CARGO

As far as I know CARGO only managed to release in their short history a few 7" singles and one killer album on Harvest records back in 1972. Comprised of dual guitarists (Jan De Hoyt and Ad De Hont), bass (Willem De Vries) and drummer (Dennis Whitbread), CARGO deliver some pretty magical musical expressions of classic rock and progressive all in one. Obviously this is heavy guitar driven music with clever bass and drum interplay. Lead vocalist Willem De Vries has one of those amazing rock voices which you swear you have heard before and in many ways completes this album. When the twin guitars get crackling along we are provided some of the most thought provoking music you will ever hear. Up until now this gem of an album was not available and through Pseudonym records we are now able to enjoy a re-mastered transfer with their earlier 7" singles as bonus tracks as well. Breathtaking and inspired music for your mind.

If this had been the Cargo album alone , it might have gained another halfstar but the bonus tracks are from their previous group called September actually ruin (a bit) the wholeness of the album. Although not bad in themselves , those tracks add absolutely nothing to Cargo and even ruin slightly the pleasure. On Cargo itself there is no flaws at all if it was not that this is a lone album and a pity they only made this one . Very exciting guitar work from the De Hont brother who have learned to work together quite early in their lives , one can hear it on here. Their interplay is really delicious and they do not try to outdo the other and remind me of the twin lead guitar from Wishbone Ash in their heyday (Argus & Pilgrimmage)

Sometimes you have to wonder what people were smoking back in the day. How you could space out and let so many good albums pass you by is a mystery to me. This album is no exception, it is very good. It is a little heavy and I would not label it as art rock. Art rock tends to be shorter, more pop oriented songs. These songs are a lot longer and include very long jams. Well, its a shame many of the baby boomers don't know who cargo is when I talk music with them. Many of the albums I have reviewed on this site seem (I am only 20) to have been ignored when they were released. Were people just to stoned and lazy to check out anything beyond deep purple, zeppelin and the beatles? With the lack of musical variety today, I grow jealous of all the possibilities people had in the 70s. So many good bands were passed by back than..spring, CARGO, the flock and so many others.

So who's smuggling this Cargo now ? Nobody, so let this be the first review after little bit more than 5 years (!!!), even it's still better than after 6 years.

Album consists of 4 quite long tracks and 8 bonus tracks. At first I thought this has some kind of epic concept story about a ship, or about shipyard, workers that carries cargo from point A to point B, something like that.

Piter (I mean) Willem De Vries provides fine vocals, that's true, even most of the times, these songs are filled by solos. They are the main predator of this album. At first I wanted to mention this in connection to 1st track, but I realized that all of these tracks has fine, long guitar soloing, improvisation-like patterns and other goodies. This suggest to some kind of Psychedelic elements too.

Bonus tracks aren't so good from Prog point of view (even more Rock and even one Beatlesque), but they're enjoyable.

4(-), may be too "classic rocking" for some.

Cargo - Cargo (1972)

Dutch one hit wonder Cargo has a lot to offer for listeners of hard rock / jamband/ psychedelic / progressive. With a steady hard rock sound and production, a bit like how Camel would sound a year later, and four lengthy tracks with some catchy themes and long instrumental sections this album is very good throughout, without ever reaching a zenith. Just a steady listen and a great 1972 rock sound. Some psychedelic flavours, but never 'strange-sounding', well grounded use of experimental effects. On side two the vocals on Finding Out and Summerfair are surprisingly spot on. The remind me a bit of Stephen Stills. The last track Summerfair outstays its welcome a bit; if you'd study this guitar solo you'd end up knowing like every rock-guitar trick in the book haha. Still.. the ungoing steady vibe of the record is also one of its virtues. It's quite nice to listen to, maybe even relaxing. Perhaps this gem is great just because of its lack of a world-changing vision. It rocks. Like a lot.

4.5 stars. CARGO were a Dutch band who released this sole album back in 1972. A four piece with dual lead guitars, a drummer and bassist/vocalist. I have to say this was another album that was love at first listen. Four long tracks giving the band plenty of time to jam and the two other albums I was reminded of were WISHBONE ASH's "Argus" and SATIN WHALE's "Desert Places". Melodic, pleasant, just such a feel good vibe to all of these albums with the guitars leading the way.

