Haz - My True Love (You Are To Me) / Prelude to Paradise. 1983 USA-Colorado

Cool find here. The A) side is whiny soul balladry and is not for me. It's the B) side that you're after (presuming you're not into whiny soul balladry that is...). Interesting mix of synthesizer driven boogie funk, late era disco, and jazz fusion. Plenty of saxophone, a little flute, and some tight horn charts. A wonderful groove throughout. Mainly instrumental with whispered vocals. Closes with sounds of the ocean.

I found this among a large drop of both soul and country (?!) 45s that obviously came from a radio station (that would be a weird playlist format). This was the only private obscurity in the batch, at least that I found (it's very possible I wasn't first). As you can see, it doesn't have any info on the label.

According to Discogs it comes with a picture sleeve, though this copy didn't have it. The Discogs entry doesn't show the back which might contain information (though it could be blank too). The band is led by Al Hazard (hence the name Haz) though nothing reliable turned up for him. The pic sleeve lists the two singers from the A) side. A little sleuthing shows that Heidie White performed on an album from Denver. Lyndon Copeland, on the other hand, has a biography and guess what? He's from here in Colorado Springs! Which explains why this station probably had the 45 in their possession. Some influencer put it up on YouTube which has lead to it having huge demand. I'm keeping it though.

Own. Thrift shop find from a month ago (2024).

1/4/25 (new entry)

Chance - Harbor Nights / Magic Eyes. 1978 USA-Colorado

Solid AOR music from down south in Pueblo.

Full history of the band here

I got into a bit of a dispute on Discogs when another owner insisted this was psych garage and removed AOR. I had to disagree on that one, and put back AOR, though left their interpretation out of respect of other's opinions. That person also added 'Magic Eyes' to YouTube, so you can hear for yourself. But there's no way this is psych ;-)

 

Own. From a local garage sale (2019). I consider this the first 45 obscurity I found in the wilds where the music was agreeable too (i.e. not country). I didn't really know what I was doing yet, and bought all of the 45s for a $1 each (there were about 150 titles). Fortunately there were a few that were worth much more than that and I made a healthy profit. Last year I finally ditched the rest in a bulk auction, and I think they went for something like 30 cents each. Haha - I should have cherry picked. But that's how you learn!

2019 (first listen); 3/27/20 (review); 1/1/25 (update)

Lightkraft - Now Or Never / Take Me. 1984 USA-Colorado

I never really wrote a review, but I described the genres as thus: A-side = Modern Soul Boogie sound; B-side = AOR / New Wave sound.

We eventually learned that the band is local to us here in Colorado Springs! Released in the spring of 1984 in fact. Elk Bugles says the band were from Indiana and Minnesota. But there was another poster in her collection that showed the band playing here. 

Even though it doesn't appear Tiny Barge was a performer on the 45, his name is listed as the publisher. Here's a page for him, as he's still performing it appears.

Sadly we found lead singer Ric Wright's obituary.

Own. Found at a record store in Denver (2022). No pic sleeve.

After updating the Discogs entry, I received three unsolicited - and generous - offers for it, which tells me there's a huge market for this. I usually keep rare items like this and the music is good for the collection.

7/18/22 (first listen / review); 1/1/25 (new entry)

Robin Banks Band - Positive Side / Flyin' and Cookin'. 1978 USA-Denver

Certainly one of the top 5 of the SP's I picked up last year, Boulder's Robin Banks Band remains a complete mystery. As you can see, it was produced by Ed Cassidy, I presume of Spirit fame (confirmed it is him). The production is first class as well. The a) side is a bit quirky and funky, and oddly reminds me of Illinois' Peter Berkow. But it's the b) that just slays. Featuring a wonderful bass line, strumming acoustic guitar, and soaring flute, it's a progressive rock wonder. And when the searing electric guitar hits, you'll be wanting this to be part of The Unknown Progressive Rock 45s Vol. 1 compilation. How this remains unknown is beyond my comprehension.

We received the following comment on UMR: "Dear Purple Peak: what a find! This is David Gibran (David G Smith). I sang the A side and played the "soaring flute" on the B side and was RB's keyboard player and one of 3 writers. Nice review and thank you for it! FYI: all the members of the RB Band are still with us. I'm preparing to release my 11th album since the RB days. What a ride! Take care dgs"

Ownership: SP: 1978 private. Online acquisition (2020). Picture sleeve with no info other than the date. Has a regular spindle hole but it's still a 45. 

6/23/20 (first listen); 5/16/21 (review / new entry)