The Unwritten Law – This Whole World Is Blind / Actions Speak Louder. 1967 USA ~ California

From Napa Valley. The opener struck me as rather typical garage. I mean 'That Thing You Do' seemed to capture every garage band of the 60s perfectly. But then this crazy fuzz shows up. Not in the typical acid psych sense. Rather a heavily distorted garage sound. The b) side is a killer. Comes with a super organ groove, and that same fuzz they introduced late on the a) side. Love the jazzy Doors like rhythm. And then an organ solo - more Doors references. And it's an excellent song too. Something memorable and hummable. 2:20 is too short - I want four more minutes!

If looking to obtain a copy, a recent auction snagged $2,100. I'll stick to YouTube. Both these tracks are on various comps out there as well.

12/30/25 (new entry)

Long Richard – Force Myself / Lovin Cup. 1968 USA ~ Sacramento, California

The a) side is a drifty psych blues number with piano, electric guitar, and impassioned vocals. Has a jazzy styled rhythm. Vocals are strong and of the late 60s West Coast style. b) is a Butterfield Blues Band number. Again, bluesy in nature, but the psychedelic guitar playing takes it to the next level. Even some Steppenwolf styled riffing. Good two sider.

3.5

12/30/25 (new entry) 

Starchild - Long Way Home / Ocean. 1978 USA ~ Dallas, Texas

Really nice two sider. The a) side is more commercial in nature, but still based in space rock principles, especially considering the phasing. The vocals are female and bear a strong resemblance to my Proto Prog with Female Vocals list. This is especially apparent on the b) side which is more progressive rock in nature. The overall sound is late 70s or early 80s. Excellent guitar work throughout.

Not finding anything much about it. A comment on YouTube says it was made for a Sci-Fi Movie and Book. It also says Dallas. 

More research ties the Dallas reference together with this book. In the description they talk about an unfinished novel from a 40 year old movie treatment. And this was published in 2018. 40 years before? 1978. That sounds exactly right. I'm going forward with these dates and places.

3.5 / 4.0

12/30/25 (new entry)

Parente Band – Tramp / New Day. 1971 USA ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Both sides are high energy instrumental jazz funk tunes. Great grooves on this one. The only soloist is the tenor saxophonist. I like his style, busy, melodic, and never out of control. The horn section is tight, and one could call this big band rock. Oddly, there are two distinct pressings for this 45. I've included the more informative one.

3.5

12/11/25 (new entry)

J.B. Green & Born Again - Rock Me Baby / Time. 1976 USA

A very interesting 45, as the music presented is not really single material. It's mostly a type of instrumental psychedelic jazz, very mellow, with fuzzy lead guitar, though not overly amplified. The a) side has vocals and is based in the blues, but once again it sounds more psych jazz than anything. 

I've read they're from Texas without corroboration. Discogs says the label is from Dallas but that's based on the record being pressed by A&R. I know the record plant from my days in DFW, but that doesn't mean the label or artist is from there. I didn't realize Josey Records owns it now. 

3.5 / 4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

Catch - In The Garden / Brand New Day. 1974 USA ~ Chicago, Illinois

Another title that has a lot of misdirection on the ole WWW. Unknown soul funk gem is the screaming headline. Not really. The a) side is an excellent proggy hard rock track with loads of organ and guitar. The flip is a bit more poppy until they slide back into some more prog jam goodness. Plenty of early Santana references. This is a very good title, though I would think funk folks wouldn't be overly impressed. This is more in my strike zone.

4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

Preserving the following from band member Jeff Beckler in case it gets wiped away some day: "I was in this band, we recorded it at Universal studios in Chicago. We were all from the Chicago area. It was 1974, the music was done in one take, and the vocals were added in one take. There were six people in the band. Lead guitar Rich Knoble, key boards Robert Blum, drums Mike Kariosha, Bass Tony Zerkawitz and 2 percussion and lead singers Chuck and Jeff Beckler along with the lead guitarist Rich Knoble. This group formed after originally being called The Looking Glass.When the New York looking Glass came out with The hit song Brandy , the group broke up and reformed its style into more progressive funk style of music. 2 years later we broke up and all went separate ways."

Steve Akin – It's Heavy / I'm Trippin' Alone. 1970 USA ~ Houston, Texas

First track is heavily reliant on the blues, with some country, folk, and rural vibes. The flip is faster with some nice acoustic guitar jamming, and vocals that have a distant resemblance to Jimi Hendrix. Not bad. I wouldn't call it funk or psych though, which is what you'll see out there.

12/10/25 (new entry)

Joe Glover & Chrome City – Sweet C C / Chrome City Funk. 1978 USA ~ Ohio

Now here's a goodie. From Warren, Ohio and best I can tell, this is all they did. There's some ghetto rant on YouTube if you want to learn more about them. Neither track has been comped to date. The a) side is disco with synthesized strings, a smooth groove, nice melodies, and some wicked guitar soloing. B) moves over to funk, also has a strong groove, and it doesn't take long for the guitar to start blasting out a cool solo. I want this.

4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

The Smoke Ring - Heavy Metal Whale / Triangle. 1972 USA ~ Nebraska

The Smoke Ring were a Nebraska 60s pop act. Their final 45 (of many) looks more promising than it is. However, there seems to be some misdirection about it as well. Discogs has a note that the a) side is Reggae. Nope. It sounds like War with the addition of steel drums. The b) side is labeled as Pop. RYM does similar. Nope. To me it sounds like a typical North American early 70s hard(er) rock track with harmony vocals and a lot of Hammond organ. Not bad at all.

12/10/25 (new entry)