Psych Prog 1968-72

I love that their opening lines in one song are "Every certainty's a lie/reality has got to die."

Also the Tentacle - Angel of Death album, which I think wasn't originally issued but is pretty much in this vein.

Hairy Chpater are pre- Night Sun kinda band..less loud and proggy maybe

Blue Phantom fit into this...?

Toad, Andromeda, High Tide, Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes, Group 1850, Mu, Sensations Fix, The Litter, Matching Mole, Arzachel, Writing on the Wall, Pink Fairies, Web, Trees, Terje Rypdal, Merkin,
or something

Didn't we do two youtube threads along these lines a few years back?

Looked up Hairy Chapter in RYM and saw that it's in our 70s Hard 'n' Heavy poll. Thanks for the reminder.

And I am LOVING Wolf People's Fain. Fantastic vintage acid prog. ― Greatjon

Yeah, Wolf People are definitely paying tribute to many of these bands, as you'll see below. I belatedly reviewed their album recently. Dungen, Hidden Masters, Spirits Of The Dead and to some extent Yamantaka // Sonic Titan also dip into that trough. Below are lists from some of the above. Also check out Craig Hayes' amazing three-part Aquarius Rotten series, particularly Aquarius Rotten: Über-hard and Über-heavy Meets Psychedelic Pop, Part 3.

Lee Dorian (Cathedral, Rise Above Records)
Caravan - Caravan (Verve, 1968)
The Gods - Genesis (Columbia, 1968)
Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow (Columbia, 1968)
Pussy - Pussy Plays (Morgan Blue Town, 1969)
High Tide - Sea Shanties (Liberty, 1969)
Arzachel - Arzachel (Evolution, 1969)
Mighty Baby - Mighty Baby (Head, 1969)
East OF Eden - Mercator PRojected (Deram, 1969)
Arcadium – Breathe A While (Middle Earth, 1969)
Human Beast – Volume One (Deram, 1970)
T2 – It'll All Work Out In Boomland (Decca/Lion, 1970)
Fairfield Parlour – From Home To Home (Vertigo, 1970)
Julian's Treatment – A Time Before This (Young Blood, 1970)
Czar – Czar (Fontana, 1970)
Comus – First Utterance (Dawn/Breathless, 1971)
Fuzzy Duck – Fuzzy Duck (Repertoire, 1971)
Tractor – Tractor (Dandelion, 1972)
Second Hand – Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Mushroom, 1971)
Nicholas Greenwood – Cold Cuts (Kingdom, 1972)

Reine Fiske, Dungen
Alrune Rod – Alrune Rod (Sonet, 1969)
Mecki Mark Men - Mecki Mark Men (Sonet, 1967)
Bo Hansson – Sagan om ringen (Lord Of The Ring) (Silence/Charisma, 1970)
Circus 2000 – Circus 2000 (Ri-Fi/Akarma, 1970)
Culpeper's Orchard – Culpeper's Orchard (Polydor, 1971)
C.O.B. – Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart (Polydor, 1972)
Comus – First Utterance (Dawn/Breathless, 1971)
Dark – Round The Edges (Machu Picchu, 1972)
Kalevela – People No Names (Finnlevy, 1972)
Popol Vuh – Hosianna Mantra (Kosmische Musik/SPV, 1972)

Wolf People
http://active-listener.blogspot.com/2013/04/wolf-people-guide-us-through-ten-albums.html
Mighty Baby – A Jug Of Love (Head/Sunbeam, 1971)
Mecki Mark Men – Running In The Summer Night (Limelight, 1969)
Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me (Drag City, 2010)
Dark – Round The Edges (Machu Picchu, 1972)
Thundermother – Astral Navigations (Holyground, 1971)
Trees – On The Shore (CBS, 1971)
Dungen – 4 (Kemado, 2008)
The Groundhogs – Thank Christ For The Bomb (UA/EMI, 1970)
Richard & Linda Thompson – I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (Hannibal, 1974)
The Way We Live – A Candle For Judith (Dandelion, 1971)

Please feel free to share your own top 10s, 5s, 50...

Some of Craig Hayes' selections:

Bang – Bang (Capitol, 1972)
Negative Space – Hard, Heavy, Mean & Evil (Castle, 1970)
Baby Grandmothers – Baby Grandmothers (Subliminal Sounds, 1968)
Highway Robbery – For Love Or Money (RCA, 1972)
Wicked Lady - The Axeman Cometh (Psychotic Overkill, 1969-72)
Night Sun – Mournin' (Zebra, 1972)
Tractor – Tractor (Dandelion, 1972)
Bolder Damn - Mourning (Hit/Shadow Kingdom, 1971)
Gun - Gun (Epic/Repertoire, 1968)
Steel Mill – Jewels Of The Forest - Green Eyed God (Rise Above, 1972)
Dust – Dust (Akarma, 1971)
The C.A. Quintet - Trip Thru Hell (Candy Floss, 1968)
Lucifer's Friend – Lucifer's Friend (Philips/Universal, 1970)
Leaf Hound – Growers Of Mushroom (Decca, 1971)
Les Variations - Nador (Pathe, 1970)

I'm considering these for my own top 50, or are just outside it. I got the 2006 CD reissue of Comus at the time, and picked up the Dark reissue last year, highly recommended.

