Blue Oyster Cult - Tyranny and Mutation

1972

Eclectic rock from 1972. This is heavier and darker than the first album. Still not approaching the all out heaviness of Zeppelin or Sabbath...they're closer to Yes on this one. They're leaving behind the sillier psychedelic bits and getting into that progressive vibe.  Well crafted songs that sound great and are performed great. Oh yeah, and scary creepy lyrics that are not sung in an intimidating way.

Blue Oyster Cult - Blue Oyster Cult

1972

This album is really, you know, it's really early in the big picture. 1972! It's not full on heavy like Sabbath or Zeppelin. It's more eclectic with really good playing, lyrics and overall sounds. The production is a bit on the murky side. Closer to Bowie, The Doors, The Who, Pink Floyd... but not sounding like any of those bands. It's like half super awesome and half psychedelic weirdish rock that reminds me of a bunch of obscure early 70's bands that fell by the wayside. The difference is B.O.C. is a really good band. This album is very enjoyable to listen to.

Thin Lizzy - Shades of a Blue Orphanage

1972

I think this one is not quite as interesting as their debut. It's a little bit of a grab bag. They remind me of Queen in that sense, where they're mixing up styles...it doesn't really matter what kind of music they play because the singer is so strong he can pull off anything, but they usually return to the core of what the band is about. In this case it's still being solidified. The first album is so odd/good it makes me want to return to it and figure out what's going on. This album is good, but I don't get the urge to return.

Arthur Lee - Vindicator

1972

Bluesy late model Henrix-y, but kinda generic. Little bit of funky soul, but mostly rockin'...blues. I like Arthur Lee, but I would for sure be reaching for the Love albums first. This record is cool though, reminds me of Mountain or somebody like that when this rocks hard. There's some rambling and silliness too.

Speed Glue & Shinki - Speed Glue & Shinki

Really loose double album like the White album, but nobody is gonna confuse this with the Beatles. Electronic blips buzz hums between drum solos and smooth laid back tasty blues leads. At first this thing seems to be all over the place, but after a couple listens it becomes more cohesive. The album stays the same but my mind seems to be able to grasp better after a few spins. At different points Black Sabbath, The Stooges and Lynyrd Skyrnd all come to mind, but those thoughts come and go and this shouldn't be compared to those bands because that's not what this is about. Fleetwood Mac's Tusk comes to mind as well. Not because anything on this album sounds like that album. Kitchen sink...not really. Some nice blues going on here sometimes. Overall this album is pretty laid back and pretty awesome. Psychedelic blues rock if you prefer.

Buffalo - Dead Forever

Killer 70's bluesy rockin'. Catchy too. Tasting metal.

Wicked Lady - Blow Your Mind

Heavy bluesy rock. Real dirty rockin' like Blue Cheer by way of The Stooges. Heavier Grand Funk type break downs and jam groovin'. Really raw recording. I don't know that fancy production would really help. This is music for people who don't like to take a bath. Totally diggin' this, but I think I might have to take a shower. Keep it simple stupid. A couple songs might seem to go on too long, but they start to take on a Flipper quality to them, and if you took as many bong hits as the band then they probably won't seem that long at all.

Flied Egg - Dr. Siegels Flied Egg Shooting Machine

Eclectic Japanese progressive oddness that does not forget to rock. Great Album.

Bang - Mother; Bow To The King

Hard rock. Better songs than on their first album.

Fun Facts: This is two albums on one CD Reissue.

Detroit - Detroit

These guys remind me of the Blues Brothers movie. Piano boogie blues...from Detroit? Soaring guitar and keyboards doing gospel type blues.

Big Star - 1# Record

Pleasant enough. They call it power pop or something like that. One of the earliest examples I would think.

Jericho - Jericho

Hard rockin' that sometimes gets a little nutty like late model Melvins meets Deep Purple hold the keyboards. There's also a big extended grand song like Pink Floyd meets ELO. The album ends with a rocker that sounds like a progressive semi unstructured Who jam/song under constuction.

-This has been gettin' lots of play in the car lately. Hard rockin' Deep Purple meets Pink Floyd progness.

Jimi Hendrix - War Heroes

Jimi's getting a bit more funky. I guess because he was dead when they Frankenstiened this together. There's still some incredible smokin' jammin' on here. Guitar jammin' that is. Sounds like Woodstock era Hendrix. Also sounds unfinished probably because of several instrumentals being included.

Fun Facts: Nine "songs" recorded between 1967 and 1970.

Jerusalem - Jerusalem

1972

If Grand Funk Railroad had decided to get progressive it might sound something like this.

Finchley Boys - Finchley Boys

Starts out pretty bluesy then gets sort of psychedelic. Really good one right here. Heavy Psyche!

Fun Facts: This was recorded around '68/'69, but not released until 1972.

Hard Stuff - Bullet Proof

1972

A couple guys from Atomic Rooster. Some Jimmy Page inspired guitar rockin'. Sounds a bit like the Leslie West Mountain songs but not that simple. Little bit of Sir Lord Baltimore type rockin' maybe even Montrose. Better than average 70's hard rock. A lot better than average. These guys are pro! Vocals sometimes remind me of Joe Walsh.

Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond

1972

Criminally overlooked classic rock album. Sounds like early Lynrd Skyrnd meets Santana for a drive through the countryside. Good musicians playing good songs. The whole albums flows smoothly from beginning to end. This a great record and a must for fans of classic rock/progressive hard rock.
I'm trying to think if I've ever said "criminally overlooked" in a conversation with a real person. I doubt it.

I'm diggin' this.

Peter Townshend - Who Came First

1972

An interesting novelty for fans of The Who. Not as aggressive as anything The Who did during the same time period.