Leong Lau - Late Night Flyer / One Dimensional Man. 1977 Australia

If you're already familiar with the album Dragon Man, then you know what to expect here. Psychedelic funk of the highest order, though in compact single form.

I almost let this get away. They are bonus tracks on the Strawberry Rain CD reissue, but are hidden (I was going to keep the LP reissue instead). Discogs didn't mention them (I just corrected the entry), only RYM did but without a track history. But I couldn't figure out why it said bonus tracks. Further investigation turns out it was my entry (I stopped contributing releases to RYM years ago, so this may have been one of my last ones). So I saved myself. lol.

1/18/25

Charlie Burton and Rock Therapy - Rock and Roll Behavior / That Boy and My Girl. 1977 USA-Nebraska

When I found this I thought it would be big money. It looks like some underground punk 45 - and from 1977! Nope. The A) side is retro 50's rock but with a 70s hard rock guitar solo, which is the highlight of both sides. B) side is more towards blues rock. From Lincoln, Nebraska. I'm keeping it for now. 

Own. From a thrift store in Sheridan, Wyoming (2024).

3.5/2.5

8/15/24

Passenger - Better Man / Sally Ann. 1977 USA-Tennessee

Here's another great find! The a) side is a total ripper, with a heavy guitar/synth riff and some mean organ. Sounds like a heavy version of Styx (think James Young). The flip side is more of a romantic ballad. Maybe think Dennis DeYoung here. Some definite Styx vibes. Maybe a little Elton John on the b) side too. But it's the first song that you're after here.

The label is mostly known for country music, so this is a real outlier in their catalog.

Ownership: SP: 1977 Prairie Dust. Online acquisition (2022).

4.5 / 3.0

2/5/22

The Mogul Band - Backdoor Romance / Whatcha Doin' To Me. 1977 USA-San Francisco Bay Area

So... they reversed the labels, and it's very apparent that 'Whatcha Doin' To Me' is the a) side. An excellent example of southern rock with a phased guitar riff, and some fine solos. The songwriting is pretty good as well. The other side is much more hickified, but with a good mid-song solo. It would seem The Outlaws were the primary influence for The Mogul Band. The area code on the 45 suggests this to be from San Francisco, an odd sound for the region. Guessing it's from the late 1970s. Worth keeping.

1977 has been confirmed, and a band member wrote in to say they were from Pleasanton, where I used to work!

Ownership: 1977 Arest. Online acquisition (2020).

8/30/20 (first listen); 5/16/21 (review / new entry)

Harmon, Pelot, Prichard & Bear / Joe Prichard - Loneliness / Advantage, Miss Evert. 1977 USA-Missouri

Sounding more like a law firm, Harmon, Pelot, Prichard & Bear get right down to proggy business straight from the get. This is the archetypal Midwest prog sound. Mixes hard rock, AOR, and complex progressions with ease. Apparently Joe Prichard is the keyboard player, as the b) side starts off more like an electronic track, but with saxophone layered on top. And a little boogie/honky tonk piano as well. An odd instrumental song honestly. The a) side is what you're after here. Desoto is a small town south of St. Louis. Before men played women sports, cutie Chris Evert dominated tennis in the mid to late 70s. Given that, I'd put 1976 or 1977 as the date of this interesting release (and that was confirmed later).

I've just been recently informed that this is the same Joe Prichard who was in the group Joe Prichard and Gibraltar, a very rare 1974 private album that I was unfamiliar with prior.

Ownership: SP: 1977 Cadde. Online acquisition (2020)

10/25/20 (first listen); 5/16/21 (review / new entry)

Storm - Break it Down / Back Off. 1977 USA-Chicago

Now this is my kind of hard rock! One of the best of my SP purchases last year. Heavy guitars and crunchy Hammond on side a), with Moog synthesizer and screaming guitar solos on the flip. Vocalist is screaming on top throughout. Not even 6 minutes of material here, and I'm still completely satisfied. I want to hear much more from these guys - maybe they have more in a can somewhere. Interesting they are on the same obscure label as the also excellent Damrod I spoke about last year on this blog. I presume, because of this, they are from Chicago as well.

Ownership: SP: 1977 Ruby promo. Online acquisition (2020). 

7/4/20 (first listen); 3/7/21 (review / new entry)

Luxus - Brown Matter / The Thinker. 1977 USA-Cleveland

An exciting new find here! Based on very recent data (as in since I purchased this only a few months ago), it appears Luxus were from Cleveland and they recorded this one single (33 RPM) in 1977. It's 12 minutes long, so an EP length really. And what a 12 minutes! This is such a bullseye for the Midwestern progressive rock sound, it practically defines it. Starts off a bit slow on 'Brown Matter' with a proggy AOR ballad like sound. Have no fear, as once the guitar gets to riffing, we never turn back. Brilliant proggy hard rock, with complex meters and great solos. This is only the setup to the sublime 'The Thinker'. No messing around this time, as the guitar gets to blazing right away. Rush seems to be an influence here, which is a little early for that band's influence to begin creeping into the garage. The progressions are more complex though, similar to Yes, Gentle Giant, or even Yezda Urfa. It's hard rock in the same way as Seiche or UHF, that is to say this is thinking person's heavy music for sure (as the title indicates) - but it's also mid 70s progressive rock in spirit. Keyboards play a minor role, mostly what sounds like an ARP string synth. It's the killer guitar breaks and solos that makes this one so special. Would be great if they had more material. It would be considered a top tier archival release for sure.

Ownership: SP: 1977 M.T.R. Online acquisition. 

4/23/20 (first listen); 7/20/20 (review / new entry)