William Tell's Guitar

Mother Sunday - Midnight Graveyard / You Don't Understand (1971)

2012-02-26T20:31:00.014+01:00

I kept you waiting but you won't be disappointed with this one ! It was on my wishlist for some time but I finally managed to get the thing for you.

Mother Sunday is now a quite sought after obscurity which deserves attention. I've contacted its founder member, Mr. André Lehman who generously allowed me to post Mother Sunday's story and music on this blog. Mr. Lehman kindly shares two of his personal photographs !

Only 500 copies of this psychedelic jewel were pressed on the small swiss label Moon Records (founded by H.Boris Bühler, a friend of the band). The tracks were recorded at Steff Sulke's famous Soundcraft Studio, in Bienne. It features guitarist Hans "Bruschmi" Bruggmann from the swissbeat  band "The Counts". The cover was designed by Matthias Weibel.
  
Here's Mother Sunday's biography by André Lehman:

Mother Sunday was formed in ca. 1969 under the name “The Juice”. We consisted of a guitar player by the name of Gégé, a drummer whose name I cannot remember and myself on keyboards and vocals. Our repertoire consisted of current chart hits cover versions and we were a very busy band on the weekends with three to five halfhour gigs in different locations a night. We never had a permanent bass player, always guests, once even a young girl by the name of Heidi.
By ca. 1970 a new bass player joined as a guest, his name was Michel. He was a real crazy hippie with extremely long hair and he introduced us to “substances” to open our minds. LSD changed our attitude to music instantly and from there we were open minded to experimental live jam music. 

Rolf Sydler
 At the time in Zurich (Switzerland) there was a rock club in the old part of the city called “Star Club”. Many later great worldwide success acts played three 45minute sets every evening for three weeks on a very small stage like “Spooky Tooth” “The Nice” and “Black Sabbath”. We hung out with the Black Sabbath guys a great deal and started to get into the dark groove musically. That’s when we changed our name to Mother Sunday and from then on the days of covering chart material were over. We went creative. Our repertoire built up on a general tune but always with open improvisations during gigs all depending on our state of mind. Soon a fan base of like minded people developed and followed us to wherever we went to play. 

Michel Leuenberger
The line up was Rolf Sydler (16 at the time!) on drums, Michel Leuenberger on bass, and me André Lehman on keyboards and vocals. We toured the country a lot and also did many gigs in southern germany and western france and played quite a few high profile open air festivals. 
In 1971 we were offered a deal for a single by Moon Records, the owner being a good friend and the drummer of Sysiphos, a great experimental swiss band!!! The single reached the “BLICK” top ten in Switzerland for a couple of weeks.
The band stayed together for another two years doing many gigs but things went downhill when the parents of the drummer were so concerned about their sons health or sanity or whatever you want to call it and basically lured him out of the band with money and fancy cars etc. We auditioned many potential replacements over months but since we were such a close knit outfit we were unable to find and therefore split up.
After that, I got involved in the music industry and for over 30 years I headed record companies, owned a record company, produced many bands etc. I now try to live a quiet life here in Ireland and have again found the time to go back to my musical roots by producing my own stuff at home for my own pleasure or for the pleasure of those who are interested.
André Lehman, Nov. 2011

From top to bottom: pianist André Lehman, drummer Rolf Sydler and bassist Michel Leuenberger, guitarist Erwin Bertschi (not playing on the record).

Line-up / Musicians:

André Lehman / keyboards & vocals
Rolf Sydler / drums
Michel Leuenberger / bass
Hans "Bruschmi" Bruggmann / lead guitar 
H.Boris Bühler / congas

Midnight Graveyard:

You Don't Understand:

Special thanks to André Lehman and H.Boris Bühler for their collaboration.

Markheim - Markheim (1972)

2011-07-04T14:24:00.003+02:00

After some abscence, here I am back on the saddle with another obscurity ! This strange record was released in 1991, consisting of a soft green paper cover, including two illustrated inserts. Only 200 hand-numbered copies were pressed ! 

Markheim was formed in 1972 by Andreas Wyden and dissolved the same year in lack of money, leaving some curious demo tapes behind. These guys lived in Paradiso, in the canton of Ticino (the italian speaking part of Switzerland). Some names appear english to me: I presume the band leader Andreas Wyden and drummer Enzo Geninazza are swiss but I have no information about pianist Phillip Reeves and guitarist Trevor Thoms (english nicknames?). The band traveled to Venice during summer 72 in order to record their freshly composed songs. 

The the demo tapes were later on remastered by croatian poet Dubravko Pusek (now living in Lugano) who also financed the whole project ! All tracks and lyrics were composed by Andreas Wyden. The music itself is a mix of crazy progressive, folk and psych rock. Some tracks are rather experimental as well ! My personal favourites are "Birdman" and "Lonely Traveller", two beautiful laid back ballads, and "Anniversary" which is more progressive.

Thank you guys and especially Mr.Pusek for this little spleeping and undiscovered jewel ! Someone will just have to explain where does "Markheim" come from ? Enjoy...

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Dirty Woman
Birdman
Lonely Traveller
Long Way To Go
Gold Dust In My Eyes
Boering
Anniversary
No Tytle (Stale Bread And Water)
Whore House
New Day

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P4GHY01G

Jivaros - Cette Lumière Grise / Entre Nos Ombres (1983)

2011-03-20T23:37:00.001+01:00

A bit of punky Wave won't hurt ! A digger friend of mine had this little jewel and I'm now proud to own it. This stuff comes from La-Chaux-de-Fonds and was made in 1983 by Patrick Dubois. No more information about it.

One can read a strange message on the back cover: "Jusqu'à ce que vos têtes saignent...", meaning "Until your heads bleed..." 

Anyway, this it good stuff to me: taste a good bassline and a nice drum break !

PS: Patrick Dubois, if you read us, drop a few lines please !

Cette Lumière Grise

Entre Nos Ombres

Ytterbium 70 - Futur Soldat Suisse / C'était Du Vent / Le Temps Ne Tombe Pas En Panne (1983)

2011-02-19T17:09:00.004+01:00

Let's now focus on subversive punk rock made in Switzerland ! The story about this band from Lausanne goes like this: a certain "CAM" (nickname) formed Ytterbium 70 in the 70's. In 1983, the band released this provocative and subversive EP "Futur Soldat Suisse" (Future Swiss Soldier), openly promoting antimilitarism. All the songs were composed in 1979 by CAM. Pressed in France, the records got blocked for some time at Thônex's customs post because a swiss customs officer didn't want to take responsibility for letting subversive stuff into the country ! It led to the temporary seizure of 2000 copies and created some buzz in the papers because cases of censorship are rather seldom in Switzerland. It finally went very smoothly as the authorities decided there weren't any reason to destroy the whole stock, fortunately for us ! The single began to sell from April 1st, 1983. Nevertheless, the single was unexpectedly removed from sale only ten days after ! Was the Confederation in the know ? We'll probably never find out. Anyway, it explains why the record is now mega rare and can reach 300$ a copy ! 

"Ytterbium 70" later became "SM-69". Just a detail: all the songs are sung in french; I may translate some songs but it will take some time. If you understand french you can always have a look at the band's website ! http://www.ytterbium.ch/index.html

Futur Soldat Suisse

C'était Du Vent / Le Temps Ne Tombe Pas En Panne

Sources:
- http://www.ytterbium.ch/index.html

Hard Horse - Let It Ride / Hang Old Freddy (1972)

2010-12-21T00:34:00.001+01:00

Here's your Christmas present folks ! 

Just a warning: this DOPE is very, very addictive !

I first have to say that the band is British but this single was released on many labels, especially on Splendid (from La-Chaux-de-Fonds). It features Paul Thomas (vocals) who played in the band Peppermint Circus (from Coventry, UK). Producers are Ben Findon and Peter Shelley.

Swiss release on Splendid label

The song was originally released in 1971, on "D'Art" label. Other copies  were made on different labels, probably for all DJs of the world... Let's say it, between all different covers, the swiss one looks definitely the best ! It shows how the song "Let It Ride" literally kicks ass !  You have now access to the definitive raw psych nugget which will keep playing in your mind for many days. Merry Christmas and "Let It Ride" !

First UK release on D'Art label

French release on Vogue label

German release on United Artists label

Pink Elephant label

Let It Ride 

Hang Old Freddy

Bruno Spoerri - Rollin' (Überreicht Durch Die Generaldirektion SBB) (1973)

2010-12-20T23:14:00.000+01:00

Another one-sided promo single from the magician Bruno Spoerri ! The single is in fact an advertisement for the Swiss Federal Railways (in german SBB = Schweizerische Bundesbahnen). 

Imagine a high pitched melody lead by a deep funky bass mixed with train sounds and announcements... Delirious stuff but precursory for 1973 !

Rollin' (Überreicht Durch Die Generaldirektion SBB)

Plankton B² - 20 Minutes / Full Flesh / Jam (1996)

2010-11-05T23:10:00.002+01:00

Wow ! Just one word: DOPE ! I got this one (format is 7'' 33 rpm) on Ebay recently and I don't regret my purchase ! Just three funky and jazzy tracks led by a killer organ. Very groovy as usual but sadly, very little information about it. Anyway, it's now time to get into the grooves ! 

20 Minutes

Full Flesh

Jam

Magog - Magog (1974)

2010-10-23T18:16:00.002+02:00

A bit of swiss jazz won't hurt. Founded by trumpeter Hans Kennel, this is a high level mix of complex conventional, fusion and experimental jazz. The album was recorded in November 1974 at the Tonstudio Bauer (in Ludwigsburg, Germany) and released on Japo Record in 1976. The album is fairly calm and soft all the way through with some energetic Fender Rhodes and trumpet blows. A mellow marriage which you will love I'm sure !

