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)

Monarch - All I Wanted Was You / Love of Yesterday. 1982 USA-Washington DC

When I first stumbled onto this at a thrift shop, I thought it was an unknown soul 45. Just look at the song titles. Never would have thought heavy metal! Now this isn't super heavy by any means, it's on the melodic side, more typical of the early 80s American metal scene. Think Quiet Riot. But the lead guitar is excellent throughout, and the songs are well written - enough so, I'm keeping it!  After some lengthy research I discovered the band were from the DC area.

Ownership: SP: 1982 National. Thrift shop find (2020). There is a picture sleeve for this, but unfortunately the copy we found didn't have it. These photos are my copy - and added to Discogs many months ago.

3/28/20 (first listen); 2/28/21 (review / new entry)

Dream'r - What the Hell / Stranger. 1981 USA

'What the Hell' starts off with some harmonica and that gets into a southern hard rock riff, while chorusing the namesake track. Not bad, but rather typical hard rock for the era. It's the b side that you're after here. 'Stranger' is completely different - and completely out of time. Sounding like Uriah Heep circa 1972, this is a killer heavy prog track with searing guitar leads and beautiful crunchy Hammond organ. Dig the breezy vocals too. I'm really hoping these guys put more to tape here than this. What a great archival release it would be.

I can't find anything about these guys. One Japanese reference says it's related to a group called The Boyzz from Chicago, but none of the names match. In any case I've seen copies turn up on ebay from time to time, so guessing there was some unsold stash found. And Discogs has a few as well (not expensive - so worth nabbing if you collect SPs). My copy is basically new, another sign of that.

There's some evidence that this could be from the Eugene, Oregon area. There's a label from there and the catalog number fits. However, there's no label logo on this release like the others.

Ownership: SP: 1981 Triad. Online acquisition (2020). 

5/13/20 (first listen); 2/28/21 (review / new entry)

Bobby Saunders Xplosion - Chain Reaction / Angel. 1980 USA-Baltimore

'Chain Reaction' is a solid late 70s styled hard rocker with a heavy guitar riff and features both Moog and Hammond Organ. Good stuff, and definitely cutting edge for 1980. 'Angel' is definitely more rooted in the 1980s sound with cheap synthesizer and a more ballad like approach. All the same, the guitar has some muscle. This isn't metal, definitely hard rock. The a) side makes it a keeper.

Nothing is known about this artist from the Baltimore area. They had one more single from 1982 that must have been much more popular, as it's cataloged in various places. But not this one.

Ownership: SP: 1980 Mob. Online acquisition (2020). 

5/14/20 (first listen); 2/28/21 (review / new entry)

Cucumber - Don't Make Me Cry / Under. 1968 USA-Brooklyn

From Brooklyn. Well right from the very first note, you know this is going to be a psychedelic monster. Way fuzzed out guitars, with background Hammond organ, pounding rhythms, and spaced out vocals. The flip is an instrumental - just as acid drenched as 'Don't Make Me Cry', except it's a dirge. This is as good as it gets for underground psychedelic singles. Major leagues.

Ownership: SP: 1968 Cobblestone promo. Recent online acquisition (2021). 

Sometimes you just get lucky. I bought this from one of those ebay mega-sellers that usually gets top dollar for everything. A friend of mine had this one very highly rated, so I figured I'd throw in a lowball for the heck of it. I won it, and for significantly less than my high bid. Part of why that may have been is because their description had it rated as a G+, and that the labels were worn. Funny enough I never sampled it (which they always provide, and I usually check). Once I re-read the description I said "no wonder" (though the labels looked fine to me). But - that wasn't the case. Honestly I think they forgot to change the description. Once I received it, the labels look great (much better than Discogs' stock photos that you see here), and the condition wasn't scuffy at all. OK, the b side has a tiny feelable scratch for the last 30 seconds that causes a light tick. Big deal. I'm sure it was a listing mistake (this is an easy VG++). I'll take it!

2/8/21 (first listen / review / new entry)

The Raindear Army ‎- Subterranean Sunset / Aviator. 1967 USA-Illinois

The Raindear Army were a band from Springfield, Illinois who released only this one 45 (on Ledger Records of Peoria) before breaking up. 'Subterranean Sunset' is a beast, with fuzz chords right up front and haunting organ in the background. Great snotty vocals followed by the expected amped up guitar solo. Then the slayer here is the introduction of flute towards the end, something right out of the 1973 Italian prog playbook. This is my kind of freaky underground psych. This track was appropriately anthologized on the Illinois Psychedelic States release. The flip is a fast paced garage rocker with similar vocals, but with (way) toned down guitars, and what sounds like a kazoo (?!) solo. Not bad on the whole - but it's the a) side that's killer here.

