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

Night Watch - Babey Blues / Battle Cries. 1984 USA

Another great discovery, the b) side has an intriguing prog meets neo classical metal sound. So it turns out to be from 1984 right at the advent of the neo prog movement, with traces of hard rock and metal. Sure would love to hear a whole album of this! The a) side is completely different and is blues rock, old school style. But... and it's a big one... it features a killer psych solo! What an interesting find. The photo on RYM has WKNH, which is a station in Keene, New Hampshire. Maybe they were from the region?

Ownership: SP: 1984 T.H.X. Online acquisition (2022)

2/5/22 

Happy - When and How / Letting Easy Take Me. 1974 USA-Virginia

The a) side is a complete stunner. Starts off beautiful enough with acoustic guitar and keys, which leads to a goose bump inducing mellotron strings chord progression. This track is absolutely loaded with mellotron strings, and is particularly gorgeous when the guitarist plays an equally beautiful lightly amplified jazzy solo on top. What an absolute monster of a track, the pinnacle of psychedelic folk. The flip is completely different and is southern rock, though despite the jarring contrast, is pretty good actually. There's some unusual drumming up front, and the latter half has the guitarist back out front with another great solo! Love his style, expressive but subdued.

Ownership: SP: 1974 Studio 1. Online acquisition (2022). Since I added this to Discogs, it's really taken off.

5.0 / 3.5

2/5/22

Starfire - Islands / Slippery. 1974 USA-Los Angeles

Interesting one here. I knew both of these tracks from their sole album, which is also extremely obscure. Somewhere along the line I ended up with the bootleg CD, so that's how I heard them in the first place. Never expected to find the original 45 though, and not expensive either! For 1974, the progressive rock presented is a bit out of date, but there's not a whole lot from the States that played in this genre back then either. Heavy on the Hammond organ, sounds more like a 1970 transitional album out of psych. Maybe like SRC's Traveler's Tale.

Ownership: SP: 1974 Crimson. Online acquisition (2021).

4.0 / 4.0

11/2/21 (first listen); 1/27/22 (review / new entry)

Contingent - Fantasy / Such a Time. 1971 USA-Rhode Island

A) side is a solid brass rocker with tight horn charts and rocking rhythm. B) side is a bit more introspective with piano, trumpet, and trombone. Nice one for the genre.

Ownership: SP: 1971 Freeform. Sold to me online at a higher grade than it was, so that was disappointing (2021).

4.0 / 3.5

11/2/21 (first listen); 1/27/22 (review / new entry)

New World - Somebody Will be There / Look Outside. 19?? USA-Texas

Real obscurity from Killeen, Texas. The first side is a mix of soul, funk, horn rock, and pop. Sort of like the 5th Dimension. Nice, but not the reason to own. It's the b) side you're after. Starting with a wicked heavy guitar riff, it sets the tone for the rest. Heavy rhythm guitar and chunky organ follows. Good guitar solo at the end. Overall reminds a bit of Micah actually, which is a rare musical comparison, trust me there.

Own. Online acquisition (2021).

3.0 / 5.0

7/24/21 (first listen); 1/27/22 (review / new entry)

The Mergers - Loving You / Unworthy American. 1967 USA-Detroit

The Mergers were a band from the Detroit area who released this one 45 before disappearing. The a) side is a low key drifty psych pop track with dual male and female vocals, picked guitar, and ancient organ. Very nice melody even though the vocals are a bit out of tune. The b) has a great bass riff followed by more haunting organ. Vocals are more like Eric Burden here. Man, the organ against the rhythmic breaks are killer here. Really like this one.

Ownership: SP: 1967 Cass. Online acquisition (2021)

7/24/21 (first listen); 1/27/22 (review / new entry)

B.W. Cat - You Can Make It Anyway / Cry. 1974 USA-Kentucky

The A) side mixes funk and horn rock seamlessly. Features a great hard driving bass heavy rhythm. Picks right back up on the b) with a stronger Hammond organ presence and a great ripping guitar solo. Excellent two sider. Label is from Kentucky so it's a guess that's where they're from.

Ownership: SP: 1974 Lemco. Online acquisition (2021).

4.0 / 4.0

5/30/21 (first listen); 1/27/22 (review / new entry)

Duc - Hopeless Battle / Caught in a Rush. 197? USA

Great find here. I'm a sucker for rhythm guitar to begin with, and this gets the song started right away, including a driving bass and drums. Excellent singer. There's a killer mid song hard rock riff that's downright proggy, followed by one of the two cool guitar solos. The B) side might be even better. Love the rhythm guitar, has a sweet yacht rock thing going while the guitar rips along in his own world, especially the psyched out solo. Top notch group here - Duc should have been signed up. 

