Gandalf - Gandalf 2 (1968 - 1971)

Gandalf were an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1965 in New York City. Originally called the Rahgoos, the group consisted of guitarist Peter Sando, bassist Bob Muller, keyboardist Frank Hubach and drummer Davy Bauer.

They signed a recording contract with Capitol Records in 1967. Producers Koppelman & Rubin were not happy with the band's name, and suggested that it should be changed to the Knockrockers. However Peter Sando commented that they "hated that and bantered about various names". Despite being against the band's will, and losing local fan recognition, Davy suggested the name "Gandalf and The Wizards", which ended up sticking as "Gandalf".

They recorded their first and only LP the same year. The record includes covers of Tim Hardin, Eden Ahbez and Bonner & Gordon (the writers of "Happy Together") and two songs composed by the band's guitarist Peter Sando. But Capitol spurned them and only released the LP in 1969 with the wrong record inside the sleeve. The copies were recalled and damaged the band's career. Capitol didn't promote the record which made the sales worse. Over the years the album's reputation grew and it was re-released by Sundazed records in 2002.

Gandalf - Gandalf (1968)

Gandalf's self-titled album has some attractive baroque-psychedelia with a spacey air, though its quality depends very much on the standard of the material. Generally they're better the more they rely on the slightly weird and spacey production, as on "Scarlet Ribbons" and their cover of Tim Hardin's "Hang on to a Dream." On tracks like "You Upset the Grace of Living" there's a nice balance of melody and quasi-classical keyboards on the cusp between pop, progressive rock and psychedelia. "Can You Travel in the Dark Alone," one of the few originals (by Peter Sando), is nice, harmonic sunshine pop with a slightly experimental feel, along the lines of some of the better things being done by Californian cult figures like Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher at the time. Other selections are nothing special, however.

Marsupilami - Marsupilami (1970)

Marsupilami were an English progressive rock band active in the early 1970s. Their name was taken from a famous Belgian comics character created by Belgian artist André Franquin.[1] In 1969, the band toured with Deep Purple, and played at the opening of the Isle of Wight Festival when King Crimson withdrew. They released two albums, Marsupilami (1970) and Arena (1971), on Transatlantic Records. The albums were reissued on Cherry Red Records in 2007. The band briefly reunited for gigs in 2011.

Jefferson Airplane - The Roar of Jefferson Airplane (2001)

The Roar of Jefferson Airplane is a compilation of songs by San Francisco rock band Jefferson Airplane without the ubiquitous "White Rabbit". 

"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" is followed immediately by "The House at Pooneil Corners", thus making a suite from the two similar and related songs originally released on separate albums.

Kalacakra - Crawling To Lhasa (1972)

This is not the sole album from this band as such, but the one and only worked out in the 70's by the acid krautrock duo Heinz Martin and Claus Rauschenbach coming from Duisburg/Germany. Both were autodidacts with a freaky approach and used a lot of indo/raga elements. At first completely underrated 'Crawling To Lhasa' is an attractive collectors' item today ... at least when it comes to the original vinyl print. The songs were recorded by Willy Neubauer in his Düsseldorf studio during two days. Whatsoever has survived about the circumstances - they performed in a totally spaced out mood for sure, obviously inspired by Buddhistic mantras.

The trippy meandering Nearby Shiras opens the album, reflecting a multiple catastrophe, the Black Plague, coming over the Persian town called Shiraz hundreds of years ago. A sinister creature ... probably a witch ... is whispering and shouting some rezitative, repeating 'morgen kommt die Schwarze Pest' (tomorrow comes the Black Plague) all the way through. Definitely frightening and provided with some infatuating dramaturgy - however the instruments are also smooth on the contrary, speaking of flute, cymbal and acoustic guitar. And all this is made with a significant eastern touch.