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Lock
Gogam
Rhoades
Der Bachstelzer
Summervogel
New Samba

Line-up / Musicians:

Hans Kennel / trumpet, flute, percussion
Andy Scherrer / soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, percussion
Paul Haag / trombone, percussion
Klaus Koenig / piano, electric piano, percussion
Peter Frei / bass
Peter Schmidlin / drums, percussion

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RQEF5H64

Wiebelfetzer - Live (1971)

2010-10-19T18:20:00.000+02:00

It all started at the "Weisser Wind" of Zürich, in April 1971. Seven Swiss, three Danes, an American and a Swede, played the whole evening of the 27th, experimenting new sounds and melodies, for all the free jazz lovers... The result is just astonishing, brilliant and out of time !!! That session will always remain timeless, as these sounds (more than music) transports you elsewhere, allowing a long interior mediation. Of course, you can call it free and experimental jazz / rock but I don't think it can properly be classified. This so dense album is properly a chronological history of music: hear it a hundred times, you'll always discover new things in it ! After a few plays, it's to me a subtle and refined melange of Stravinski, Miles Davis (especially Bitches Brew) and Amon Düül. It also makes me think about "Shining" creepy OST.

I recently contacted Mr. Beat Kennel (the owner of the "Wiebelfetzer" rights and Bazillus) to talk about a reissue of that scarce release. As Mr. Kennel said, we'll wait a bit until giving a free link on this blog, regarding the fact that a lot of musicians were involved. In order to respect their work, the link is momentarily removed. I'll let you know about the reissue matter soon.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Bazillus-Infection
Force Ichha
Viodo
Abrikosmos 

Line-up / Musicians:

Beat Kennel (CH) / drums, percussion
Klaus Thalmann (CH) / bass guitar  
Fredy Studer (CH) / drums, percussion                      
Stephan Wittwer (CH) / guitar 
Düde Dürst (CH) / congas, percussion  
Irène Schweizer (CH) / piano, electric piano 
Jürg Grau (CH) / pocket trumpet
Anne Christiansen (DK) / vocals, percussion  
 John Tchicai (DK) / saxophone alto & soprano
          Ole Thilo (DK) / organ, piano 
Runo Ericksson (SWE) / bass trombone
Peter Warren (USA) / bass, bass guitar 

I finally found the time to make a high quality video for you folks ! You won't believe your ears !

Source:
- http://www.bazillusclub.ch/

Country Lane - Substratum (1973)

2010-10-19T17:57:00.002+02:00

Not a favourite, just a well known rare gem... This is another "Splendid Records" release, the same label as "Pacific Sound" for instance. In my opinion, this is just a shy prog/folk album not hard enough to represent a major swiss nugget. Too many vocals, maybe too conformist. Just one or two strange dialogs in the beginning of some songs which bring nothing special to the album. I think you got it, I don't like that album which could be just called a joke. Give it a try and make your own opinion !

Songs / Tracks Listing:

With A Sweet Whistle To My Ears
It's Only Your Memory Playing Just The Thought Of A First Love
Substratum
In The Morning Sun
Good Old Time
Song To Ivan
Letter To A Friend
Captain Bloom
Lilliput's Safari

Line-up / Musicians:

Raymond Amey - guitars, synthesizers, vocals

Olivier Maire - organ, piano, spinet, vocals

Jean-Francois Donze - drums

Giancarlo Duella - bass

Freddy Von Kaenel - rhythm guitar, banjo

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/114522949/CL73S.rar

Bruno Spoerri - Die Elektroniker Von Lansing Bagnall (Nach Einer 8-Stunden-Schicht) (1971)

2010-10-18T19:37:00.001+02:00

I want to share a promotional single which only contains one magic track by the swiss famous composer Bruno Spoerri. The man experimented a lot in the beginning of the 70's, becoming an electronic music avant-gardist. Spoerri did a lot of TV commercial music after entering the world of Jazz. This advertising single is rather experimental: funky riffs bursting, mixed with Lansing Bagnall forklifts sounds ! The strange gatefold cover is 21 cm wide and 18 cm tall ! Just check out the pictures ! Sorry but no time to translate that one so German speaking people will be glad...

Konzert Für Elektronischen Fahrschalter, Hubhydraulik, Elektrische Guitarre Und Synthesizer

Here's also an interview of Spoerri playing with buttons in his laboratory.

The Goldfingers - L'Oeil Bleu (1968)

2010-10-10T00:03:00.007+02:00

Just for you my lucky friends, here's what we could call "la perle rare" !

It's all about an obscure swiss movie directed by a certain Jacques Sandoz, in 1968. As far as I know, the film was shot in La-Chaux-De-Fonds. I haven't been able to find more information about the scenario so if you have any, just contact me !

The Original Soudtrack of Sandoz's film was performed by "The Goldfingers" and many other musicians. It is heavy psychedelic stuff but there are some calm passages of jazzy music.

It's the first time you'll find this album on the web as I recently bought the LP which is impossible to find and much expensive. It was released on the Label "Soundell" and as far as I know, it's a private press of only 200 copies !

Fortunately for you, my predilection record shop "Belair Records" has just released the first "official" reissue ! You can either go to Lausanne (Switzerland) and buy it or contact them !

The official reissue has just been released on Itunes !

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Publicity
Pity
Landscape
Deep Down Inside
I Lost My Way
I Found My Way
Aquatique
Love Is A Different Thing
You Know Babe
Mix In The Bistro
Western Thoughts (Part. 1)
Western Thoughts (Part. 2)
Paradise's Devils
La Course
Unmilitary March

Here are some extracts !

Eruption - The Walls Of Hell / Rondo (197?)

2010-09-27T18:09:00.001+02:00

Wow ! I'm sure nobody heard of that one ! This is another psych/prog nugget I bought at Stigmate Records ! I have a lot of trouble finding a date for that single so I hope you'll help me. Hearing it, it's sounds like 71 or 72 but there's neither any date on the cover nor on the record. The second track is quite a clumsy reprise of Brubeck's "Blue Rondo A La Turk" which abruptly gives way to raw psychedelic guitar riffs...

I know the first track was composed by a certain "Ronnie Husser" but no idea who were the other members. The cover let us think there were four members so Husser surely was the leader. Thank you for helping me finding more information about the band !

The Walls Of Hell

Rondo

Electric Funeral - The Wild Performance (1970)

2010-09-21T00:13:00.005+02:00

I recently went to Stigmate Records  (a good record dealer in Geneva) in seek of new Swiss treasures. Mauro Bozzi aka. "Bozz", the soul of the shop, showed me quite an interesting LP. An obscure live recording, only released in the 90's which I never heard of ! I was getting more and more excited, seeing that the copy I was holding was numbered #14 out of 200 !!! After a quick listen, I new I needed it for the blog. Really, that's big heavy raw hard rock reminding me of Danish band "Moses". Unfortunately, an annoying persistent crackling noise shows up from the beginning to the end... The fact that it could have been recorded on a cassette explains everything. But anyway, it makes it more raw ! I haven't been able to locate where the concert took place but surely in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (Romandie).
  

Songs / Tracks Listing:

People
War Funeral Song
Black Pages
Rock Ba Rock
To Be One
We're Gonna Change The World
Fly A Way

Line-up / Musicians:

Dominique Bourquin / vocals
Alain Christinaz / guitar
Edi Hirt / drums
Pierrot Wermeille / bass

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B800SFY3

Lost Peace - Lost Peace (1977)

2010-09-17T16:32:00.001+02:00

Here's for you another exclusivity ! That one belongs to my favourites and you'll understand why listening to it !  I assume it was formed in 1970 in Bern, as Rateyourmusic says, but unfortunately, we have very little information. Now, I'm calling all the Placebo lovers: you really have to download it. It's so well rhythmed, funky and groovy, maybe the best Placeboesque record from Switzerland... In my opinion, it's far away from "Dizzy Bats" which sound a bit more traditional and formal. An original copy's not so expensive but nevertheless, rather tough to find. Anyway, an excellent jazz fusion release that deserves to be listened to. I assure you won't regret it !

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Fun King
City West
Einzeiler
Join In
Äs Herbschtelet
Studweid Ballade
Papera

Line-up / Musicians:

Marc Hellman / drums, percussion

Willy Müller / piano

Peter Lehmann / trumpet, violin

Martin Heiniger / tenorsax, clarinet

Markus Küng / guitar

Claudio Bischoff / bassguitar

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N0HE3M5S

Attacks - We Call It Attackology (1967)

2010-09-02T21:35:00.003+02:00

I found the Grail ! This is possibly the rarest and unkown Helvetian album ! The only way to get it was to contact one of its member, Mr. Patrick Herberich aka. Pat Murphy (guitar) who was kind enough to send me a copy on CD. As you won't find the LP anywhere, I really would like to thank him for letting me share that treasure with you... 

Few information about it, I only know that Patrick Herberich's brother called Mike also played in the band. It was recorded in Riehen (Basel) in 1967 and most likely, a hundred were pressed ! There's only one auction on Popsike ! About the style, let's say it's pop folk with country accents even if some of you will classify it in garage rock because of the period. It's really soft and quiet excepting a few rock'n'roll tracks and an interesting reprise of Hey Joe, sung in French ! To be honest, it isn't a musical revolution but a testimony of a past era and a new artefact for historians and rare LP diggers. The sound quality is a bit poor but I did my best to erase crackles of the original rip I got on CD. But enough talking now, go and listen to it, you won't find it elsewhere...

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Foot Tapper
Take This Hammer
See See Rider
Tico Tico
Hey Joe
Razzle Dazzle
Dandy
Fall In Love
Zambesi
And The Beat Goes On
Maid Marions Theme
Dear Mrs.Applebee
Blue Suede Shoes

Download:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bpq6mub1curvfun

Round House - 'Scuse Me (1972)

2010-08-24T19:58:00.001+02:00

As I was seeking for new unknown stuff, I bought a sealed copy on Ebay, containing the dope I needed...

It's called Round House and it's partially Swiss. The dope in question is a mix of a jazz rock and funk with Latin influences. Very little information about that one but I assume it was formed in Zürich in 1969, as stated on Rateyourmusic.

Out of the six members, I know for sure that J-P. Wuttke and Kurt Weil are Swiss. Gustav Csik and Laszlo Juhasz are hungarian but no idea about Bernd Heil and Ralph Bloch...

I recommend you to listen to "I Hear You Call" and "'Scuse Me" which are to me, the best ones. Just enjoy it, folks !

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Motives
Born To Wander
I Hear You Call
Send Me A Letter
Share My World
'Scuse Me
Sunshine In My Eyes
Thinking Of You
Don't Get Me Wrong
Circle Of Dreams

Line-up / Musicians:

Bernd Heil / guitar, bass, vocals
Ralph Bloch / drums
Jean-Pierre Wuttke / saxophone (tenor & alto)
Gustav Csik / organ, tenor saxophone
Laszlo Juhasz / trumpet, bass
Kurt Weil / trombone, vibraphone

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BQF15133

The Sevens - The Sevens (1965)

2010-08-17T12:49:00.003+02:00

Now, let's enjoy a garage rock rarity ! In fact, an original can reach about 3000$ nowadays !

