Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Third Eye - Third Eye (Germany, 1976)


Excellent and quite original progressive jazz-rock by this international group, based in Germany but led by Dutch keyboardist Jan Huydts. The lineup is a bit unusual, with no guitar or winds players, being almost entirely keyboard-driven. In fact, both Huydts and drummer Frank Kollges are credited with playing mellotron, which features prominently in their unique and atmospheric sound. Very highly recommended!

Update:  It seems there were problems with the original upload, so I've put up a new link. Please let me know if it works okay this time.

http://rapidshare.com/files/235441952/ThirdEyeNew.RAR

Monday, May 11, 2009

To Be - To Be (Germany, 1977)


Relatively well-known due to being released on Brain, this album was essentially the side project of Achim Reichel's backing band. Solid funky fusion with a nice laid-back atmosphere and an excellent rhythm section (featuring two separate drummer/percussionists). Reminds me of certain French groups of the era, like Spheroe or Patchwork, but with a heavier latin influence.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?mdmryrogzjn

Monday, May 4, 2009

Shivananda - Headlines (Switzerland, 1979)


Second and final album by this Swiss fusion outfit, led by keys player Kurt Baebi. Quite similar in style to their slightly more well-known first LP "Cross Now", although with an even heavier Weather Report influence than before. At times I'm also reminded of Caldera. Pretty solid effort all around.

http://www.4shared.com/file/103856317/7697e6b4/Headlines.html

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Ceddo - Aufhoren (Germany, 1980)


Here's the second album by this obscure trio, led by guitarist Jochen Schrumpf (who later played in the 80s incarnation of Kollektiv). Their style was a loose, guitar-driven fusion that's somewhat comparable to Dzyan circa "Time Machine" or even the Australian group Quasar, but less freaked-out and with a lighter jazzy touch.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?w00ixmmew3l

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Michael Borner's Sun - Michael Borner's Sun (Germany, 1981)


Yet another drop in the endless ocean that was the late 70s/early 80s German fusion scene. This is definitely one of the rarest as well, being released as a private pressing on a strictly local basis. Imagine the funkiest and most tropical/latin sounding elements of similar groups like Surgery, Syncrisis or Rozz and you'll have a good idea of the style on display here. Michael Borner is a guitarist, so you can expect some excellent lead work too, seemingly a prerequisite for all of these bands. Highly entertaining, if you ask me!

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?kmyqw3nrjm5

Friday, April 17, 2009

Pyramid - Pyramid (Australia, 1980)


Here's the debut album by this forgotten Australian quartet. Led by keyboardist David Hirschfelder (who's apparently become quite well known in recent years as a film score composer), these guys enjoyed some minor local success and even got to play Montreux in 1983, the same year they released their second and final album "Sunshower". They played a sort of easy-going mainstream fusion, heavily indebted to late 70s Weather Report. I'd imagine they were also somewhat inspired by fellow Aussies Crossfire. The highlight of this LP is definitely the lengthy "Universal Suite" which takes up most of side 2. A bit on the smooth side, but not a bad album overall.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?jttqj2zwwki

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Atmosphere - Jazz-Rock (Luxembourg, 1981)


Hailing from tiny Luxembourg, of all places, and being released on a small Belgian label more known for classical music, it's no wonder this group's lone album is among the most obscure fusion LPs from Europe. Led by trumpeter Gast Waltzing and keys player Rene Nuss, their style was definitely on the jazzier end of the jazz-rock spectrum, quite naturally resembling the Ian Carr/Geoff Castle sound of latter-day Nucleus. Certain bands from the Italian scene also come to mind, most strikingly the contemporaneous (and similarly obscure) Free Wave System. Your mileage may vary, but I'm really quite fond of this one.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?emmmdrmmmzd