Comus – First Utterance (Dawn/Breathless, 1971)
Dark – Round The Edges (Machu Picchu, 1972)
Julian's Treatment – A Time Before This (Young Blood, 1970)
Captain Beyond – Captain Beyond (Capricorn, 1972)
Goliath – Goliath (CBS/Aurora, 1970)
Birth Control – Hoodoo Man (CBS/Repertoire, 1972)
Room – Pre-Flight (Deram/Akarma, 1970)
Circus 2000 – Circus 2000 (Ri-Fi/Akarma, 1970)
Clear Blue Sky – Clear Blue Sky (Vertigo, 1970)
The Way We Live – A Candle For Judith (Dandelion, 1971)
Fairfield Parlour – From Home To Home (Vertigo, 1970)
C.A. Quintet - Trip Thru Hell (Candy Floss, 1968)
Masters Apprentices – Choice Cuts (Ascension, 1971)
Los Dug Dug's – Smog (RCA/Lion, 1972)
Mecki Mark Men – Running In The Summer Night (Limelight, 1969)
Morgen – Morgen (Probe/Radioactive, 1969)
Czar – Czar (Fontana, 1970)
Fuzzy Duck – Fuzzy Duck (Repertoire, 1971)

I've also enjoyed Kebnekajse, Pussy, Frumpy, Felt, Hard Meat, Message, Baba Scholae and Group 1850 among others, but go back and forth with how much.

Morgen – Morgen (Probe/Radioactive, 1969)
>

Had a good remaster from the original tapes by Sunbeam last year as did the s/t Dragonfly which is pretty great. I wouldn't buy the Radioactive version of anything it was possible to get any other way.

I think
Negative Space – Hard, Heavy, Mean & Evil (Castle, 1970)
is out through Rockadrome. Definitely on sale through the shop but I think it may be on their label too as is Ice Cross which came out pretty recently. They also did a great version of the s/t Sainte Anthony's Fyre which is petty essential.

Comus can be bought in their entirety, or at least 70s entirety on the Song To Comus 2cd on Sanctuary which comes with an e.p from the time of First Utterance as well as the '74 lp which is pretty different. They have reformed and are putting out new material as well as a live recording of an otherwise unreleased suite from '72.

& Dust have a recent 2fer of both lps on one cd though i can't remember who it's through.

great thread, thanks FnB, wow at that Spotify playlist, 60hrs of prog psych awesomeness!

Here are the youtube threads I was thinking of, for the record:

Let's compile a Best of 70's Doom cdr...

Let's compile a Best of 70's Doom cdr... Part II

Also Fraction's "Moon Blood" album. Sounds like The Doors going prog, with "Come Out of Her" being pretty apocalyptic.

Great thread, keep it going! Wish I had more to contribute, but it seems like you guys have already outpaced me.

I did pick up Speed, Glue & Shinki's Eve today, thanks to this thread.

Blue Phantom fit into this...? ― Drugs A. Money

Definitely! They're one of my favorites and were in my master list, but I totally forgot them here (they rank just below Arzachel at 43). For some reason I thought I read they were French musicians but was released on an Italian label, but here's the deal:

Blue Phantom's music was written by Armando Sciascia (under the pseudonym "H. Tical" who was renowned as an Italian film composer, editor, producer in mid-60s, and simultaneously an owner of an Italian label Vedette Records) and performed by unknown session musicians in 1971. It's original release was on Spider Records, which was a subsidiary of Sciascia's own Vedette Records label. It was also released as a "library record" by Sonimage under the name Distortion Pop. Songs from the album were featured on "Sinner: Diary of a Nymphomaniac", directed by Jess Franco in 1972 among other films. It was out of print until Italian independent label AMS reissued this album in 2008. The concise, instrumental heavy psych/prog symphonies are dissonant, menacing and in large doses disturbing, suggestive of trips gone awry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtZyL595E8A&feature=youtu.be

Yeah, I like that album a lot but "disturbing" might be overselling it a little. Except Distillation is pretty crazy. It's definitely better than Ugly Custard, Hell Preachers Inc, etc.

Is the Goldenrod album prog enough to bear mentioning in this thread?

I've been digging the Tear Gas self titled & Piggie Go Getter records lately ... Not seeing those mentioned above ... Give em a spin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY-EwIsqjNk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exE9YzULjnQ

"And my TEETH
And my TEETH
They're all tombstones
They're all tombstones"

One of two songs on "Retribution" that kinda qualifies for this thread.