On Jaceline Martin's vibraphone is striking, it serves a pleasant spacey/ambient atmosphere. Possibly improvised from start to finish, the lyrics about a girl seem to be completely pointless. The trance-like Raga No.11 features the Minimoog synthesizer, a novelty because nearly uncommon at that time in Europe. A nice song including electric guitar which has some speed this time and proves their technical skills. As from now it all runs out of inspiration a bit with simple folk impressions mainly ... until the blues based Tante Olga shows some new crazy weird vocal ideas, for example including Captain Beefheart reminiscent vocals in English.

That's it ... concerning the original vinyl. The digital releases additionally cover two songs from 1993 recorded by Heinz Martin with a better sound quality. The acid blend of folk, psych and raga is completely missing here to the benefit of a spacey new age atmosphere where Vamos is definitely enjoyable. The Garden Of Delights re-issue of this ethno trance effort is featuring a detailed history of the band and their community in Duisburg including several pictures, which are reflecting the stoned atmosphere of the recording sessions. Not a ground-breaking album because running out of breath in between - nevertheless a worthwhile purchase for krautrock and indo/raga lovers.

Stepson - Stepson (1974)

Formed in 1971, Stepson featured drummer Len Fagen, bassist Bruce Hauser, singer Jeff Hawks and lead guitarist Joey Newman.  By this point in time three of the four were seasoned musical professionals with resumes that stretched back to the late-'60s.   Newman and Hawks had been in Don and the Goodtimes.  Newman, Hawks and Hauser had all been in Touch and following that group's demise Newman had played in Blue Mountain Eagle.

With the addition of drummer Len Fagen,1971 found Hauser, Hawks and Newman reunited as Stepson. Working LA's club scene eventually saw them gain a steady job as the house band at the Whiskey a Go-Go where they made connections with the likes of Arthur Lee of Love fame and Three Dog Night's Jimmy Greenspoon.  Finally signed by ABC, the quartet made their debut with the Bob d'Orleans' 1971  produced "Stepson".   Featuring an enthusiastic, if somewhat pedestrian collection of hard rock and blues rock numbers, the album's become quite a collectable over the years.   Showcasing Hawks growling voice and Newman's chunky lead guitar, this was your typical "bell curve" album.  What the hell's he talking about?  Well, as you probably remember from statistics, the album's ten songs followed a bell curve in terms of quality.  To my ears there were three excellent performances - the fuzz powered opener 'Rule In the Book', the bluesy, Free-styled 'Suffer', and the proto-Van Halen-styled closer 'Burnin' Hot'.   At the opposite end of the spectrum 'Back to 'Bama', 'Man, I'm a Fool', and 'Turnpike' were pedestrian, forgettable blues and country-rockers.   And in the middle were the other four tracks.  A typical bell curve distribution.  Professional, occasionally enthusiastic, but hardly original or groundbreaking.  Think along the lines of Grand Funk Railroad, The J. Geils Band, or perhaps a touch of Free.   As mentioned above, the most interesting tune here was the closer 'Burnin' Hot' which really did sound like a prototype for Diamond Dave and the Van Halen brothers.

Vox Dei - Caliente (1970)

Caliente is the name of the first album recorded by the Argentine rock band Vox Dei. The only album for "Mandioca". The band had recorded for "Mandioca" two singles between 1969 and 1970. During the sessions from the next album La Biblia, Vox Dei still was recording until this label when it's went bankrupt in late 1970 and the label "Disc Jockey" took over of the production of the next four albums.

Also, here appears the first version of "Presente", the second version (more famous) appears in Cuero Caliente (1972).