The Sevens, a Swiss quintet that formed in Basel in 1964 and worked on  into 1968, cast themselves firmly in the mold of the then ongoing  British Invasion -- the Animals, the Kinks, and the Pretty Things all take a bow in their sound, while their eponymous 1965 debut album included covers of the Newcastle band's "I'm Crying" and Ray Davies'  "Don't You Fret." There, however, comparisons run into a brick wall, as  the Sevens reveal themselves to be several steps removed from even the  craziest import beat boomer. In bassist Michel Bovay, the band boasted a  songwriter who was at least the equal of his Anglo counterparts, and in  vocalist Pierre Aebischer was a frontman of almost breathtaking style.  Together, they collide with an electricity that is as eccentric as it  is spellbinding -- there are moments, most notably "The Love of a Bird,"  where Aebischer slurs so heavily and bellows so loudly that you wonder  whether he was even in the studio when the record was recorded. He  could easily have been singing drunkenly along later. But that is a part  of this remarkable album's charm. "Seven," the band's first single,  clashes brooding organ with metallic crashes, beneath Aebischer's  foreboding recitation of the things that happened "on the seventh day of  the seventh month...." In contrast, "You Should Know" is a brutal  R&B stomp, wherein the singer sounds almost completely removed from  the band (and some bizarre stereo separation adds to the dislocation),  while a brokenhearted drawl through "I'm Gonna Dress in Black" could be a  lost Doors demo, as vocals and organ melt together into one slurring  liquid blob. This compilation rounds up the Sevens' full 1965 output --  their 12-track LP along with seven non-album A- and B-sides, and it's  safe to say there's not a clunker in sight. The gatefold packaging,  meanwhile, rounds up 11 picture sleeve singles, a crop of band and  hysterical fan photographs, and an all-too-brief band history. All told,  the whole package explodes with a freakbeat craziness that is  irresistible. 

Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide 

For more information, here's their entire story: http://homepage.swissonline.ch/featheredapple/sevens.html

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Be My Loving Baby
I'm Crying
I'm Gonna Dress In Black
Talk About Her
The Love Of A Bird
Why Don't You Love A Man Like Me
Panam
Pretty Little Angel
What Can I Do
You Should Know
In God I Trust
Don't You Fret
Seven (1965)
Balla Balla (1965)
Ju Ju Hand (1965)
Little Girl I Know (1966)
My Mother (1966)
I'm Not The Right (1966)
Run Me Down (1966)

Line-up / Musicians:

Pierre Aebischer / guitar, vocals
Michel Bovay / bass, vocals
Pino Gasparini / guitar, vocals
Nando Gasparini / drums
Markus Hungerbuehler / organ

Source:

- http://homepage.swissonline.ch/featheredapple/sevens.html

- http://allmusic-wingsofdream.blogspot.com/2008/04/sevens-sevens_8275.html

Waterfall - Waterfall (1972)

2010-08-17T12:12:00.003+02:00

This is an interesting progressive rock / folk piece from Tessin (the italian speaking part of the country). To me, it isn't a real masterpiece but anyway, the track "Play Hiding" still is excellent... I think there are too much folk accents in that album but I'm sure it will be a great discovery for some of you !

Searching the web about the band, here's what I found on Artistdirect.com:

In 1970, young Swiss guitarist Corry Knobel  joined the Locarno-based band the Nightbirds. He was so young, in fact,  that the band's drummer and founder, Eliano Galbiati, had to get  permission from Knobel's  father in order for the teenage musician to join them on-stage. The  Nightbirds' music was imbued with strains of American rock and R&B,  and it earned them a measure of success in Italy, where EMI released  five singles from the group. By the following year, Knobel  had begun to experiment with his own compositions, and, inspired  primarily by the mind-expanding psychedelic music that had exploded  internationally a few years before, and the sociopolitical issues of the  day, he developed an ambitious concept album. Because he had no studio  experience and, as Knobel  later admitted, "no production skills, not much self-criticism and, of  course, no money," he enlisted as a collaborator his bandmate Galbiati,  who proved such an enterprising fundraiser that the pair of artists were  able to book studio time in the autumn of 1971, supported as well by  pianists Cesco Anselmo and Oscar Bozzetti. At those sessions, they  recorded the first, crude version of Waterfall. Unhappy with the results, Knobel  and Galbiati nevertheless shopped the tapes, as demos, around to  various record labels in the hopes of getting them professionally  produced. A Milan label finally showed interest in re-recording the  project, but pulled out at the last second, leaving the duo with a  $7,000.00 bank loan to cover the cost of polishing the recordings and  pressing up copies. To compound problems, they were caught by customs  officials trying to smuggle the first 500 copies of the LP back into  Switzerland. As a result, Waterfall  became one of the rarest and most sought-after European progressive  rock collectibles of the era after its release in 1972. Because of its  unspecified authorship, for the next 30 years, the album would  repeatedly show up in rare collector books under the band name  Waterfall. In 2003, Swiss specialty label Black Rills Records finally  resurrected the album's complete story with its definitive CD reissue. Knobel  would go on to become one of Switzerland's finest recording engineers  and a leading member of the Swiss musical artists organization SUISA.

Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Remember Mitch
Play Hiding
What Will We Become
Mother Nature Says
Waterfall - The Unknown Light

Line-up / Musicians:

Corry Knobel / guitars, bass, vocals
Elian Galbiati / drums, percussion
Cesco Anselmo / piano (on track 5)
Oscar Bozzetti / piano (on track 3)

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I21ATANB

Sources:

- http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/corry-knobel-and-eliano-galbiati/2772226

- http://lossonidosdemimente.blogspot.com/2009/10/waterfall-waterfall-switzerland-1972.html  

Proud Mary - Proud Mary (1972)

2010-08-06T02:48:00.002+02:00

Be sure that one's hard to get ! Let me introduce you to a funk-pop-folk oddity. It begins with a german recording engineer, called Stephen Sulke who worked a lot in Switzerland during the 60's and 70's. That man recorded a lot of excellent stuff still undiscovered today ! (For example, the Pacific Sound album) 

Sulke even recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival ! (Believe it or not: Thelonious Monk, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Roberta Flack, Dr.  Timothy Leary, Les McCann, Dr John, Carole King,  Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Fats Domino etc...)

A certain Mary Linn (a girl from Manchester), who was touring Germany in 1969, got discovered by Sulke. She was with a band called Duffy but Sulke decided to record with her and a couple of his musician firends. Later on, the album was recorded in 1971, at the Soundcraft Studios, in Bienne. Sulke played with his friends Pierre Cavalli (Hazy Osterwald Sextett and Wolfgang Dauner Quintet !) and the great jazzman Léon Francioli ! The result is just awsome ! As the album (released on the obscure "Evasion" label) remains sadly unknown, I hope you folks will discover a new treasure...

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Can't You See the Sun
Used Misused Abused
Follow Me
Got a Feelin'
I Want To Talk About Myself
Iron Land
Brakin' Up
Street Of Love
We'll Make It Alright
House Of The Rising Sun
What You Doin' To Me Boy
Steal Me
Sugar Cake

Line-up / Musicians:

Mary Linn / vocals

Stephan Sulke / vocals, acoustic and electric guitar

Pierre Cavalli / electric guitar

Dede / drums

Léon Francioli / bass

Henry Chaix / organ

Antonio Conde / flute

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KUV2LG41

Sources:

- http://www.licoricesoul.co.uk/lsd009.php 

Dizzy Bats - The Light And The Dark (1974)

2010-08-05T18:57:00.004+02:00

Let's discover now an interesting curiosity ! A subtle melange of jazz, funk and soul. I wouldn't call that release a musical masterpiece. Still, some compositions are well thought and nice to hear. My two favourites are "Leroy The Magician" and "Gotta Get It On " which are groovy and funky. The intro of "Hard Times" reminds me of Ray Charles's ballads...

Anyway, I'm sure some Marc Moulin's afficionados will love it as that band was nicknamed "the swiss Placebo" (even if I personally disagree).

Just give it a try and make your own opinion ! Enjoy.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Leroy The Magician
What Game Shall We Play Today
Hard Times
Le Lis
Playin In The Yard
The Light And The Dark
Gotta Get It On
Liberated Brother

Line-up / Musicians:

 Jean-Louis Bayard / bass 
 Eddy Riva / drums
 Philippe Bovet / flute 
 François Borel / percussion, organ
Laurent Vivien                    / piano, Rhodes piano
Jean-Daniel Stähli                    / saxophone
 Michel Marthe / vibraphone

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DZABKI22

Sources:

- http://www.discogs.com/Dizzy-Bats-The-Light-And-The-Dark/release/1016799

Brainticket - Cottonwoodhill (1971)

2010-08-05T00:26:00.004+02:00

Most psychedelic bands one thinks of (particularly California bands of the 1960s) tend to record music under the influence of a really pleasant LSD trip, or at least it sounds like that. So the music ends up with a lot of "flowers and beads" type of lyrics. Flash forward to 1971, and a band full of musicians from various countries that roamed the European countryside calling themselves Brainticket recorded an album that year called Cottonwoodhill that is the complete and total opposite to what Bay Area psychedelic bands were doing in the 1960s, and that's recording under a really bad LSD trip.

Brainticket wasn't known for a steady lineup, but as always, organist/flutist Joël Vandroogenbroeck is there. The band this time around featured a rather disturbing vocalist named Dawn Muir (from judging on her accent, I presume she's English born), guitarist Ron Bryer, bassist Werni Frohlich, drummer Cosimo Lampis, Hellmuth Kolbe on electronic sound generators, and Wolfgang Paap on tabla. The album actually starts off more or less sounding like typical early '70s Hammond organ-driven prog rock, although they pretty much stick to a groove. These two songs are "Black Sand" and "Places of Light". The latter features some really nice spoken poetry from Dawn Muir, and is my favorite of the two "conventional songs" on this album.