I just got Colosseum's record "The Grass Is Greener" a week ago. That's a pretty good record, probably more in the heavy blues/jazz axis than really prog at this point, but they do have some interesting arrangements. They were a real good band of players, very tight.

I'm reading Pete Townsend's great bio, Who I Am. Recommended. While most rock stars of that were too consumed with their own dramas to pay attention to what most of the lesser bands were doing, there are some references to Townsend having some clue, having gotten Arthur Brown signed to a deal and writing a positive review of the first King Crimson album. I think I'll still stand by calling Tommy a psych prog album. And while I wouldn't change the big anthemic singles from Who's Next, I think it would have satisfied Townsend's ideas for Lifehouse better if it had been done as more of a psych prog project.

In fact, the musical world would have been much improved if, say, The Beatles went more in that direction after Abbey Road instead of the bare-bones with strings Let It Be (I figure it would be sacrilege to fuck with AR) and ditto for Dylan instead of his country Americana phase. And maybe even The Grateful Dead, though I'd probably still hate whatever they did. I blame The Band for everything.

great thread! thats the wrong felt in yr spotify playlist btw

Aphrodite's Child: 666 (1972) - Really hits this spot pretty hard, in my opinion

Yes!

Just got that Townshend bio last week because it was on sale. Thanks for the rec, maybe I'll find some time to read it.

Bobak Jons Malone - Motherlight is kind of a cool psych pop album sort of in the vein of the first Traffic album, though it might not quite be proggy enough to merit inclusion here

Hey guys gonna post the best non-666 Aphrodite's Child song right here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl8EdOVFr1E

"Riding on a Meadow Lea" from the Bobak, Jons, and Malone album is one of my favorite songs.

https://m.soundcloud.com/blandbladen

^fnb you hear this? Blandbladen are from the early 2000s wave of Scandinavian spacerock, similar to Causa Sui and Oresund Space Collective. They just came out with a second album, Vederkvickelse, excerpts of which can be found on the band's soundcloud page. It's certainly spacey/trippy enough that I could've posted it in rolling stoner but this feels like a more precise fit. It def has that 70s throwback feel you find in bands like Agusa and the Wolf People...

New Brainticket album out this year, don't know if it is any good.

Thanks for the tips, I've neglected this thread a while.

Here's something.

Charlies - Buttocks (Love/Red Fox, 1970) - Finnish bluesy psych prog.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J45r-brjeWw&list=PL94gOvpr5yt0WAfHvLeY3oYRzR0Ox1TPw

this album is great and hardly anyone knows it/writes about it. if it had been on vertigo it would sell for $$$ now. totally in that realm. but i think they were from philly, not the u.k. you can find it pretty cheap probably. i mean i don't see it much, but i don't think a lot of people are looking for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUkSyIfnQxc

Manfred Mann Chapter III (1969)

Was prompted to check this out via Elijah Wood of all people, lol. Pretty cool, jazzy, lots of Dr. John influence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4XhNdlUfN0

Not worked my way through the entire thread yet, but surprised that the 1st 2 Atomic rooster lps are on there and nt Death Walks Behind You which is the one I'd really go for. With John (du) Cann's guitar blazing against Vincent Crane's organ.

Death IS the second one, actually, and I think the US version of the 1st one had added Du Cann guitars and vocals!

For some reason I was thinking In Hearing Of came before it, but no you're right. Wonder why OP skipped it though.

There's also now a Lost Broadcasts set which has a few tracks by that line up plus a few more by the Chris Farlowe line-up on dvd from German tv.

Oh, that's me. Well, if you look again you'll see that Death Walks Behind you was ranked #22 on my list. The others past the top 50 are listed alpha.

Horse - For Twisted Minds Only (Rise Above Relics, 1970) Oct 14

Formed in South London during the late sixties, Horse were a band creating occult influenced progressive hard rock, ahead of its time. Guitarist Rod Roach had briefly played in an incarnation of British psych-rock legends Andromeda before forming Horse with other key member, vocalist Adrian Hawkins. Alongside bassist Colin Standring, the band also featured legendary drummer Ric Parnell, later of Atomic Rooster (amongst many others) and future star of This is Spinal Tap (aka Mick Shrimpton)!

A favourite amongst collectors for many years (with original mint copies today trading in excess of £400), Horse is an album long overdue an official reissue. Recorded in 1969, originally released in 1970 and bootlegged countless times from scratchy vinyl transfers, Rise Above Relics can finally present you with this detailed release mastered and cut directly from the original master tapes. Featuring a treasure trove of previously unheard/unreleased material, For Twisted Minds Only is certain to have connoisseurs and collectors of the period literally frothing at the bit.

been rockin' the Fuzzy Duck lately, my god this album rules

the first side of this album rules but i love this moment best. such emo vocals. also parlour band had the best 21st century internet album title of 1972.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_5QKQIe3ac