remnants Of Life" was released in November 2009, featuring contributions from Nik Turner, Bridget Wishart and Cyndee Lee Rule. "Lost" was released in June 2011, featuring contributions from Bridget Wishart, Cyndee Lee Rule and Jude Merryweather.