"Sail Inside" rocks pretty good early on with vocals helping out before we get this extended guitar driven instrumental section from after 4 minutes to almost the end. So good! Vocals are back very late to end it. A great opener. "Cross Talking" is my favourite and as the title suggests this is about the dual guitars talking back and forth. Man this was is so incredibly catchy too with some excellent drum work. I got caught sitting in the parking lot at work bobbing around and as I looked up a guy is smiling at me as he was going through the drive-thru. Funny. It's all so intricate and catchy and check it out 5 minutes in at it's most passionate.

"Finding Out" is the shortest piece at just over 5 minutes and my least favourite. It's still interesting though with the prominent bass and guitars. Vocals too and the drums are relentless. Vocals are there early on and late. "Summerfair" rivals "Cross Talking" as my favourite. A 15 1/2 minute tour de force where we get some dreamy, summertime sounds that are laid back and so enjoyable and pleasant. Lots of jamming and I really like the vocals bringing the early seventies to mind. Themes are repeated on this beauty, just a pleasure.

This should be much more well known. I prefer it to "Argus" but would rate "Desert Places" higher. A must for fans of melodic guitar driven music.

It's amazing how some bands can stick together for decades trying to craft their music into a cohesive whole and never quite achieve what they intended and then there are rare cases where a band exists for less than a year, releases one album and crafts such a masterful work of art that it's still sought after half a century after its initial release. Such is the case of the Dutch band CARGO that had its roots in the band September before experiencing a lineup change along with a moniker reboot. This short-lived band existed only in the year 1972, recorded a total of four tracks, released one self-titled album and then disappeared never to be heard from again.

All the three members of CARGO emerged from the ashes of the Amsterdam based September which released three heavy psych / Nederbeat singles in 1970-71 before changing things up a bit and crafting an album of heavy progressive rock that focused on extensive jams and intricate twin guitar attacks delivered by Jan De Hont and Ad de Hont in the vein of the Allman Brothers or Wishbone Ash. The band also featured bassist Willem de Vries and drummer Dennis Witbraat along with a few guest musicians. Although released on the Harvest label, CARGO's sole release went completely unnoticed with zero promotion, zero airplay and absolutely no live performances to support the album. Basically the band recorded this one album and that was the end of it but the album has become one of those hot collectibles due to its scarcity and the quality of the hard rock performances here has kept CARGO relevant so many decades later.

The album features four tracks with the shortest, "Finding Out" being just over 5 minutes and the longest "Summerfair" carrying on for almost 16. Mostly instrumental with some vocal parts delivered by bassist Willem de Vries, the album is basically an album's worth of long jamming sessions that feature tight rhythms and uncanny guitar weaving intricacies. The album is much more than about playing a simple tight rhythm though and overlaying it with dueling guitar workouts. The compositions themselves are much more developed and progressive than the Allman Brothers or Foghat or any of those famous 70s jam bands. While the rhythm section is often funk or blues based, the tracks allow for interesting breaks that offer contrasting musical motifs before the band jumps back into the jamming extravaganzas.

The album starts out with the instantly catchy "Sail Inside" that develops a strong guitar melody accompanied by a thumping bass groove and heavy percussion. The vocals fit in perfectly with the music and the track offers slower moments. This one sounds the most like the Allman Brothers style that displays an outstanding display of twin guitar build ups that allow the two guitarists to trade off in subtle ways. Given the near 11-minute playing time, the track has time to evolve and drift off into unforeseen territories. By far my favorite track of the album. The 8 1/2 minute "Cross Talking" follows and starts with a strong bass and drum groove before launching a more funkified guitar attack. The band is amazing in how it can start off with a rather simple idea and then incrementally ratchet up the tension and complexities throughout the track's run. This track also showcases some of the most sizzling hot guitar soloing.

"Finding Out" is the shortest track and features the most demanding time signature outburst although the guitar is primarily funk based. It starts off as a call and response between the instruments and vocals and then develops into a feisty funk rock extravaganza. The closing behemoth "Summerfair" sails on for 15 1/2 minutes and runs the gamut of heavy Wishbone Ash inspired bluesy rock with twin guitar wizardry to feisty funk rock and chilled out vocal sections with delicate melodic developments that keep the track from becoming a mindless jam. Overall this is an amazing album and i'm not the biggest fan of jam bands that play on endlessly. CARGO mastered the art of variation throughout their four track album and even though the tracks seem like their unnecessarily lengthy, these skilled musicians delivered it all like seasoned pros. The vocals are pleasant, the rhythmic drives deliver the right amount of spunk at the right time and all the melodic touches are golden. This truly is a gem of the Dutch underground that has only become more popular as time goes on. Remastered versions feature all the demos and September singles.