Amber Band - Keep It Burning / I'm So Confused. 1980 USA ~ San Diego, California

A) side has a hard driving riff though the song is 70s classic rock in construct. I liked the B) side better which contains soft flute and more than a nod to fellow Californians Ambrosia. Nice piece of yacht rock.

3/3.5

4/11/25 

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.

3/2/25

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.

3/2/25

Cheyenne - Heart Throb Girl / Bad Taste of Love. USA

Complete unknown here. It would be tempting to say they're from Wyoming but probably not. The A) side is bordering hard rock, more like 70s classic rock with a late night bar aura. The guitar solo is interesting, a bit more notes per second than usual, making me think this might be from the 80s. The B) side is straight up AOR music with even a hint of synthesizer, adding more credence to the 80s claim. Not very interesting musically but worth documenting for the historical record.

2.5 / 2.0

1/9/25 (first listen / review)

Objectivo - Glory / Keep Your Love Alive. 1970 Portugal

Obscure band who released three singles and an EP from 1969 to 1972 at a time when not much music like this was being produced in dictator controlled Portugal. These two tracks lack identity and mostly play to 1970 era UK and American commercial rock trends with slight nods to psych and even early prog. Side 1 has a Procol Harum vibe that makes it interesting enough to hold onto.

Own. From a local estate sale (2024)

8/4/24

R.E.M.! - I Don't Know / Linda. 1974 USA

Another complete unknown and no idea where it's from. I bet the band didn't realize they owned one of the most popular monikers of the 80s! The exclamation mark distinguishes it a little bit. In this case, it's an acronym for the band members Roberts, Eaton, and McCurdy. The music has an odd piano, synthesizer thing going on. It's mostly pop rock. The A side recalls Gary Wright somewhat. B) side is a silly pop ditty with some decent guitar though. Strange 45. I'd for sure keep it if I found it, but I wouldn't pay more than a buck for it.

I didn't capture the image of the label and now I can't find it. Not even in Discogs. On Dreamer Records.

2.5 / 2.5

8/2/24 

Grey Controversy - Now is the Time / Blues in G. 1969 USA-Connecticut

From New London. A side is a slow rock harmonic tune driven by organ and bass. Somewhat like Procol Harum. At 5:40, a long track for the singles market. And they stretched it well past its shelf life. B side is organ / guitar based 12 bar blues. Largely unknown. Not in RYM, so I'll rate this 2.5 stars here.

2.5 / 2.5

8/2/24

Poor Richard - Good Time Music / Eyes. 197? USA-Los Angeles

From Los Angeles. Starts off as you might expect in a boogie rock state, with some fine organ. The B) side is more introspective, still in pop rock mode with dominant vocals, piano, and organ. Doesn't appear to be related to any of the other Poor Richard's out there. 

2.5 / 2.5

8/2/24

Badapple - Campfire Tire / Raving Beauty. 197? Louisiana

Apparently from Louisiana though distributed out of Nashville. A) side is standard rural pop, not to my taste. B) is much more interesting. Strong lead guitar melodies and solos with some studio effects applied to the vocals. Cool track and out of the norm. 

2/28/24

The Sun Lightning Incorporated - Quasar 45 / There Must Be Light. 1969 USA-Indiana

The A side starts off like a proto Krautrock tripaganza. Once it settles in, Quasar 45 is a cool little guitar driven instrumental. I like it. The B side is a fairly typical rock song for the era with guitar, piano, organ, and vocals. It sounds like a cover song made from various singles. Very interesting SP coming from a small town in northern Indiana.

12/31/23

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

Roadwork - Come Into My Life / When it Comes to Lovin You. USA

OK, time to start digging into my new discoveries for 2021. And this one is a total unknown. The a) side is the winner here, with some flute, organ, and killer guitar solos. Kind of a mix of hard rock, funk, and prog. I'm not fond of the b) side. The style is escaping me, but it's completely different than the flip. It's crowd pleasing club music, with a saxophone lead horn section and a snappy styled pop jazz I guess. Like a proto Huey Lewis maybe? No bueno. But the a) side more than makes up for it. Thinking this is from the late 70s.

Ownership: SP: 19?? Patch. Online acquisition 

6/6/21 (first listen / review / 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)

The Slapp - Naughty Little Secrets / Paper Woman. 1981 USA-Chicago

The Slapp, of unknown origin (possibly the Chicago area), definitely have the sound of the early 80s. More of a straightforward, hard driving rock, that reminds me of Cheap Trick at times. The songwriting on both tracks is a cut above the usual, and could easily have been radio hits in their era. Best of all is each track features a raw hard rock guitar solo, more rooted in the mid 70s which recalls Ted Nugent or even Frank Marino at times. Excellent little pickup here.

Ownership: SP: 1981 Rock Candy. With picture sleeve. Online acquisition.

6/25/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

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