This was my favorite discovery of 2022.

Ownership: SP: 19?? Screamin' Duck. Online acquisition (2022).

I found a couple of references (including 45cat) of the band being known as Duc. It looks like Ducs and it was sold that way to me. Can see it either way.

4.5 / 5.0

1/27/22

Frank and Company – Show Me The Way / Can I Take You Home. USA

The A) side has a wonderful funk beat with fuzz guitar and organ on top. Excellent track. The B) side is a slow dance soul number with organ in the backdrop that surprisingly breaks into a power ballad, with a cool fuzz solo. Nice two sider.

Ownership: SP: 19?? A.D.Y. Online acquisition (2021)

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

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)

Crossfire - King Will Come / Truth. 1978 USA-Virginia

The A) side is a mix of hard rock and prog, with excellent guitar and organ. Great guitar solo as well. The flip starts off with a cool groove and breaks from there into an organ prog styled riff, followed by an excellent Allman Brothers like jazzy psych guitar. And it just continues on with an excellent organ solo to boot. One of our best discoveries of the year!

Totally guessing about Virginia, since that's where the label is based.

Ownership: SP: 1978 Casey. Online acquisition (2021).

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

Faustus - Come on Down / Days of Swashbuckling. 1978 USA-Illinois

This is one of those bands that have a better moniker and titles than the actual music. The A) side is a mix of boogie rock and melodic AOR. The latter saving the effort. The B) side is much better with a mix of earnest hard rock and prog rock ambition. There's some faint mellotron as a backdrop. For whatever reason, I'm most reminded of Ethos here. Not a life changer, but worth tracking down.

Hard to tell where the group is from. Plenty of references to north central Illinois, Chicago, and St. Louis. They managed to finally get an album out in 1983, which looks to be an attempt at radio stardom. That which did not happen obviously.

Ownership: SP: 1978 Golden Eagle. Online acquisition (2021)

Looks like we ended up with the exact same copy as the original poster once had on Discogs! Ours has the signatures in the same place. It's too exact to be a coincidence.

5/3/21 (first listen); 12/11/21 (review / new entry)

Strongbow - If You're Goin to the City / Change. 1973 USA-Columbus

This is the same Strongbow who released a well respected album a couple of years later. This single predicts their future sound, as it's similar in construct. Neither tune is on the album proper. The A) side is good times rock n' roll, not so interesting of a tune, but features absolute bitchin' Hammond organ and electric guitar solos. Mariano Rivera is in the house - and got a save! The B) is a much more interesting tune based on an organ dirge, that also has some splendid guitar soloing. This is a good two sider worth seeking out.

Ownership: SP: 1973 Epodus. Online acquisition (2021)

5/4/21 (first listen); 12/11/21 (review / new entry)

Nancy Priddy - You've Come this Way Before / Ebony Glass. 1968 USA

Nancy Priddy is a new name for me, but I was very much captivated by this 45. When you see something like this pop up in front of you at the store, one immediately thinks of country, or one of those 60s female pop acts (Brenda Lee, Connie Francis, Connie Stevens, etc...). If you're lucky it might be soul related. As it turns out, the music's foundation is psychedelic, but with a soul backdrop. It takes the best of both: The break beats of soul and funk combined with some of the most trippy vocals this side of Brainticket. Not suggesting they are as lysergic laced, but it has this disorienting quality that I find highly appealing. I've never heard anything quite like this, and I certainly want to hear more. The good news is Priddy did manage to release a full album, and these two tracks are the opener. Well, look at that, it appears to have been reissued on CD (OOP) and LP (in print). Originals are expensive. Maybe I'll find it in the wilds, but I think I'll grab that LP reissue in the meantime (new copies going for cheap on Amazon). Regardless, this 45 is going nowhere. Oh, in other news, Nancy Priddy is the mother of Christine Applegate. Neat.

Ownership: SP: 1968 Dot. White label promo which apparently is more common than the commercial version. In either case, it's quite the expensive rarity. Another RT collection surprise, and this one was fortunately wrapped in plastic and in perfect condition.

