The Cosmic Jokers were no doubt one of the most controversial creations in the Krautrock scene. It’s because the musicians involved did not know they were actually this group or had any intention to release this stuff on record for the public to buy. Rolf Ulrich Kaiser, head honcho of Ohr Records, who, in 1973, […] Continue reading →

Every Hawkwind fan knows about the band rarely every keeping the same lineup for more than one album. In 1975, the band lost Lemmy, in which he formed Motorhead (named after the 1975 Hawkwind single Lemmy wrote and recorded for while still in Hawkwind), and in 1976, they lost Nik Turner following the release of […] Continue reading →

1973 is regarded by many as the first real Eloy album. In 1971, they released their self-entitled debut on Philips, which was basically a hard rock album, with political overtones. The band was lead by Erich Schriever, and Frank Bornemann was basically doing extra guitar duty. But with Schriever gone, as well as original drummer […] Continue reading →

Britain’s Radio Massacre International (RMI) has got to be the greatest electronic music discovery I’ve made since buying all the ’70s classics from the likes of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. I felt electronic music really went through a dry spell by the 1980s, so much of it devolved into New Age that it got […] Continue reading →

Canarios (often called Los Canarios) was a rock band from Spain that managed to release some albums in the late ’60s and early ’70s during the Franco years. Around 1972, leader Teddy Bautista put a brief end of the band to do military service. After military service, he resurrected the band, with such a drastic […] Continue reading →

Apparently the Mahavishnu Orchestra wasn’t exactly the most forgiving of bands out there and apparently John McLaughlin alienated some of his bandmates feeling he was a bit too dominating. Out of this mess comes violinist Jerry Goodman teaming up with Jan Hammer to record an album together in 1974. Here Goodman plays more than just […] Continue reading →

What happened to Van der Graaf Generator between the release of Pawn Hearts (1971) and Godbluff (1975)? Well, simple, Peter Hammill recorded some solo albums with help from his former bandmates, giving the other guys something to do. The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage is Hammill’s third solo album, the second after VdGG’s hiatus […] Continue reading →

In 1969 and 1970 the Strawbs released their first two albums, Strawbs and Dragonfly with guitarist/vocalist Dave Cousins, guitarist Tony Hooper and double bassist Ron Chesterman. Dragonfly also got help from a cellist named Claire Deniz. Those albums are pretty much firmly in the folk-rock vein, and neither of those albums have been easy to […] Continue reading →

In 1974 you sure didn’t have to wait long for Peter Hammill to dish us another solo album. He first gave us The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage, which is essentially a Van der Graaf Generator album because Hugh Banton, Guy Evans, and David Jackson all appeared on that album. Several months later comes […] Continue reading →

Buy This CD! In 1971, Strawbs released their fourth album, From the Witchwood. It was only their second album to have an American release (their self-entitled 1969 debut and 1970’s Dragonfly, were originally released only in the UK, and never received an American release, so as you might guess, those are their hardest to acquire […] Continue reading →