Ownership: SP: 1967 Ledger. Another big surprise from the RT collection. 

12/20/20 (first listen / 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)

Straight - Save Your Breath / Coming of the Rain. 1975 USA-Los Angeles

Obscure horn rock presumably from the Los Angeles area. 'Save Your Breath' is a kick ass ripper with superb analog synthesizer and electric guitar. 'Coming of the Rain' is from the pop side of the genre, yet no less satisfying, and contains a great melody with strong instrumentation. 1975 is way late for this kind of music, and thus Straight didn't make much of a name for themselves, though they did get picked up by ATCO for one more single. If you're a horn rock fan like me, you'll want to get this.

Ownership: SP: 1975 Encore. I found two copies in one week (one in Rapid City, South Dakota, one in Denver). 

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

Jr. & Punky Lee - Slippin' And Slidin' / How Does That Taste In Your Mind. 1971 USA-Los Angeles

How is this not more well known? The A side is bubblegum. It's decent, but not going to move the needle. It's the B side that you're going for here. It's every bit as good as the title suggests. Great 60s organ sound, with driving bass, and fuzz guitars. It's an instrumental track that moves in different directions and could be considered early progressive rock. The sound is late 60s, but the music is more forward thinking. A lot gets done in its allocated 2 and a half minutes. No idea where these guys are from. Never been comp'd either. Last of the great sub $10 finds...

Ownership: SP: 1971 Lionel. Recent acquisition in a bulk buy.

---

We have some more info from the producer: I produced and arranged How Does That Taste In Your Mind B side of Jr & Punky Lee. Thanks for the great review!!!

I was working with the band Storybook in the mid late 60's when they were approached by Dick Clark Productions to record a track for Psych Out Movie track. Nothing happened with their recording and were not picked up by DCP.

I went into the studio and recorded 5 tracks with them intending to put vocals on all the tracks. Most of the songs recorded I had written with Jeff Wayne, before he moved to UK and did Rock On with David Essex and War Of The Worlds which sold 3 million copies world wide. How Does That Taste was written with Dick Monda (aka Daddy Dewdrop and Jr.) & Punky Lee (who was his wife), whom I was writing with since Jeff Wayne was busy in UK.

Dick needed a b side for Slippin & Sliding . I had the track and the track with a scratch vocal of Dick doing the song which needed to be re done. Instead, I gave him the track for the production credit and half the publishing on the track.

Paul Robin

Here is some other stuff I wrote with Dick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCkcIw43dOA Collection Of Hearts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCgQdKpwioQ Spats - The Upsetter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9iMyIIOTcM The Novells 1968] Age Of Innocence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOGfGZp7BY0

More band information from Paul:

They were from San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles). The group included:

Dennis's Myers - Bass
George Cox- lead vocals
Jay Tressler- other guitar and vocals
Steve Bacon- keyboard and vocals
Ben Barrigan - Drums
Ron Brunswick - Guitar

5/9/20 (first listen); 9/20/20 (review / new entry); 12/24/21 (update)

Fat Bruce - Got to Get It / Nest in a Fallen Tree. 1974 USA-Milwaukee

My initial scratch off notes say: Solid hard rock with a hint of prog from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As for the music, I think I undersold it a bit there. The hard rock aspect of this is excellent with well written guitar riffs, and both guitar and organ solos. Good melodies too. A whole album of this would be considered a classic in today's world. This is exactly the kind of music I love to hear in American hard rock.

As for the date, there's quite a bit of dialog on one of the YouTube videos (so yes, this one you can easily hear). Based on that, 1971 seems to prevail. 1970 looked to the first date thrown out there. However, I think Discogs has it right due to the Nashville Record Productions catalog number, which is pretty reliable for 45s. It's possible it was recorded earlier and released a few years later, but 1974 is very believable from a sound standpoint as well.

Ownership: SP: 1974 Brewtown. Online acquisition. 