After listening to those two songs, you're thinking, those are pretty decent prog rock songs, but you'll be wondering why people regard this as a very disturbing album. Oh yeah! It's this next song called "Brainticket". It's basically a two parter that consumes the rest of the album. It starts off with a repeated fuzz organ riff, and you're going to learn after the next few minutes that this organ riff never changes. But what makes this real interesting is you get totally hammered with all sorts of relentless electronic effects, screaming, the sounds of jackhammers, the sounds of everyday life (including the sound of someone brushing their teeth, gargling, and spitting), and to top that all off, you get treated with Dawn Muir having a really bad psychedelic orgasm from time to time (think of what Irene Papas did on Aphrodite's Child's 666 on that Infinity Symbol cut, except she isn't repeating "I was, I am, I am to come, I was" over and over).

This album sure is not a very pleasant listen. It's not meant to be. In fact, the album even included a couple of warnings: "Only listen once a day to this record. Your brain might be destroyed" and "After listening to this record your friends won't know you anymore". Due to either these warnings, or perhaps the content of the album, or both, the album was banned in several countries (presumably in countries under right-wing dictatorships at that time, like Spain, Portugal, and Greece, and communist countries as well, if anyone smuggled this album through the Iron Curtain, that is). The album is so disturbing it freaked out the band so bad that the whole band left (leaving Jöel Vandroogenbroeck to start fresh, and get new musicians to continue on as Brainticket).

Most of band members went on to form Toad with a guy named Benjamin Jäger (later of the excellent Swiss prog rock band Island who released an album called Pictures in 1977 - I have that album reviewed on this site as well). After the experience of Cottonwoodhill, it's little wonder Brainticket's next album, Psychonaut (1972) would be a much more pleasant and tame album (it was more acoustic, melodic, and basically the sound of a pleasant LSD trip). Certainly, Cottonwoodhill is definately not for everyone, this is the type of album that might give your grandfather a heart attack. But if you're looking for something that's "way out there", you can't go wrong with this album. 

Ben Miler 

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Black Sand
Places Of Light
Brainticket Part.1
Brainticket Part.1 Conclusion
Brainticket Part.2 

Line-up / Musicians:

Joël Vandroogenbroeck / organ, flute
Ron Bryer / guitar
Werner Fröhlich / bass guitar
Cosimo Lampis / drums
Wolfgang Paap / percussion
Dawn Muir / vocals
Hellmuth Kolbe: keyboards, sound effects

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/89324687/Cottonwoodhill.rar
Sources:


- http://www.hippy.com/php/review-360.html

Creative Craniums - Tous Frères / C.C.K. '54 (1973)

2010-08-04T23:38:00.001+02:00

Another single released on the "Splendid" label in La-Chaux-De-Fonds. Not an incredible release, just an interesting curiosity. "C.C.K. '54" is rawer than the first track, which is a bit silly. I just like the groovy gold cover. As far as I know, these guys were from Belgium but there's little information about it.

Tous Frères

C.C.K. '54

Joint - Collage / Remember (1971)

2010-08-04T16:53:00.004+02:00

Another unknown band from Zürich you'll enjoy ! I bought that single the other day and I found a couple of little inserts in it: a big one showing some pictures of the players and another one with the band's history (in French).

I like that band because I fell nostalgic when I hear that single. To me, the best track remains "Remember".

Here's the translated version of their history:

Bruno and Hanspeter played in 1966 with "Les Spectres" (a band from Zürich). Giovi was the singer of the "New Earls" (a soul formation), and Stevie has played the drums with many dance orchestras.

JOINT was born in november 1969 at the "Blow-Up" in Zürich. Its members still are amateurs, music occupying only their free hours. They are working their repertoire and technique three nights a week, in a cellar.

Their first record was released mid-february 1971, with COLLAGE and REMEMBER. Columbia 006-33581.

Line-up / Musicians:

Giovanni "Giovi" Russo / vocals

Bruno / guitar

Hanspeter / bass

Stevie / drums

Collage

Remember

Tusk - Child Of My Kingdom / Carolina (1970)

2010-08-04T16:21:00.002+02:00

A more popular band in Switzerland, Tusk released a hit in 1970 with "Child Of My Kingdom", which raised rank 7th in the Charts for one week. This is heavy rock with roaring organ and mad guitars. Sounds just good !

Child Of My Kingdom

Carolina

Nexus Erratic - Inverse (1983)

2010-08-04T13:46:00.004+02:00

Dear followers, here's specially for you one of the rarest new wave album from Switzerland (Recorded in La-Chaux-de-Fonds) ! You won't find it anywhere else on the web !

As I recently bought this MINT copy, I remastered it to share the masterpiece.

That album isn't amongst the most expensive ones because it's simply unknown, even by Swiss rock dealers !

I really hope you'll enjoy that one.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

The Wage-Earner
Friendship
Three For Two
Childhood
Winter
Cabaret

Line-up / Musicians:

Yvan Pelichet / guitar, vocal

Claude Juvet / keyboards, piano

Serge Poggiana / lead guitar

Claude Richard / bass

Remi Rota / drums

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4B5LZMP3

Lear - Swiss Rock History Vol.1 (1969-1979)

2010-08-04T13:32:00.002+02:00

Here's a quite strange compilation of unreleased material ! The band is called Lear and it's swiss but it's impossible to find more info about it... You could call it psychedelic pop-rock with a lot of hard female vocal. As it has been taken from an LP, the sound isn't so good but you have to keep in mind that the recording isn't well done ! Sorry but as I don't have that LP, no information about the line-up...  Anyway, I'm sure some of you will like that one.




Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Good Bye People
2. Door-Knocker
3. President
4. Crazy
5. I'm Down
6. The Bomb
7. The Moon Stood Still
8. When I Was Young
9. My Dog and I
10. If You Go Away
11. Song For You
12. America

Download:

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

Sources:
- http://sayko35.blogspot.com/2009/06/lear-same-1979-switzerland-progressive.html

Krokodil - The Psychedelic Tapes (1970-1972)

2010-08-04T13:01:00.003+02:00

Krokodil was a Swiss band that emerged  in the late 60's as a blues-rock  band that put progressive touches  into their music. They were of  German-Swiss extraction with bassist and  guitarist Terry Stevens being  the only foreigner in the band, coming  form England. They were regarded  as the Swiss version of the  "Groundhogs" due to their first album.  However, from their 2nd album  "Swamp" they started to introduce a  psychedelic sound to their music, a  sound which is very much dominant on  "Invisible World Revealed". In  that album they make use of Mellotron,  organ, harmonica and flute all  backed up by an acoustic guitar which  give the album an exotic and  stoned feeling to it. The eastern and  Indian influences in this album  are present through the sitar and tabla  in the 15 minutes suite  "Odyssey In Om". The blues here gives way to the  psychedelics, ethnic  sounds and vocal harmonies, but it is still there.  "Getting up For The  Morning" continues the same style (in a new label,  Bacillus) but they  became more succinct in their approach to composition  and it was more  of a song oriented album than its predecessor.

A  band not to be missed by anyone who likes blues, psychedelic and  ethnic  in his music and does not mind them being mingled together. Even  though  they are tough to find, their 3rd album is very much worth the  bother. 

Songs / Tracks Listing:

The Creator Has A Master Plan
Stehaufmädchen Part.1
Marzipan (Live)
Stehaufmädchen Part.2
You're Still A Part Of Me (Live)
Stehaufmädchen Part.3
Odyssey In Om (Live)
Raga 

Line-up / Musicians: 

Hardy Hepp / violin, piano, vocals  
Düde Dürst / drums, percussion, vocals  
Walty Anselmo / sitar, lead guitar, vocals 
Terry Stevens / bass, guitar, vocals  
Mojo Weideli / harmonica, flute, percussion

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/36156287/KLT70-72.zip.html
  

Password: www.virshlarock.blogspot.com 

Sources: 
-http://virshlarock.blogspot.com/2007/06/krokodil-psychedelic-tapes-1970-1972.html

- http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2562

Krokodil - An Invisible World Revealed (1971)

2010-08-04T12:53:00.001+02:00

"The Crack in the Cosmic Egg" says:

Krokodil (German for "Crocodile") were constantly promoted by the labels  they signed to as a Krautrock band, yet though they had the spirit of  Krautrock in their veins, the truth was that they were Swiss! Naturally,  Liberty tried to present them as the Krautrock answer to The  Groundhogs. Well, Krokodil did have blues origins, they really knew how  to rock-it and had a flair for the experimental, so they did have the  same sort of attitude as The Groundhogs. But, all that aside, Krokodil  were innovators in their own right, not at all copyist, except for maybe  their John Mayall type roots. Like most Swiss bands, Krokodil were an  unlikely combo, mostly of German-Swiss extraction, with one Englishman:  Terry Stevens. Early on, the quoted "Swiss Bob Dylan" Hardy Hepp seemed  to be in control, his softer folk and blues mix, and Mojo Weideli's  harmonica, gave them a more down-to-earth sound. After Hardy's departure  for a solo career, Krokodil really blossomed with the extraordinary AN  INVISIBLE WORLD REVEALED, an album that took on all sorts of ethnic and  fusion elements, becoming like a hybrid of Amon Düül II, Man and Third  Ear Band, all mixed into that unique Krokodil style. Ethnic elements had  figured in earlier Krokodil recordings, but not so much as here, where  the sitar, tablas and flute are heavily featured. Krokodil had become  the finest of Swiss Krautrock bands. A change of label, to Bacillus,  their next album GETTING UP FOR THE MORNING offered a similar blending  of rock, blues and ethnic styles, though in a more condensed and  song-based concoction. The double album SWEAT & SWIM, though it had a  couple of duff tracks, also contained some of their best, not least so  the 17 minute cosmic-ethnic trip "Linger" recalling the masterworks of  AN INVISIBLE WORLD REVEALED.