9/18/21

The Steve Karmen Big Band featuring Jimmy Radcliffe - Breakaway Parts 1 & 2. 1968 USA

Don't be fooled by the group name, you won't be thinking 1940s bandstand here. This is primarily jazzy psychedelic with an absolutely killer beat, and what sounds like an electric sitar in the background. Radcliffe more or less "raps" on top when he's not crooning. The second side essentially removes Radcliffe so you can just hear the band jam. 

Ownership: SP: 1968 United Artists promo. This came from the RT collection (2021).

9/18/21

Shira - Liar / Frank's Ant Farm. 1973 USA-Philadelphia

Shira are a somewhat unknown group out of Philadelphia who released two promo 45s and then disappeared. 'Liar' is a kick ass hard rock number with a little bit of a funk edge. 'Frank's Ant Farm' is a dual guitar proggy hard rock instrumental that oddly reminds me of Automatic Fine Tuning. Excellent two sider. 

It would appear their other 45 isn't worth bothering with.

Ownership: SP: 1973 Jamie promo. Recent online acquisition. 

4/19/21 (first listen); 6/6/21 (review / new entry)

PBX - Milktoast Repose / Gangplank. 1978 USA-San Francisco Bay Area

This is an old CDRWL discovery, and I recently picked up a copy for myself. My original scratch off notes stated simply: Fantastic progressive rock from the Bay Area (Los Gatos). Very complex similar to a Yes/Gentle Giant/King Crimson hybrid. The first group that leaped to my mind was Yezda Urfa!

Pretty hard to argue with that really. And at 10 minutes and change, you get your money's worth for a 45. I can say at this point, this is the best progressive rock 45 in my collection. It was The AC who discovered it (as was often the case), and his full notes are far more comprehensive. He wrote: "Bay Area (Los Gatos) prog band who's only release was sadly this obscure EP. Usually, I wouldn't submit an EP quite this short (around 11 minutes total) for inclusion here, as it would be tough to reissue without additional archival material, but in this case we already know that such material does indeed exist. And what wonderful news that is, as I can say without risking hyperbole that this release is amongst the strongest ever recorded by a progressive rock band in the United States. The usual ultra-complex Yes/Gentle Giant-isms of the US underground prog scene are here in full force, but the real difference is that this is more guitar-driven (no keyboards here at all, surprisingly) and ferocious than the usual suspects, with heavy elements of mid 70s Crimson and even some classic Mahavishnu stylings on display. The guitar absolutely rips through the solos (especially on side 2) and the drumming is flat-out world class, in the Billy Cobham/Furio Chirico mold. Vocals are surprisingly smooth and melodic for an underground US act, giving it an almost British touch at times. Just jaw-dropping stuff, really. It's nothing short of a tragedy that they never recorded a full studio album, but as I mentioned above, there is some good news to report. Guitarist/band leader Peter McKibben (who is still musically active) has been contacted and had this to say:

"PBX was a crazy band, trying to make a mark in the Bay Area (SF) music scene when punk and New Wave were starting to become popular. Probably wasn't the right time for a progressive jazz/rock outfit to try to get noticed, but we were having fun, so we didn't care. We actually played on some punk/wave shows, opening up for Pearl Harbor and the Explosions and the Dead Kennedy's (they hated us). I just found an old cassette from 1978 of PBX playing outdoors in Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley. On the other side of this cassette, is a live recording of PBX playing at a weird dive called the "I Café"...I believe Pearl Harbor played after us on that occasion. Anyway, a longtime friend of the band knows an engineer who's been converting cassette recordings to cd. I don't know what kind of condition the tape is in, but he's going to try and make the transfer."

Well - that was 6 years ago, and obviously nothing's come of it yet. But who knows? Maybe this will serve as a reminder. For someone. Anyone....

Ownership: SP: 1978 Collage. With picture sleeve. Recent online acquisition (2021).

5/17/15 (first listen / review); 6/6/21 (update / new entry)

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)

White Magik - I Can't Come Back / After It's Over. 1971 USA

The a) side is a mellow drifting psychedelic number with fine Hammond organ, and a lightly amplified electric guitar. Melancholic and very good. The flip gives us some wah wah and more tempo. The vocals maintain their trippy breezy nature. Excellent organ solo that leads to a progressive rock break, followed by a guitar solo. Very good two sider throughout.

Yet another mystery band. Discogs suggests a Dec 1971 or Jan 1972 date. 

Ownership: SP: 1971 Shantih. Online acquisition (2021). 

4/19/21 (first listen); 6/6/21 (review / new entry)