8/6/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

Buffoon - Lisa / Greetings. 1974 USA-Pittsburgh

Another week, another unknown prog rock single. Buffoon were from Pittsburgh and this appears to be their only output. Nothing is known about them. They're a bit early for the classic Midwest prog sound, and it becomes obvious the UK prog bands of the early 70s are the primary influence. One can hear Tony Kaye era Yes as well. Great organ, psychedelic guitar, and rough-hewn vocals define these two great tracks. 'Lisa' is the better of the two songs, but 'Greetings' is great too (and you can hear it on YouTube).

Ownership: SP: 1974 Asterik. Online acquisition.

5/4/20 (first listen); 8/6/20 (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)

Highway - Special Love / Why Me. 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.

Ownership: SP: 19?? Karma. Online acquisition. 

4/19/20 (first listen); 7/16/20 (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)

Damrod - Once Again / Twelve Hour Man. 1975 USA-Chicago

Damrod were one of those classic proggy hard rock bands we often find in the Midwest part of the USA, though very few ever made much of a splash in their era. Similar to early 70s Uriah Heep but mixed with a mid 70s progressive rock awareness. Great organ, fuzzed electric guitar leads, and synthesizer. One SP is their total output and both tracks are excellent. Would love to know more about these guys - and do they have more material? Presumed to be from Chicago since that's where the label is from.

Ownership: SP: 1975 Ruby. Apparently a stash of new copies had been discovered in the last few years. I just bought one of them. Seems to be going out of stock again.

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

Last Episode - Take a Second Look (short and long). 1975 USA-Detroit

Last Episode lyrically - and in harmony - remind me of The Temptations circa 'Papa was a Rolling Stone'. Socially charged that is to say. But the music is hard funk, just the way I like it, with great guitar, horns, and keyboards. It's the same song on each side, but the longer version (by about a minute) has more instrumental work.

I can't find any history of the group. Both Wade Marcus and Melvin Davis were said to be in Detroit by this time, so we'll go with that until further notice.

As far as I know it's never been comp'd. It was a promo only with no accompanying LP. 1975 was probably just a tad late for this kind of angry-on-the-streets sound, as good-times disco was on the horizon. This is exactly the type of 45 that find themselves going for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. But there's plenty of supply, so it remains bargain basement. If you're a collector of such music, this comes as an easy recommendation.

Ownership: SP: 1975 A&M. From a garage sale (2019)

8/15/19 (first listen); 6/18/20 (review / new entry)

King Midas and the Muflers - Mellow Moonlight / Tramp. 1968 USA-Kansas

This 45 leaves off the RnB from the predecessor and gets down to garage funky psych business, which is more to my tastes. From McPherson.

Ownership: SP: 1968 Kanwic. From a local estate sale.

6/14/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

King Midas and the Muflers - Sadim (Beaver Shot '69) / Get Down With It. 1967 USA-Kansas

Full name of Side 1 from the 1967 release is 'Sadim (Beaver Shot '69)'. Sooo... what's that supposed to mean? Ha... it looks like it may have been a title of a book. Anyway, this track is a solid instrumental funk number - the type of music that The Budos Band brought back to life in the 2000s. The other side 'Get Down With It' is a bit more typical funk / RnB with vocals. Despite the title, the general consensus is this 45 is from 1967.

King Midas and the Muflers (great name!) were from McPherson (been there many a time as it turns out). 

Ownership: SP: 1967 Chrome. From an estate sale. Thinking the homeowner must have lived in the area once as there was little else like it in the collection.

6/14/20 (first listen / review / new entry)

Musical Science - Frame of Mind / Secrets.1983 USA-South Carolina

Pretty much what the genre tag offers is what you get with Musical Science. It's not exactly Thomas Dolby styled new wave, but one almost gets the sense that his music played a role here. But the oddity is the metal guitar. It's not super heavy, even by 1983 standards, but it's a definite contrast to what is normally expected with music such as this. In retrospect, it appears that Musical Science should have been one of the bands to get signed. They had the right sound for the era, and good songwriting. Probably coming from Anderson, South Carolina didn't help...

Ownership: SP: 1983 Underground Sound. Online acquisition (2020)

5/11/20 (first listen); 9/20/20 (review / new entry)

The Essentials - Sunshine Baby / Freedom. 1970 USA-New York

The Essentials were from the Albany, New York area. The A side is pure sunshine popsike, and is lovely, if not way out of date for 1970. The flip is the complete opposite, and starts off with a wicked wah wah rhythm with more effects applied after. The vocals have turned bitter. Looks like the girlfriend didn't work out, and he's free! And then went on to take his anger out on the guitar. Timeless tactic. I would like to say this two sider is essential...

5/11/20