 

Songs / Tracks Listing:
Lady Of Attraction
With Little Miss Trimmings
Oddyssey In Om
Green Fly 
Looking At Time 
Last Doors
Pollution (Bonus)
Krokodil Session Part.1 (Bonus)
Krokodil Session Part.2 (Bonus) 
Line-up / Musicians:

Walty Anselmo / guitars, sitar, bass, vocals 
Terry Stevens / bass, guitar, Mellotron, vocals 
Mojo Weideli / flute, harmonica, vocals 
Düde Dürst / drums, percussion, vocals 


Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/15029596/krokodil_-_1971_-_an_invisible_world_revealed.rar

Krokodil - Krokodil (1969)

2010-08-04T12:52:00.004+02:00

Krokodil was a Swiss band that emerged in the late 60's as a blues-rock  band that put progressive touches into their music. They were of  German-Swiss extraction with bassist and guitarist Terry Stevens being  the only foreigner in the band, coming form England. They were regarded  as the Swiss version of the "Groundhogs" due to their first album.  However, from their 2nd album "Swamp" they started to introduce a  psychedelic sound to their music, a sound which is very much dominant on  "Invisible World Revealed". In that album they make use of Mellotron,  organ, harmonica and flute all backed up by an acoustic guitar which  give the album an exotic and stoned feeling to it. The eastern and  Indian influences in this album are present through the sitar and tabla  in the 15 minutes suite "Odyssey In Om". The blues here gives way to the  psychedelics, ethnic sounds and vocal harmonies, but it is still there.  "Getting up For The Morning" continues the same style (in a new label,  Bacillus) but they became more succinct in their approach to composition  and it was more of a song oriented album than its predecessor.

A  band not to be missed by anyone who likes blues, psychedelic and ethnic  in his music and does not mind them being mingled together. Even though  they are tough to find, their 3rd album is very much worth the bother. 


Songs / Tracks Listing: 
 Morning Dew
You're Still A Part Of Me 
All Alone
Mis Blues
Prayer
Watchin' Chain
Dabble In Om 
Line-up / Musicians:
Hardy Hepp / violin, piano, vocals 
Düde Dürst / drums, percussion, vocals 
Walty Anselmo / sitar, lead guitar, vocals
Terry Stevens / bass, guitar, vocals 
Mojo Weideli / harmonica, flute, percussion


Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D0YDN1TV

Sources:
- http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2562
- http://www.alexgitlin.com/npp/krokodil.htm

Circus - Movin' On (1977)

2010-08-04T12:40:00.000+02:00

Coming from Basle (NW of Switzerland on the language border between the  Alemanics and the Romands), this unusual quartet of musicians has a  strange line-up. Hauser is one of the better percussionists (still  playing but in jazz bands nowadays), and bassist Cerletti (the only  non-Alemanic in the band) is certainly excellent plays also acoustic  guitar. The other two, Frei and Grieder, share the wind instruments with  the vocals. That's it! No KB and almost no electric guitars, at least on the  first two albums. This group is one of the real gems still unknown to  most progheads, developing a fusion between classical and rock much like  early MANEIGE did but also includes some influences from VDGG (mostly  the sax but sometimes also the singing) and also KING CRIMSON to a  lesser extent. While having some success locally, they only managed  three studio albums of which the first two are now on CD. Of those two  albums "Movin' On" is their best but their debut is also  excellent. CIRCUS is certainly recommended to everyone who loves great  interplay between musicians and to progheads not afraid of a little  adventure in their musical endeavours. 

Hugues Chantraine

Songs / Tracks Listing:   
The Bandsman
Laughter Lane
 Loveless Time
Dawn
Movin' On
Line-up / Musicians:

 Marco Cerletti / bass, guitar, vocals 
 Andreas Grieder / flutes, alto saxophone, vocals, tambourine 
 Roland Frei / vocals, acoustic guitar, saxophone 
 Fritz Hauser / drums, vibes, percussion 
 Stephan Ammann / keyboards

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/145225579/CIRCUS_movin_on.rar

Sources:
- http://centraldoprog.blogspot.com/2007/07/circus.html

- http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/circus_f1

Circus - Circus (1976)

2010-08-04T12:38:00.002+02:00

Coming from Basle (NW of Switzerland on the language border between the  Alemanics and the Romands), this unusual quartet of musicians has a  strange line-up. Hauser is one of the better percussionists (still  playing but in jazz bands nowadays), and bassist Cerletti (the only  non-Alemanic in the band) is certainly excellent plays also acoustic  guitar. The other two, Frei and Grieder, share the wind instruments with  the vocals. That's it! No KB and almost no electric guitars, at least on the  first two albums. This group is one of the real gems still unknown to  most progheads, developing a fusion between classical and rock much like  early MANEIGE did but also includes some influences from VDGG (mostly  the sax but sometimes also the singing) and also KING CRIMSON to a  lesser extent. While having some success locally, they only managed  three studio albums of which the first two are now on CD. Of those two  albums "Movin' On" is their best but their debut is also  excellent. CIRCUS is certainly recommended to everyone who loves great  interplay between musicians and to progheads not afraid of a little  adventure in their musical endeavours. 

Hugues Chantraine

Songs / Tracks Listing: 
Stormsplinter
Nowadays
Sundays
Dawntalk
Room For Sale
Line-up / Musicians:
 Marco Cerletti / bass, guitar, vocals 
 Andreas Grieder / flutes, alto saxophone, vocals, tambourine 
 Roland Frei / vocals, acoustic guitar, saxophone 
 Fritz Hauser / drums, vibes, percussion  
 Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/44619915/Circus-same.rar

Sources:
- http://centraldoprog.blogspot.com/2007/07/circus.html
- http://rateyourmusic.com/artist/circus_f1

The Shamrock - Nixy / American Mary (1971)

2010-08-04T12:20:00.012+02:00

This is another single released by "Splendid" label. It's a kind of old fashioned melange between rock and folk with dashes of country.

"American Mary" obviously sounds like a western movie song.

Nixy

American Mary

Hoax - Pan's Laugh / Gypsy Woman (1971)

2010-08-04T12:20:00.011+02:00

Here's another obscure single with kind of Jethro Tull influence...

Pan's Laugh

Gypsy Woman

Montezuma - Rock Is Here / Oh What A Day ! (1976)

2010-08-04T12:20:00.010+02:00

This is great rock, energizing and well played ! I love the beginning of the second track. (That band comes from Solothurn)

Rock Is Here

Oh What A Day !

Greenwich park - I Went To My Baby / Tobacco Road (1971)

2010-08-04T12:20:00.009+02:00

Greenwich Park was an obscure italian band that released a single on the swiss label Splendid records in 1971. I first thought it was swiss because of the label but anyway, that's still good stuff...  

I Went To My Baby:

Tobacco Road:

Vikings Invasion - Vol.1 (1975)

2010-08-04T12:20:00.008+02:00

Vikings Invasion from the German-speaking part of Switzerland played quite a rough type of blues-rock with progressive touch. Charles Sterchi on guitar and vocals, Eric Eberhard on bass, and Gerhard Burri on drums had played together in this simplest possible configuration already since 1970 and originally called themselves after a character by Brecht. 

In 1975, their only LP was released exclusively in England where they lived and had concerts for some time; it carried the optimistic title “Vol.1”. The creature on the cover is meant to represent Basle’s heraldic dragon which was, however, considerably manipulated. 

In Switzerland a bootleg LP of “Vol. 1” was released in 1997, on which a permanent grinding noise significantly disturbs the pleasure of listening. The work is of interest mainly because of the high collectors’ price fixed for the original LP.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. The Mirror

2. The Love Song Of J. Alfred Prufrock

3. Thinking Of...

4. Listen To Four Guitars On Your Corner

5. Shadow Boogie

6. Rolling Times

7. Dark Lane Child

8. Moon Of Alabama

9. Rhapsody On A Windy Night

10. Answer For My Life

11. Across The Street (Bonus)

Line-up / Musicians:

Charles Sterchi / guitar, vocals

Eric Eberhard / bass

Gerhard Burri / drums 

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M80WYBMO

Sources:
- http://www.diregarden.com/god123.html

Kedama - Live At Sunrise Studios (1976)

2010-08-04T12:19:00.003+02:00

 

I was hanging around in the business school in St. Gallen. Everybody there was dressed in black or gray like bankers or personal assistants; very articulate but not quite interested in arts. It was the era after Woodstock, for me "the time after". The ideas of our society weren't exactly my cup of tea; I had eyes just for colorful, amusing and pleasurable things. There was only one other guy, named Richard ("Richi") Rothenberger, who attracted my attention. He always wore a somewhat grubby Afghan coat with long fringes. His jeans were torn up and bleached. It looked like the interest was mutual, since he started to talk to me about a musical organ, Uriah Heep, Ken Hensley and stuff. I didn't know that band, but I liked his gestures while he was playing his invisible organ. Thus we decided to set up a band before we even knew each other's musical skills.

We played and played and had no real plans. At the Youth Center in St. Gallen we saw a bulletin board notice: "Drummer SEARCHES Band". Somehow that drummer seemed to be a remarkable guy. We called him immediately and right away we had a drummer. His name was Peter Suter, aka. "Suetzg". Pretty soon we found a name for our band. Simply put, it is the name of an area in Morocco. Shortly afterwards we had our first live concert, albeit only in the circle of our closest friends. There were at least about 50 people, though. We played in a small youth pub and got paid a whopping 112.- SFR. just for having had an hour of fun. That was in early autumn 1972; just a little bit later we had our first public concert in a gym. There are records from that concert and I'm still amazed how we got it all done.

We participated in a contest. The 4 best amateur bands of Switzerland would have the opportunity to record their music for free in a studio. Yea, guess what? We won. Sure we did. As a result, we had our first studio recordings. To be heard on the LP "Perspectives" and on the LP / CD "Live at Sunrise-Studio.""

Sensational concerts; every time there were four to five hundred people. It was a good time and we were enjoying it. Together with friends, we moved to a farmhouse in the Thurgau Hinterland. Duede Glaus, one of our friends, made sure we got good instruments. That's how I got my 'Gibson Les Paul', the queen of guitars, which I still own. Richi began to play the Mellotron, the fabled keyboard instrument which, in a pretty archaic way, played back samples of instruments pre-recorded on tape loops. All of a sudden, we belonged to the legendary "Thurgau Hinterland Farmhouse Movement". We met 'stars' from the Swiss scene, such as Hardy Hepp, Tony Vescoli or Duede Duerst, comfort-spoilt Zurich City folk who had discovered country life. However, the best guy for us to meet was Bernie Sigg, a totally shrill pop journalist. He knew the Stones in person, or so they said, and suddenly we knew him. We did a good deal with him: We helped him with moving his huge LP collection and in return he wrote a cover text for our LP. That way we got some kind of cult status, which opened doors to the best concerts. Several times we played in front of thousands of people at the Zurich Fairgound Festival. Hippies pure...