Jefferson Airplane - Utica NY (1969)

Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band based in San Francisco, California that became one of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock. Formed in 1965, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the Bay Area to achieve international commercial success. They were headliners at the Monterey (1967), Woodstock (1969), Altamont (1969), and the first Isle of Wight Festival (1968) in England. Their 1967 break-out album Surrealistic Pillow ranks on the short list of the most significant recordings of the Summer of Love. Two songs from that album, "Somebody to Love"[2] and "White Rabbit", are among Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The October 1966 to February 1970 lineup of Jefferson Airplane, consisting of Marty Balin (vocals), Paul Kantner (guitar, vocals), Grace Slick (vocals), Jorma Kaukonen (lead guitar, vocals), Jack Casady (bass), and Spencer Dryden (drums), was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.[3] Marty Balin left the band in 1971. After 1972, Jefferson Airplane effectively split into two groups. Kaukonen and Casady moved on full-time to their own band, Hot Tuna. Slick, Kantner, and the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane recruited new members and regrouped as Jefferson Starship in 1974, with Marty Balin eventually joining them. Jefferson Airplane was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Gurnemanz - No Rays Of Noise (1977)

Gurnemanz, was a German folk rock band, who have recorded and pressed privately two excellent albums during the mid 70s. Their delightful music is somewhere between first Broeselmaschine, Hoelderlin and Ougenweide. All ingredients are there, sitar, flute, lute, lyre, mandolin etc played by master musicians, but above all is this stunning female voice of Manuela Schmitz. This is their second album, originally pressed privately in 1977, all tracks are sung in English and it includes one of the best versions of the JOHN BARLEYCORN song, ever heard. Deluxe 180g vinyl, from the original analogue master tapes, exact reproduction of the original first pressing.

The Byrds - (Untitled) (Unissued) (2000)

This double album was nearly titled Phoenix to symbolize The Byrds' rebirth after they settled into a solid post–Gram Parsons lineup. It was 1970, and bandleader Roger McGuinn was as intuitive as ever while longtime Byrds producer Terry Melcher was healing from Charlie Manson panic (The Manson family had allegedly targeted Melcher for murder). This album beautifully captures the failing hippie promise and the seemingly unending Vietnam War. With one LP recorded at two New York City shows (featuring heavier renditions of earlier hits, including “Mr. Tambourine Man” and a 16-minute “Eight Miles High”) and a studio LP with some songs cowritten by theater great Jacques Levy (for an ill-fated country-rock musical), Untitled contains some of the finest Byrds work on record. (The gorgeous 12-stringer “Chestnut Mare” might be McGuinn’s finest five minutes.) The set includes a few other left-fielders too, including a pair of winning Kim Fowley cowrites (“You All Look Alike,” “Hungry Planet”), a Little Feat cover (the inescapably sad “Truck Stop Girl”), and a classic Lomax Bros. ditty detailing the buttonholed evils of cocaine (“Take a Whiff on Me”).

The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)

Velvett Fogg - Velvett Fogg (1969)

From the weird name, as well as song titles like "Yellow Cave Woman" and "Plastic Man," you'd expect something a little more interesting than routine late-'60s British psychedelia. However, that's what you get on this rarity, from a group which gave more prominence to heavy organ riffs than the typical outfit of the era. There's no gripping vision or focus -- "Yellow Cave Woman" is a basic riff and lyric that keeps on going for several interminable minutes without variation; "Come Away Melinda" is an odd hard rock cover of the anti-war folk tune; "Owed to the Dip" is a long formless organ instrumental; and "New York Mining Disaster 1941" a strange, pointless Bee Gees cover. The album meanders so directionlessly that it is kind of weird, but in a boring way.

Siloah - Siloah (1970)

Siloah were a German progressive psych / folk band in the vein of Kalacakra, Langsyne and others "curiosities". A collective hippie musical tribe largely inspired by mysticism, LSD and sexadelism. Their music features a heavy use of stoned vocals (in English), mantric like guitar parts, flute, "ethnic" percussions. Their first drugged item released in 1970 offers a dangerous and imaginative ocean of trippy, perpetual jammings. A bombastic psychedelic explosion in the mood of the best german prog folk releases. The atmospheres are beautifully "acoustic", sometimes dreamy and ethereal but never away from krautrock "primitive" sound. One year later they release an other highly psychedelic item with now more emphasis on keyboards parts. Both records have been re-issued in CD in 1993 on the Lost pipedream label. Today their discography is available at "Garden of delight". An achieved musical experience and a beautiful "acid" folk trip that can ravish fans of krautrock.

