The Cosmic Evolution – Evil Woman / Mississippi Woman. 1972 USA ~ Alabama

Well, the group certainly has the right name to grab one's attention. At least mine lol. A couple of years before ELO made a (different) song with the A) title, The Cosmic Evolution had the same idea, and really their version is more in accordance with the subject matter. One can hear an impassioned emotional group displaying their anger through some pretty mean guitar leads. The b) side is a mix of boogie and Southern rock and lacks the punch of the flip. Though there are notable guitar sections to listen for.

Pegasus - Honeysuckle Willow Bridge / Turkey Dove. 1972 USA

No one knows where this Pegasus hails from, but what we have here is a killer two-sider of heavy guitar and organ rock. I also like the impassioned higher pitched vocals. These guys would have made it big were they from England during this era. I'd be willing to bet that this particular Pegasus is from somewhere in the Midwest, especially since it was pressed in Cincinnati. They also have that early Poobah thing going, along with dozens of other regional bands. The organ is always a welcome addition.

The Gale – Gotta Run Away / Make Up My Mind. 1972 USA ~ Birmingham, Alabama

A very interesting two sider here. The a) side starts with an excellent bass and drums groove. The song itself is a laid back organ rocker with excellent harmony vocals. The guitar and organ solos are clearly from the jazz school. The b) maintains the excellent groove though moves over to the soul funk genre, especially considering the addition of female vocals and wah wah rhythm guitar. At first I thought this was the weaker track, but here the guitar solo is based more in the psychedelic tradition. Obscure as they get.

4.0

1/5/26 (new entry)

Pappys Hauted House - One More Time / Dude. 1972 USA ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

One of those classic misspellings that that no doubt haunted (had to do it) the band for years to come. The a) side is mostly soul / jazz with the song belonging to the former and the organ to the latter. Nice wah wah rhythms and horns. It's the b) side that ignites the flame here. They add in wicked fuzz, and primarily go psychedelic with some hints of funk. 

The leader of the band was John Papi, who is the organ player, and led a jazz trio at one point. He's quite an interesting character. Much more info about him can be found here: https://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2010/01/john-papi.html

1/5/26 (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)

La Familia Inc. - La Tuna / This Time. 1972 USA ~ San Francisco, California

Now this one really caught me off guard. The beginning of 'La Tuna' has a nice tight horn section, with rhythm electric piano, playing Latin salsa music similar to early Santana in their native roots mode. Then comes the most screaming fuzz guitar I've heard in ages! We're talking Carlos Santana x2 here. Very unexpected but we get our total money's worth in this extended solo. This is followed by a trumpet lead which leads to a psychotic "La Tuna" rant, and then back to the horns. Whew - what a killer track! The b) side flips over to the Chicago Transit Authority, and reminds me of the more poppy tracks from their first three albums. Unfortunately there are no Terry Kath like breaks, but it's still a pleasant song.

Both of these tracks are on their second album from 1972 called Para La Gente. No idea what kind of consistency the album holds. But 'La Tuna' needs to be comp'd on some psychedelic anthology. 

Own.

9/16/25 (new entry)

Golgatha - Dies Irae / Children's Game. 1972 Germany

An anomaly for the great experimental Krautrock Ohr label, as Golgatha are primarily a hard rock group, similar to how fellow labelmates Pilz got its start. 'Dies Irae' uses the familiar monkish chant combined with narration and horns. B) is more committed to the horn rock genre, recalling countrymen Round House, Emergency, and For Example. Nice Terry Kath styled guitar as well. A very good representation of the style.

2/14/24

Wilderness II - Strange Kind of Woman / In Medley. 1972 USA-Oklahoma

From Tulsa. Both tracks are badly produced Deep Purple covers. B) side is 'Lazy' with some extending jamming. 

2.5 / 2.5

1/23/24

Brother Love - Rock n' Roll Band / Bluebird. 1972 USA-Ohio

The A) side rips the main theme from the Stones but has a cool fuzz tone. As you might imagine, much of it is bar n' roll music. With an added mandolin solo(?). The B) side is 70s soft pop, good for the Andy Williams Show. Brother Love managed to get out six singles and one LP in their lifetime. All obscure.

12/31/23

Quimm - Indian Woman / Rock God. 1972 USA-Ohio

From Marietta. A) side is a soft MOR-ish ballad. The B) side opens with ominous organ and lightly strummed electric guitar. And then it breaks into a Uriah Heep like heavy rocker with organ, riffing guitar chords, and David Byron like vocals. A killer little track. This is the side that makes it a keeper.

Ownership: SP: 1972 Revelation. Online purchase (2021).

4/19/21 (first listen); 12/11/21 (review / new entry)

Keystones - I See the Face of a Lady / Here's My Heart. 1972 USA-Chicago

This obscure 45 from the Chicago area is mostly spacey pop psych with dreamy vocals. The a) side features harpsichord and organ over a drifty love song. The b) side opens with a fuzz chord that is repeated elsewhere, and has more of an organ presence. Similar song styles on each. Pity the guitarist never ripped off a solo, as the sound is delicious. Overall it sounds more like something from 1968 than '72, which might explain its total disappearance from the landscape.