Christian Linder 

You can read their whole story on their official website !


Songs / Tracks Listing:
Ouverture
Finale
Our Power
Zugabe
Chinese Dragon (Bonus)
Hwrklnzg (Bonus)
Honey Moon (Bonus)
Improvisations (Bonus)
Intermezzo (Bonus)
Two Souls in Space (Bonus)
Feelings without Name (Bonus)
Line-up / Musicians:
 Christian Linder / guitars, keyboards  
Richard Rothenberger / keyboards 
Peter Suter / drums, percussion  

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NI8O1PA0

- Source:
http://www.kedama.ch/englischhome.html

Pacific Sound - Forget Your Dream ! (1972)

2010-08-04T12:19:00.002+02:00

In the  mid-60's, the British invasion reached sleepy old Switzerland and  overtook the local music scene there. Many bands were formed at schools  and youth clubs that wanted to imitate their heroes. Without any rhythm  and blues or rock'n'roll roots of their own it was difficult for young  musicians to develop originality. Most of the bands were playing cover  versions of their idols’ international hits providing them not only with  acclaim but also lots of gigs at local dances.

This  was the also the case with Val-De-Travers in the French speaking Swiss  canton of Neuchatel. Thus began the story of Pacific Sound. Four  friends, Chris Meyer (vocals), Mark Treuthardt (guitar, bass), Diego  Lecci (drums) and Roger Page (keyboards) were practising there for their  next gig at the Ballroom in their birthplace of Motiers.

Yves  Dubois, a friend and fan of the band, was urging the band to "stop  playing ballrooms, start writing your own songs, form a pop band!!" The  band decided he was right as they were fed up with playing covers of  international hits and began to work on their own ideas. Yves started to  look after the band's organisational matters and became a sort of a  manager.

On  Roger's suggestion, the band called themselves Pacific Sound and within  a few months began to take shape with a set of almost all original  compositions. After playing gigs in their own region the band gained  confidence and played nearby France.

The  next step on the ladder of success was to release a record. Yves  invited Rare Records (from La-Chaux-De-Fonds) producer J. P. Louvin to a  gig. Louvin was impressed and offered the band to record a single for  his label.

At the end  of 1970, the band recorded "The Drug Just Told Me" and "The Green Eyed  Girl" at the Stephan Sulke Studio in Biel. The single was a success.  Pacific Sound were on a roll and a couple of weeks later they went back  to the same studio and producer to record "Ballad To Jimi" and "Thick  Fog" for release next year on Splendid Records.

Fans  and critics applauded the single, the band's originality and creativity  was praised. The single won the first prize at the 1971 European Pop  Jury in Cannes and was Pacific Sound's breakthrough. It was also  released in 18 countries on 8 different labels including Decca,  Phillips, CBS and RCA.

Following  the release of the prize-winning single "Ballad To Jimi", the  popularity of the band increased dramatically and they were showered  with gig offers. The band toured successfully throughout Switzerland.  Louvin suggested the band record an LP. Early in 1972, they went back to  the Sulke Studio and recorded 7 new songs which, in addition to "Thick  Fog", made up the LP "Forget Your Dream!", which was released in 1972 on  Splendid Records.

The  LP was well received and a European tour was arranged with gigs in  Belgium, England, Holland, Germany and France. The band needed to  upgrade their equipment for larger gigs, so Roger took out a bank loan,  but just as the tour was about to start, the rest of the band, including  manager Yves, left Roger in the lurch. Louvin suggested to Roger to  look for replacement musicians and a new line-up was created.

However,  it never recaptured the old Pacific Sound spirit. The new line-up  didn't gel musically and Roger was left with his debts which were paid  with the money made on the tour. And that is the end of a wonderful  story. Nowadays Roger lives in a small village near Neuchatel and is a  professional musician.

Roger Page

Songs / Tracks Listing:
Forget Your Dream
Erotic Blues
 Drive My Car
Thick Fog
Gyli Gyli
Ceremony For A Dead
If Your Soul Is Uncultivated
Gates Of Hell
The Drug Just Told Me (Bonus)
The Green Eyed Girl (Bonus)
Ballad To Jimi (Bonus)

Line-up / Musicians:

Chris Meyer / vocals
Mark Treuthardt / guitar, bass
Diego Lecci / drums
Roger Page / organ, piano

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=F8A2ZH7W

F.G. Experimental Laboratory - Journey Into A Dream (1975)

2010-08-04T11:48:00.010+02:00

The F.G in the name is the initials of one Frédy Guye, a Swiss born musician who experimented mainly with organ and gliss guitar, much like A Saucerful of Secrets era Pink Floyd, and I guess that that is a perfect resemblance in sound to the first of the two tracks of Journey into a Dream. The sounds are very Pink Floyd and you could almost imagine that it is Pink Floyd. As this album was first released in 1975, Pink Floyd were long past their days of true sound creation, and it seems that F.G Experimental Laboratory has carried on the trade when the creators moved into other territory. The whole concept is very mellow as it moves from a mellow, almost religious Pipe Organ, into a full on Pink Floyd organic gliss movement, which I find fantastic and very easy to listen to, as I love early Floyd experiments. The second track, 2335, is of a similar structure, and it is equally as good as the first, and I would highly recommend this CD to those who have not heard the name F.G Experimental Laboratory before. As well as his first release Journey Into A Dream, there are also two bonus tracks on this CD in the form of his second release in 1976, this comprises of the 7” single, Synthetic Music for a Church, the tracks are Happiness and Church. Both are organ music with a difference, as the title would suggest, and as it is a 7” single, both tracks are under five minutes and there is no room for the Pink Floyd spacey parts, so the tracks stick to classical like church organ music for the duration of their time, which is no bad thing! I’ll leave you with a quote from the back of the CD cover: For being able to appreciate the record totally it is recommended to listen to it well rested.

Albert Pollard

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E29R7NCS

Sources:

- http://aural-innovations.com/2009/october/FG%20experimental%20Lab.htm

Piano Conclave - Palais Anthology (1975)

2010-08-04T11:48:00.007+02:00

Second and rarest album by this George Gruntz led octet that includes  six keyboardists over a rhythm section and has the slow cosmic breakbeat  gem "Hal-Lucy-'n-o'-One Step" with killer drumbreaks courtesy of  Alphonse Mouzon. Solid album and a prime slice of progressive funky Euro  jazz.



Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Rumba Orgiastica
2. English Moxplott
3. Hymny Shimmy
4.  Hal-Lucy-N-O-One-Step
5. Zookie Cookie
6. Lookie Pookie
7. Tango Teclado
8. Titty-Chickie-Fitterbug
9. Shoo-Fly-Shuffle
10. Charles Stone and  Quickflip

Line-up / Musicians:
Gordon Beck: Fender Rhodes, grand piano, voices
Wolfgang Dauner / Fender Rhodes, clavinet, synthesizer, grand piano, organ
George Gruntz / Fender Rhodes, grand piano, synthesizer
Joachim  Kühn / Fender Rhodes, grand piano
Martial Solal / grand piano
Jasper  Van't Hof / keyboards 
John Lee / bass 
Alphonse Mouzon / drums
Download:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ynwzzykd5nd

Sources:
- http://centraldoprog.blogspot.com/2009/03/george-gruntz-piano-conclave-palais.html

The Shiver - Walpurgis (1969)

2010-08-04T11:48:00.006+02:00

Originally released in 1969 on the Maris label (catalogue number 20501),  this is the only album the Swiss band Shiver ever released. It also  contains both tracks that were issued as a single: "Hey Mr. Holy  Man"/"The Peddle." 

It also features the very first time the famous  designer H. R. Giger delivered some of his art to become an album  sleeve. Later on, he would do it much more with Emerson, Lake &  Palmer’s Brain Salad Surgery being the most famous one.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

Repent Walpurgis
Ode To The Salvation Army
Leave This Man Alone
What's Wrong About The Blues
Hey Mr. Holy Man
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
No Time
The Peddle


 

Line-up / Musicians:

Dany Ruhle / lead guitar, harmonica, vocal

Jelly Pastorini / organ, piano

Mario Conza / bass, flute, vocal

Roger Maurer / drums, vocal

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/61850812/Shiver_-_Walpurgis_-_1969.rar 

Sources:

- http://mygeneration60s.blogspot.com/2010/07/shiver-walpurgis-1969.html

Toad - Toad (1971)

2010-08-04T11:48:00.005+02:00

Toad's self-titled debut album may have, single-handedly, kicked off the  entire Swiss hard rock movement in the '70s. Their first single,  "Stay." made a great deal of headway on the Swiss charts -- a feat that  no other hard rock band had ever accomplished in that country.  Essentially a power trio consisting of Vittorio "Vic" Vergeat  (guitar/vocals), Werner Frohlich (bass) and Cosimo Lampis (drums), Toad  enlisted the help of vocalist Bens Jaeger for this (and only this)  album. Heavily blues-based rock (à la Cream/Black Sabbath) was the major  force behind Toad's hard driving sound, with bassist Frohlich providing  a mean (and meanderingly gutsy) counterpoint to Vergeat's loose and  greasy guitar licks. The record also has moments of Deep Purple-like  propulsion, no doubt thanks to that band's engineer Martin Birch, who  manned the controls on this one as well. Like most of the B-list  (sometimes C-list) rock groups that Italian imprint Akarma has reissued  throughout the early 2000s, Toad's debut was mainly a collector's object  in its LP form. There were better bands out there, doing the same sort  of thing, but, chances are, those records were already on the shelves of  most die-hard collectors. Albums like Toad may have enjoyed regional  success in their time, but were largely forgotten or relegated to  "closet classic" status (if they were remembered at all). These types of  records have been fetching higher and higher prices over the years and  it's darn good to see a reissue label dipping into this pool of  underappreciated groups. In fact, if you have an appetite for this sort  of thing, Akarma's reissue lineup really can't be beat -- plus, they'll  save you from getting all that funky record-sleeve-mold on your fingers  while you spend months searching for the (rare, rare, rare) original  vinyl editions.


Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Cotton Wood Hill
2. A Life That Ain't Worth Living
3. Tank
4. They Say I'm Mad
5. Life Goes On
6. Pig's Walk
7. The One I Mean
8. Stay

  

Line-up / Musicians:

Vittorio "Vic" Vergeat / guitar, vocals, piano
Cosimo Lampis / drums, percussion, vocals
Werner Fröhlich / bass, vocals
Benjamin "Beni" Jaeger / vocals



Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=W639XFPW

Sources:
- http://orexisofdeath.blogspot.com/2007/08/toad-toad-1971-swiss-hard-rock.html

Pyranha - Pyranha (1972)

2010-08-04T11:47:00.024+02:00

Very few information about this band. It was formed in Yverdon (Canton of Vaud, Switzerland) in 1972. This is their only album which is quite experimental and funky with a mix of strange sounds. Some tracks are sung in French. The best track is undoubtely the first one called "Clepsydre" (Clepsydra).

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Clepsydre

2. Time 13

3. Soleil

4. Eglise

5. Mouette

Line-up / Musicians:

Henry Skippy / saxophone

Wy Wyss / guitar

Armand Bucher / organ

Jacques Riccio / drums

Beb Anhas / bass

Christian Scheder / vocals

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/64736349/pyranha_-_same__1972_.rar

Sources:

- rateyourmusic.com 

B-G System - Funny Love Affair (1969)

2010-08-04T11:47:00.023+02:00

"The Wild Gentlemen" was a beat band from Geneva that changed its name into "B-G System" in 1969.

Two albums were released and this is one of them. As you can see, there's almost no information about this band. This album is very representative of the 60's sound. 

Enjoy !

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Black Pig Street

2. Daddy Let Me Be A Star

3. Feel All Right

4. Fly Away

5. Funny Love Affair

6. Hurricane

7. I Can't Go On

8. I Don't Wanna Be Your Man

9. I Get My Ticket

10. Je Baille

11. Lorene

12. That's Enough

13. The Birds Are Going Away

14. Why Not For Me

Line-up / Musicians:

Jean-Claude Tschannen / bass

Bernard Gugelmann / drums

Richard North / guitar

Ekard Kissling / vocals

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HTR4ZOAO

Cardeilhac - Cardeilhac (1972)

2010-08-04T11:47:00.021+02:00

Taking their name from a French commune in Haute-Garonne, this Swiss five-piece, heavy progressive band comprised of Rinaldo Häusler (guitars), Denis Angelini (vocals), J.-C. Balsiger (bass), André Locher (organ/keyboards) and Gaston Balmer (drums).

Their brief early 70's existence resulted in only one studio album; their poorly produced 1971 eponymous debut, which clearly demonstrated a combined influence of heavy UK proto-prog bands such as Deep Purple with the typically Teutonic 70's hard rock sound, with progressive, and occasionally bluesy touches.

Locher's abilities in bringing the keyboards to the fore, will please fans of ELP, while the chunkier, heavy guitar will bring bands such as The Nice and even Uriah Heep to mind. Ultimately however, their music is considered to have produced little in the way of originality, and nothing is known of the musician's careers after the break up of the band.

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Pick Up Your Gun        

2. Everybody        

3. Pushers Dwell        

4. Sadness        

5. She Don't Care        

6. Neutral        

7. Nightmare        

8. Loch Ness 

Line-up / Musicians:

Rinaldo Häusler / guitar

Denis Angelini / vocals

J.-C. Balsiger / bass

André Locher / organ

Gaston Balmer / drums

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EHWZF796 

Sources:

- progarchives.com
- http://www.rock6070.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5912

Spot - Spot (1971)

2010-08-04T11:47:00.019+02:00

Spot's single, eponymous album was released in 1972 on Evasion, a label that specialized mainly in pop and folk artists, and is one of Switzerland's rarest collector's items from the 1970s.

Part of its mystique comes from the fact that its only availability outside the relatively few copies of the LP in existence was on a bootleg vinyl release.

A greater part of the mystique likely comes as a result of the band's music.

Especially noteworthy is the songwriting of bassist Andre Jungo and drummer Philippe Dubugnon, who compose nine of the ten original songs (there is also a cover of Donovan's "Jersey Thursday").

They were equally capable of sweetly melodic folk-rock ("I Am One"), both eerie and gritty progressive rock ("By the Way," with its ringing, slow-motion electric piano and vocals that anticipate Axl Rose by a good 15 years), or equal-opportunity mutations ("In My Dreams," which opens with some jazzy drums before stopping on a dime and becoming a lovely folk-rock ballad, then again morphing into a sweaty blues).

Nearly every song shifts time signatures two or three times in the course of the song, but instead of seeming schizophrenic, it just seems appropriate, perfectly executed.

Each song contains something that is surprising and snaps listeners out of any expectations they might bring with them.

Even if some aspect of the music sounds commonplace -- and occasionally Spot does rely on a hard-rock banality -- it is soon undercut by something original. Spot's music is not as disjointed and dissonant as Can's, but they do sometimes approach Can's powerful, hypnotic, drone-like quality.

Lead singer Pavlo Pendaki's vocals are caught midway between Damon Suzuki's mumble and Robert Plant's histrionics. On "Portobello," he appropriates Plant's leather-trousered mystic bit without going as over-the-top as Plant.

In fact, Spot's music sounds much more taut and thankfully restrained in comparison to much period hard rock. Perhaps that also has something to do with the fact that the hearts of the band members seem to be entrenched in folk music first, and hard rock only as a way of progressing that music (review by Stanton Swihart). 

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. I Am One

2. By The Way

3. Portobello

4. In My Dreams

5. Free

6. Travelling Man

7. Jersey Thursday

8. I Know

9. Oh What A Day

10. Sabre Dance (Bonus)

11. Who Are You (Bonus)

Line-up / Musicians:

Pavlo Pendaki / vocal and keyboards

John Woolloff / lead guitar and vocal

André Jungo / bass

Philippe Dubugnon / drums

From left to right: André Jungo, Pavlo Pendaki, Philippe Dubugnon

From left to right: André Jungo, Philippe Dubugnon, Pavlo Pendaki, John Woolloff © Personnal collection of José Da Silva E Cunha a.k.a. Joss

Download:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IC302YB

Sources:

- http://phrockblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/spot-spot-1971-swiss-rare-and-excellent.html

Exit - Exit (1975)

2010-08-04T11:47:00.013+02:00

An obscure 70's Swiss band, with a  varied blend of progressive and hard-rock styles. Nothing is known about  them except for one LP that was privately issued in the mid-70's. 
The  formation of Swiss rock band Exit dates back to the year 1972. The  breakout came during a tour with the band Birth Control and the band  from Frauenfeld decided to produce an LP for its devoted fan club. As  there was practically no budget for production and almost no digital  studios existing, Exit recorded in the MS studio in Dietikon with two  revox 2-track machines. So all the music was really played without  tricks! Their style is special: long tracks remaining to Pink Floyd,  keyboard loaded with additional characteristic choir singing and a very  fresh garage edge. It’s a document of a unique combination of krautrock  and joy. 

Songs / Tracks Listing:
Paradise
Balade Of Live
Talk Around
Bad Gossip 
Line-up / Musicians: 

Andy Schmid / guitar, harmonica
Edwin Schweizer / bass
Roman Portail / organ, synthesizer
Kafi Kaufmann / drums, percussion

Download: 

http://rapidshare.com/files/106109835/Exit.rar

Sources:


- http://venenosdorock.blogspot.com/2010/02/exit-exit-1975-swiss-prog-hard-rock.html 
 

Ertlif - Ertlif (1972)

2010-08-04T11:47:00.012+02:00

"The Crack in the Cosmic Egg" says: 

"One of the earliest of Swiss progressives,  Ertlif were fronted by an English vocalist and had a very English style with  strong hints of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. But, having said that, Ertlif  also had a Teutonic touch (much darker than Jane) that lent a doomy Ainigma  or Necronomicon edge, in a music that had folky touches and an abundance of  classical references. It all amounted to much more than just a heavy rock  album, and although quite dated it's still a fresh and vital album.
In 1974, alongside Ertlif (who were touring  Germany at the time and planning a second album) two members: James Mosberger  and Teddy Riedo also worked as the cosmic synthesizer duo Irrlicht. Obviously  inspired by the Klaus Schulze classic, they unfortunately never released  anything, although an album was planned for Klaus' aborted idea for a record  label prior to Innovative Communication. Both these musicians have also  worked solo since.
On several occasions Ertlif have reformed. The  Ertlif web-site implies that the Black Rills Records LP from 1992 could be a  re-recorded version, but we're not sure. A new 2001 album is out there, but  we haven't encountered it yet."

Songs / Tracks Listing:
Plastic Queen
Try Making It Easy
Train Of Time
You're Nothing At All
There Is Only Time To Die
The Song
High And Dry
Walpurgis
Classical Woman     

Line-up / Musicians:

Richard John Rusinski / vocals, 12-string guitar

James Mosberger / organ, Mellotron, piano

Teddy Riedo / bass

Hanspeter "Bцlle" Bцrlin / drums, percussion

Danny Andrey / lead guitar

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/142323705/1972_-_Ertlif.rar

Sources:

- http://oldishpsychprog.ucoz.com/news/ertlif_1972_ertlif/2010-05-28-2090 

McChurch Soundroom - Delusion (1971)

2010-08-04T11:46:00.015+02:00

Looking for another obscurity ? Then give McChurch Soundroom a try. Delusion, released  in 1971, was their one and only album. Though a Swiss band, you could swear they were British. Instead of following the Krautrock scene like Can, Amon Düül II, Ash Ra Tempel, Neu, Faust, etc., or even the German style of progressive rock typical of bands from the later part of the 1970s like Grobschnitt, Eloy, Novalis, etc., they went for more of an underground, bluesy, jazzy heavy progressive rock sound that's not unlike early Jethro Tull. 

In fact the opening cut, which is the title track starts off acoustic, and sounds a whole lot like it came right off Stand Up, right down to vocals that sounds just like Ian Anderson. As the song progresses, the music turns to electric guitar and Hammond organ with bluesy undertones, and progressive passages that oddly sound like they belong on a Yes album, then there's a totally killer jam I wished was much longer, then it goes back to the acoustic beginning.

The next cut, "Dream of a Drummer" is an instrumental, guitar-oriented piece that would have done much better if it wasn't for that useless drum solo. That's the only weak spot on the album, by the way. "Time is Flying" is more of the same great bluesy prog rock sound. 

