We took delivery of our R2 Performance today and are quite excited to finally have it in the driveway. My wife and I think it's great, but now have the most important approval of all - that of our dog Daphne!
Aqualung in book form and, between chapters, in my ears. Barebottle Session IPA. A lovely evening.
Picked this up today at Originals in San Francisco. This is good stuff - the Fort Wayne, IN band’s debut in 1976 on a major US label, bearing all the hallmarks of Genesis influences just as the market was waning. Sounded great on first spin, definitely deserves more.
American prog in the 70s is interesting, as aside from the big guys (Kansas, Styx, Zappa if you count him - which I do) the smaller bands have far less of a following today than do do, say, their UK equivalents. The scene got started later but punk and the push to arena rock / AOR hit around 76/77 everywhere, and so a lot of these bands hardly got off the ground.
The prog gods smiled on me this weekend in Naples. Both Bancos are first pressings; Ys is an early pressing but as there were two early variants it's debatable which was first. (This is the one claimed on Discogs to be first but who knows.)
Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Darwin (VG vinyl, VG+ sleeve) and Io sono nato libero (NM- vinyl, VG+ sleeve)
Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys (NM- vinyl, VG+ sleeve)
They were not at all cheap, but were fairly priced.
Ys in particular is a phenomenal album. Worth seeking out if you've never listened to it and like dark, aggressive prog.
Found this nice collection of EX-/VG+ records in London today. I own a few of these, but not in this good of condition, so today is upgrade day. Or second copy day as the case may be.
VDGG is German, Octopus is Dutch, the rest are UK first pressings.
Surface Noise, Louisville, KY. The owner is a great guy and tells it like it is!
Found what appears to be an unplayed Italian first pressing yesterday at a local shop. Same stampers as the UK pressing.
This is my first time listening to this album. I can definite hear the Genesis influence.
VDGG is my favorite of the somewhat obscure prog bands of the 1970s. Driven by the organ, saxophone, and Peter Hammill’s unique vocals, they sound unlike anything else.
I’ve been on a quest to find their original vinyl. UK 1st playing here. The bass is fantastic!