Sweetwater - Sweetwater (1968)

Collector's Choice Sweetwater is the only Sweetwater album to feature Nanci Nevins on vocals throughout, and it's hard to get a grip on. Sometimes it's attractive Californian folk-pop-psych not too far removed from the Mamas & the Papas, as on "Through an Old Storybook"; sometimes it's trying for a rock-Baroque-classical-jazz fusion, although the material doesn't match the ambitions of the arrangements. Whether intentionally or otherwise, Nevins' vocals often recall those of Grace Slick, though she isn't as good. On "My Crystal Spider," they seem to be going for a far-out psychedelic sound; the ascending and descending bit of harsh electronics in the middle sounds uncomfortably close to effects employed, earlier and to more effective use, by the United States of America on "Hard Coming Love." When bands, even on their first album, make multiple comparisons to more renowned acts so inevitable that these form the bulk of a review, it's a good indication that the musicians were not in the same league as those they were trying to emulate.

Paul Revere and The Raiders - A Christmas Past And Present (1967)

A Christmas Present…and Past, by Paul Revere & the Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay, was one of the stranger seasonal albums ever made, which was perhaps appropriate given its release in the midst of the psychedelic '60s/Vietnam War era. Lindsay and producer/co-songwriter Terry Melcher concocted a comic, satirical take on Christmas that included sendups of President Lyndon Johnson, references to current social problems, and "A Heavy Christmas Message," which plaintively asked, "Who took the Christ out of Christmas?" Amazingly, Columbia Records reissued this odd artifact on CD in the 1990s as though it were just another collection of holiday songs. Listeners who buy it unaware are in for a surprise.

Samuel Prody - Samuel Prody (1971)

Samuel Prody foi uma banda inglesa de Heavy Psych Blues formada por Tony Savva (voz), Derek Smallcombe (guitarra), John Boswell (bateria) e Stephen Day (baixo) em Londres, Inglaterra no ano de 1969.

Em 1970 lançaram seu primeiro e unico disco, um álbum caracterizado pela psicodelia pesada sendo comparado com as bandas Ancient Grease e Sir Lord Baltimore.

Uma das caracteristicas da banda são seus solos de blues, por mais que altere a sua sonoridade pesada com um som limpo eles mantem uma estrutura  nativa no blues.

"Excellent heavy psychedelic blues-rock in the being of the Masters Apprentices, Morly Grey, Ancient Grease and Sir Lord Baltimore. Samuel Prody is very much underrated one album miracle, which any addict of proto-metal (or classic hard'n'heavy and psychedelia) will enjoy; it will definitely please and surprise hardcore fans of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. The mastermind behind the band was Tony Savva, London-based bass guitarist and singer, who went through various minor bands of the 60s. After over 30 years of various 'unofficial' CD releases of the album Tony has decided to offer a limited edition CD himself and he has signed each one of the first 100 personally."

Syd Barrett - Barrett (1970)

On his second solo album, Barrett was joined by Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley and Pink Floyd members Rick Wright (organ) and Dave Gilmour (guitar). Gilmour and Wright acted as producers as well. Instrumentally, the result is a bit fuller and smoother than the first album, although it's since been revealed that Gilmour and Wright embellished these songs as best they could without much involvement from Barrett, who was often unable or unwilling to perfect his performance. The songs, however, are just as fractured as on his debut, if not more so. "Baby Lemonade," "Gigolo Aunt," and the nursery rhyming "Effervescing Elephant" rank among his peppiest and best-loved tunes. Elsewhere, the tone is darker and more meandering. It was regarded as something of a charming but unfocused throwaway at the time of its release, but Barrett's singularly whimsical and unsettling vision holds up well.