Category: 1974

Secret Oyster – Sea Son (1974)

“SECRET OYSTER became somewhat of a super group when members of BURNIN’RED IVANHOE, CORONARIAS DANS and HURDY GURDY formed this unit. By the end of BURNIN’ RED IVANHOE’s career (that spawned seven years), Karsten Vogel started forming a new band… Their sound recalled MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, NUCLEUS, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi and Sextant albums as well as Miles DAVIS’s Bitches Brew.”

The Viola Crayola – Music: Breathing Of Statues (1974)

“You know, there are great guitar trio albums and then there’s San Antonio’s Viola Crayola. This jazzy psych freakout jam album is just remarkable and sounds about 15 years ahead of its time in technique. And fortunately it IS of its era sound-wise. This thing just rips and shreds and wah-wah’s until you collapse from exhaustion. The last 2 minute goofball track allows us to see Viola’s mentor – Mr. Zappa. If these guys released this in 1991, there would be a monthly feature in Guitar Player for him. Unfortunately, Tony Viola died tragically later in 1974. Album is only about 29 minutes long. A bootleg exists.”

Yatha Sidhra – A Meditation Mass (1974)

“The first intention was to create a dreamy musical landscape where the Moog synth, the flute & traditional “percussive” instruments play an important part. Seen as a concept album, “A Meditation Mass” is almost exclusively instrumental. A long suite divided in two themes with two variations for each one. A beautiful and ecstatic musical journey. Their sound oscillates between “pastoral” folk music, spacey rock with the addition of discreet jazzy accents.”

Birth Control – Live (1974)

“Birth Control’s straightforward progressive rock sound is perfectly demonstrated on Birth Control Live, recorded in June 1974… The best example of their early-’70s sound can be found on the 15 minutes of “Back from Hell” and on the even longer “Gamma Ray” combining an entertaining mix of improvised guitar and keyboard interplay that wonderfully stretches itself out.”

The Cosmic Jokers – The Cosmic Jokers (1974)

“The COSMIC JOKERS is an extreme musical trip, a unique adventure throw time and space. The music is for a large part improvised with proto-electronic gadgets combined to bluesy & spacey musical sentences built around the talented Manuel Gottsching’s electric guitar style (always spacey and bluesy). This is real German acid music, a ‘music of paradise’, transcending music, breaking of the materialistic world, a protest against the reality.”

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