The next song, "What Are You Doin'" is much in the same vein as the previous cut, but I really can't stomach the preachy, anti-drug message in the lyrics, this band totally predates Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" by a full decade. That's plain silly, because people in to that kind of music at the time were likely lighting up the bong every now and then. The album ends with a two part instrumental called "Trouble" which is basically a jam, played in a rather jazzy manner with flute and Hammond organ dominating. 

The great news is the album was reissued on CD, on a small German label called Ohrwaschl, not the type of CD you're likely to find at your local, tacky Wal-Mart, or equally tacky chain store (Blockbuster Music, Tower, Camelot, Sam Goody, etc.), but if you know where to get hard to find imports, then you might be able to get a copy. The original LP was released on a small German label called Pilz (same label that brought you Popol Vuh, Wallenstein and Emtidi).

Unsurprisingly, the LP is quite rare and difficult to find (one online dealer was selling it for $200), that's why it got reissued on CD. The cover to the album is way cool, which is a picture of a skull all covered in dripping candle wax, which also clues you in on the underground nature of the album. 

The album does have a rather rough, and unpolished production, often typical for a prog rock band at the end of the 1960s/beginning of the 1970s that hadn't yet abandoned their blues or hard rock roots. So whatever the case, McChurch Soundroom's Delusion is another great album to add to your collection if you like early Jethro Tull (This Was, Stand Up) and underground bluesy, jazzy prog rock in general. 

(Corrected version of Ben Miler's article)

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Delusion 

2. Dream Of A Drummer

3. Time Is Flying 

4. What Are You Doin' 

5. Trouble Part.1 

6. Trouble Part.2

Line-up / Musicians:

Sandy McChurch [Sandro Chiesa] / vocals, flute

Heiner Althaus / guitar

Alain Veltin / organ

Kurt Hafen / bass

Norbert "Nobbi" Jud / drums 

Download:

http://www.4shared.com/file/Y1_1Au3d/Mc_Church_Soudnroom.html 

Sources:

- progarchives.com 

- http://www.hippy.com/php/review-286.html

Docmec - Objet Non Identifié (1976)

2010-08-04T11:46:00.010+02:00

An obscure Swiss symphonic progressive who released one album in 1976, Docmec's reliance on string synths makes this sound like it's from quite a bit later. In fact, despite the English vocals and its obvious connection to the Genesis school, this has some close similarities to some French symphonic groups like Pulsar or Carpe Diem, although far more vocally oriented than either group. Also, Docmec's vocals-heavy, Genesis style is a lot like a slightly later and more prolific Swiss group, Flame Dream, although lacking the keyboard virtuosity that made the early albums by that band standouts. As the album progresses, improvements to the palate are made, including a lovely piano and strings piece at the beginning of side two. The production seems to vary considerably as it goes as well, the last piece sounding like a studio rehearsal, a song heavily reminscent of Jethro Tull's "My God." In summary, this is not an album that is likely to seriously impress, although the occasional tonal shift makes it more than worth a listen. 

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Introduction

2. Sweet Home

3. Beware Of Firmen

4. Bis

5. Remember

6. Saraband

7. M.A. (Beyond The Bells)

8. Flays I. Seyon's Flood

9. Flays II. Pest Lament

Line-up / Musicians:

Olivier Vuille / bass, acoustic guitar, vocals

Jean-Philippe Amaudruz / drums, glockenspiel, percussion

Dominique Bettens / electric guitar, acoustic guitar

Louis Crelier / lead Vocals, keyboards, flute

Elisabeth Grimm / violin

Download:

http://rs670.rapidshare.com/files/254854875/_docmec_-_objet_non_identifi__1081___1976_.rar 

Sources:

- http://waytoyoursoul.blogspot.com/2007/09/docmec-objet-non-identifi-1976.html

Drum Circus - Magic Theatre (1971)

2010-08-04T11:46:00.009+02:00

Drum Circus is a shortlived Swiss band founded by the great drummer Peter Giger. The band he formed had three drummers (!) and many other musicians, including Joel Vandroogenbroeck, from Brainticket, playing Organ, Piano, Flute and Sitar. Carole Muriel from Brainticket appears also in the band doing vocals. Other curious thing about their only album is that the lyrics of two songs were written by the LSD guru Timothy Leary. After all this definition one can only think that the music contained in this album is rather crazy and in fact it is. If you like drumming/percussion, you will love this album.

The sidelong eponymous track "Magic Theatre", has many things and ideas included. The lyrics are inspired in the Tibetan Book of The Dead, written by Leary. The sound is varied, with a percussion intro, nice organ, good flute and drum passage, some drums with a collective chanting and then fantastic sitar sounds that are very skillfully played, along with some crazy saxophone, mridanga (indian percussion) and indian-inspired chanting. Then are some avant-garde parts with percussion, sax improvisation and great organ sounds. After some jamming, there is some spoken phrases interpreted by the singers like in a play. After that a calm part with sitar, flute and percussion. Then some jazzy parts, with jazzy piano and saxophone, plus very good drumming. In the end there is the return of the theme under the spoken part.

The other songs are good also. "Now It Hurts You" is short, but has excellent sitar, organ and drumming. The vocals are strange in this song. "Papera" is a rather jazzy song with some soft saxophone arrangement and good piano. Percussion is always present and very interesting. The song has some changes during it.

"La-Si-Do" is the strangest song with strange vocals and dominated by percussion, with many different sounds generating a good combination.

"Groove Rock" is really groovy, with superb saxophone soloing and great organ and percussion backing the solo. The song is jazzy and the highlights are the superb drumming and the great saxophone.

"All Things Pass" has an interesting piano and percussive sounds. The singing is inspired. The piano arrangement is somewhat jazzy and the drumming parts are very improvisational, with the usage of the less used parts of the drums, like cymbals.

Overall is a nice album with a great mix of psychedelic indian influences and jazz and impressive drumming. The sound is not so much varied and some shorter songs resemble the long suite, but this is a little common for their genre (Krautrock).


Songs / Tracks Listing:
Magic Theater 
Now It Hurts You
Papera 
La-Si-Do
Groove Rock
All Things Pass
Line-up / Musicians:
Peter Giger / drums, percussions
Marc Hellman / drums
Alex Bally / drums
Joel Vandroogenbroeck / organ, flute, sitar
Gerd Dudek / sax, flute
Isla Eckinger / bass
Carole Muriel / vocals
Polo Hofer / vocals 

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/32484891/Drum_Circus_-_Magic_Theatre__1971_.rar


Sources:

- http://mygeneration60s.blogspot.com/2009/03/drum-circus-magic-theatre-1971.html

After Shave - Skin Deep (1972)

2010-08-04T11:46:00.007+02:00

The group was produced in May 1968, in Bienne, by Pierre-Alain Kessi (Pakman) (guitar and vocal) and André (Dédé) Pascal (drums), reinforced by Bruno Zuest (vocal) (future father of “QL”s bassist) and by “Noldi” (bass guitar). One of its first gig consisted in the featuring, in Spring 68, into a  pop contest organized by a Zurich magazine. Disqualified without glory with this commentary : “the group might be good if the guitarist did not use so much  distortion…”. Nevertheless, the group carried on playing the blues out of the repertoires of Cream, Hendrix, Mayall, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. A first single was recorded but never marketed (Look for a woman), because the group had run out of money. 

After different changes of line up, the group consisted in a trio in 1970, following the withdrawal of lead singer and bass guitarist, this last one being replaced by Jean-Claude Fontana (Cacou). With this new formation, the group won the famous first price in Golf Drouot in Paris in November 1970. In December 1970, Dédé decided to quit the group and was replaced by the late and regretted Rodolphe (Jötu) Baumgartner.

Between 1971 and 1974 After Shave became famous, creating their own legend and repertoire. They begun touring in Switzerland, France and Germany, and experienced their first LP called “Skin Deep”. This album is now being gloriously praised in “Hard rock anthology 1968-1980” by Denis Meyer, Editions Enfer Magazine, as well as in the “Encyclopédie du hard rock des seventies” of Denis Protat, Editions Alternatives. Those two specialists repertory more than one thousand groups and records. After Shave also produced two singles. The group took on a new English singer named Barry James Brown, and a new bass guitarist, Silvano “Gugus” Paroni replaced Cacou. At that time, Pierre-Alain Kessi and his drummer Jötu had the great honour to accompany Champion Jack Dupree on his last Swiss tour.  

After Shave recorded in 1974 a new LP called “Strange Feelings”, accompanied by a second guirarist, Peter “Misteli” Mischler, in a studio proposed by the producers in Antibes. Unfortunately, the producers not having ever paid the bill, the tapes were impounded and reappeared at the beginning of the 90’s with an Italian pirater edition, mentioning other name and titles of the pieces. Copies of the original mixing still being in Pierre-Alain Kessi’s possession, a new production can still be envisaged. 

At the beginning of 1975, After Shave recorded a demo with two titles : “So you’r gone away” and “Ain’t ready for you yet” that draw EMI’s attention, in England, who was ready to sign the group, as long as they changed their name. So After Shave became Slick. The contract would nevertheless not being signed, being cancelled by EMI’s directors who had just hit the jackpot with Ten CC’s “I’m not in love”, this last piece sounding like “So you gona way”.  It seems not to be such a good idea to compete with oneself! Exit After Shave, exit Slick! Everybody was back again to its first occupations.

The official CD can be bought on the band's website ! 

Songs / Tracks Listing:

1. Skin Deep

2. Him

3. Paper Woman 

4. Ride, Ride, Ride

5. Sweet Home

6. Amsterdam in My Living Room

7. Near The Sun

8. Pink Rose

9. Sunflower

10. Greengage Man (Bonus)

11. On The Ground (Bonus)

12. One of the Best (Bonus)

13. Warmaker (Bonus)

14. Near the Sun (Bonus)

Line-up / Musicians:

Pierre-Alain "Pakman" Kessi / guitar, vocals

Jean-Claude "Cacou" Fontana / vocals, bass

Rodolphe "Jötu" Baumgartner / drums

Download:

http://rapidshare.com/files/29048415/After_Shave.rar.html 

Source: 

- http://www.aftershave.ch/


From left to right: André Jungo, Pavlo Pendaki, Philippe Dubugnon