Ownership: SP: 1972 Herbie. Online acquisition (2020).

5/18/20 (first listen); 3/7/21 (review / new entry)

Dianne Davidson ‎- Sympathy / Delta Dawn. 1972 USA-Tennessee

Apparently both of these tracks are on an album called Backwoods Woman. If I run into it, I will pick it up for the collection. And why would I do that? Well if you look at the genre tags, we have something very unusual going on here. Country (which is to be expected from a young lady hailing from western Tennessee) and Western (haha - noooo) - and FUNK. Bet you didn't see that coming. I was curious why this 45 promo was worth money (pulled it out of a well known record store in Denver for 50 cents - they had no clue). I played 'Delta Dawn' first. Pretty typical country music, and not obscure enough to draw a buying audience. What gives? Put on 'Sympathy'. Oh wow - now I get it! It's not just funk, but it's killer funk. Very much like something you'd here out of Philadelphia or Detroit during this time. And the great guitar solo at the end sealed it for me. I have no idea if she did more music like this, hence I'll pick up her LPs if I find them. And I should have no problem with that really - major label country music leads the league at the thrift shops, well maybe a bit behind Jesus Christo music. Anyway, what a juxtaposition of sounds. Well worth hearing (check it on YouTube).

Ownership: SP: 1972 Janus. Promo as shown above. Found as noted above.

10/16/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

Highway - Special Love / Why Me. 1972 USA

'Special Love' is a fine pop psych track with melodic trumpet, and a superb jazz tone guitar solo. Great singing, and the perfect kind of sunshine pop tune. 'Why Me' is definitely darker in mood, and also features an excellent lightly amplified guitar solo. This track is more psychedelic and less on the horn rock. Superb. These guys must have some jazz school in them. Musically could be compared to the Ides of March, though it doesn't feature a full brass section and there's no fuzz. Considering this last point, Whoa Nelly if it did, from a collector's standpoint. Doesn't matter to me, I'm keeping it!

Best guess is this 33 RPM single (as you can see - at 7:38 minutes for both tracks) is from 1969 or 1970. Absolutely no clue where it's from, though the USA at least is a good bet. 

3/30/26 update: 1972 is the confirmed date.

Ownership: 1972 Karma (SP). Acquired in 2020.

4/19/20; 7/16/20 (review / new entry)

Tinta Blanca - Todo va a Cambiar / Salmo VII / Avándaro / Virginia. 1971-72 Mexico

Well here's something interesting. Ostensibly Mexico's Tinta Blanca belongs to the horn rock genre. All the trademarks are here including the gravelly vocals (in English), electric guitar solos, jamming organ, and of course the horns. But here's the kicker. Those horns aren't Chicago, BS&T styled horns. No, we're talking Mexican brass here. As in Ranchera, cabrón. (what you're hearing at a Mexican restaurant OK?). It's a bit disorienting at first, but I found myself warming up to it. And Salma VII features some wicked extended guitar soloing like Terry Kath. Yea, I think I want more of this.

'Avándaro' (a Woodstock-like festival held in Mexico in 1971 that has quite a history, including Tinta Blanca) is largely a continuation of the previous single, except they're now singing (properly) in Spanish. It's a bit more jazzy, and there's even saxophone, organ, and drum solos this time. But the Mexican brass remains. 'Virginia' finally sees the band slowing things down for an attempt at a ballad, though it's hardly corridos. Still plenty of great instrumental breaks. I find myself fascinated by Tinta Blanca. How about an archival release? Surely there must be some unreleased early 70s recordings hiding somewhere...

2/13/20

Tac Poum Systeme - Asmodaï / Il fait bon / Josica / Emotion. 1971-72 France

Tac Poum Systeme were a band from Paris and one of the leading lights of the era, but disbanded before releasing a full LP. They left behind 2 singles and a lengthy cut on the Groovy Pop Session compilation. I didn't realize until now that Fernand Pena was one of the key members of the band, as I've owned his album with the group Puzzle (1977) for some years. And it's considerably different to the harder rocking Tac Poum Systeme.

After hearing both singles back to back, the winning song by a good margin is 'Asmodaï'. Sounding like Cream, but with a heavier fuzz attack ala Blue Cheer, it's one of those early 70s European hard psychedelic rock classics. The flip side 'Il Fait Bon' is good but rather nondescript when compared to the A side.

As for Tac Poum Systeme's second single, the band is already looking to chart. 'Josica' is clearly pandering to the masses, and is mostly a swing and a miss. It has some rougher edges regarding the guitar work, so there's some redeemable value. 'Emotion' is Tac Poum Systeme imitating the Rolling Stones - again perhaps a bit heavier - but nothing to get too excited about.

And yet another familiar name is brought to the fore. The producer is none other than Claude Perraudin, who I know from his electronic oriented Mutation 24 album.

The best part of this single is the picture sleeve. That would make a great album cover. Perhaps if they do find some extra material from the band to make a full album, that's the cover they should use.

Speaking of that, something tells me this era of Tac Poum Systeme has more recorded material hiding in a vault somewhere. Time to unleash that.

2/6/20