Headwinds - Warrior Song / Just To Be With You. 1977 USA ~ Los Angeles, California

I can't remember how I first heard about Headwinds, but the 45 found its way onto my want list eventually. The music here is a commercially oriented progressive rock. Somewhat like same era Yes and Starcastle. And the B) side leans towards Styx even. The synthesizer work in particular is very much from the prog school. Nice saxophone, acoustic guitar, and harmony vocals. It's not rhythmically complex, so this for fans of lush "symphonic", though it would have been better served had it featured mellotron. Headwinds aren't for underground fans looking for psych excursions. Given that this is a custom pressing, I'll presume the band had no real intention of getting radio airplay. Rather they were documenting their efforts to that point in time. One wonders if they have more material sitting in a vault somewhere.

After some research I found 'Warrior Song' on YouTube posted by keyboardist Mark Poynter (going by Eric). It's a longer take. So there may be more after all.

Further research teaches us that Headwinds were from Pasadena and often played with Van Halen. Now isn't that interesting? Especially back then when Mammoth / VH were at their heaviest. After breaking up in 1980, two of the members (guitarist Michael Britton and keyboardist Poynter) joined forces with Tommy Lee (yes, pre-Motley Crue) to form a hard rock band called Dealer (there is an archival CDr demo of their recordings). Later, guitarist Michael Britton went onto to form Romeo then his namesake Britton, who managed to put out three albums. Later Britton found Woodbury Boys in Salt Lake City and that seems to be the end of the line from a recording perspective.

You would never know that Headwinds housed heavy metal / hard rockers in their midst as they didn't display that angst on this 45.

Own.

4 / 3.5

3/28/25 (new entry)

The Pop Workshop - Fairyland / When My Little Girl Is Happy. 1968 England

A) side is fairly typical harpsichord driven popsike. B) side is better with jangly guitars and a more thoughtful melody sequence.

Own.

3/28/25

Orchid - Go Big Red / Act Naturally. 1973 USA ~ Wisconsin

Orchid were high school kids from Edgerton, Wisconsin between Madison and Janesville. 'Go Big Red' has become noteworthy due to its appearance on one of the many Bonehead comps out there. To me 'Go Big Red' means the University of Nebraska, but it turns out to be both a high school anthem as well as a tribute to the University of Wisconsin's hockey team. What makes the track great are the freaky guitar solos, though the song is lacking. The B) side is more of a country rocker. 

3/2/25

Harpy - Backseat Love / Mr. Jimmy. 1975 USA ~ Syracuse, New York

Harpy were from Syracuse, New York and this is their only known recorded work. Their music could best be described as AM radio rock of the mid 70s. Something akin to Three Dog Night. There is an excellent synthesizer break on the A) side making it more interesting than usual. This track was featured on a local Syracuse 2xLP comp in 1976.

3 / 2.5

3/2/25

Cherry People – Sea And Me / Come on Over. 1971 USA ~ Washington, D.C.

At one point I had Cherry People's first single from 1968 and my notes there stated: "Saccharine pop for the psych era. Safe for the whole family. "As seen in Better Homes and Gardens" one can predict. 'Imagination' has some trippy effects, so not too bad on the whole. But this is miles away from the best groups of the genre such as The Free Design. Not keeping."

'Sea and Me' is an interesting shift of sound from this DC based band. Here they are peddling early 70s styled North American hard rock. Nice guitar work though the tune lacks any kind of memorable melodies. Still it would be interesting to hear a whole album of music like this.

3/2/25

Young Presidents - Mac-10 Morning / Not In Love. 1987 USA ~ Monterey, California

Average anthem hard rock with a slight metal tone. The wildcard here is the use of harmonica, not an instrument we typically here in music such as this. One presumes they used a lot of hairspray, but the vintage photos show them looking more like Huey Lewis and the News. Some older clips show saxophone as well, so it appears they really weren't metal at all. Band is still active as I enter this post.

2/5 / 2.5

3/2/25

The Red Barons - Bomb Out Of Your Mind / You Do. 1971 USA ~ New York ~ Pennsylvania

Both sides are consistent folk rock jangly pop styled. Led by a one Cheryl Barnes, her vocals recall a bit of Janis Joplin and Canned Haat. Or even Jean Ritchie. There's some old organ in play. The music sounds more like 1967 than '71. It appears the band were from the New York / Pennsylvania border, and there's some Appalachia in here too.

3 / 3

3/2/25