4 little gems (172) - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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hellogoodbye View Drop Down

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Topic: 4 little gems (172)
Posted: May 27 2016 at 00:19

Michael Bundt : Just Landed Cosmic Kid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wwa201LScU

Elephants Memory : St

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC17RRpqAHk

Le Groupe X : Frrrrrigidaire

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

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 : Strangers From The Universe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5Fz_S8345Y

hellogoodbye View Drop Down

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 00:20

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 Strangers From The Universe album cover

Review by LearsFool
COLLABORATOR Post/Math Rock Team

A crazed, fun, rocking record from your Local 282. Here, we have a very rock oriented oddity, with the guitars and mandolin sometimes being made to sound like sitar as well. And of course, as quirky and hilarious as ever with the lyrics and singing. "My Pal The Tortoise" and "February" particularly stick out from the weird, euphoric soundscape. In fact, "February" has to stand as the best track, with the sitar sounding mandolin and the ever rocky guitar playing to their fullest amongst complex craziness and a bit of noise. "Socket" and "Pull My Pants Up Tight" are also stellar, the latter being a calmer, quieter respite. And "Cup of Dreams" has an intro that is either eighty years old, or some dour electronics, before some more great rock-via-sitar. All of this is performed brilliantly by our band, especially Hageman pulling off the sitar-out-of-mandolin playing. Very energetic and enjoyable, and as odd as can be expected from a quirky avant prog band with way too much skill and time. Highly recommended, just excellent.

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 00:24

After spending some time with Peter Seiler in a duo called Sirius, Michael Bundt (ex-Medusa) went on to record several solo electronic works that resembled both the space majesty of early Jean Michel Jarre and the quirky krautrockish kinetics of Moebius & Plank. Michael Bundt used to play the bass with several bands as Nine Days Wonder on We Never Lost Control and Only the Dancers, Wintergarden on Wintergarden III, Medusa on a CBS single, and German Band called Nerve. His debut solo album Just Landed Cosmic Kid was originally released in 1977, was the first of 3 solo LP’s made around the time. This seminal album contains luscious space electronica throughout, and was one of the first cosmic disco albums ever penned. It has since become a collectors item, mainly for its main highlight The Brain Of Oscar Panizza which has been hailed by many as one of the seminal early krautrock tracks, as is still played in many club mixes…. But if you did a little deeper the album has a whole host of treasures including La Chasse Aux Microbes, gorgeous 8 min emotional-space trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG0w5EBqF-Y

LearsFool

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 01:01

Hey, I got quoted! Big smile

And an easy vote for the 282.

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 01:06

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 03:46

4.0 out of 5 stars

It was the 60s, man!

By Rand Higbee on January 16, 2005

Format: Audio CD

Elephant's Memory is a difficult group to pin down. With shifting lineups (Carly Simon actually once sang for them!) and a constantly evolving sound, even the guy who wrote the liner notes for this CD can't quite seem to keep it all straight. (Ask yourself who the lead female voice is on this album. Though nothing on this CD actually indicates it, the singer must be Martha Velez.)

One is tempted to say that Elephant's Memory was a product of the 60s and leave it at that. A combination of acid rock and jazz, this 1969 first album from the group might remind you a bit of Jefferson Airplane with a Big Band/Jazz twist.

The album is a little too inconsistent to be called a classic, but it has enough good tracks and showed enough promise to warrant the 4 stars I give it. "Band of Love" is probably the best of the bunch here, with a feel good chorus where it sounds like the entire band joins in to sing along. "Yogurt Song" and "Hot Dog Man" show the group was not above having a little fun, while "Don't Put Me on Trial No More" and "Takin' a Walk" show signs of the harder direction the group would soon take.

Elephant's Memory grabbed their 15 minutes of fame in 1972 when John Lennon discovered the group and used them as the backing band for his album "Sometime in New York City." What could have been a star turning break for the group ended in disappointment as the album became Lennon's biggest mistake. Bad reviews and bad sales made Lennon quickly forget about Elephant's Memory.

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 03:49

apps79 Dec 05 2013

Le Groupe X is nothing else than a name invented by Italian composer Gianluigi Pezzera.However the main occupation of Pezzera was sound engineering and in fact he became known during the 70's as a sound technician for several Pop, Jazz and Rock artists, among them Franco Battiato, with whom he worked on at least three albums, ''Pollution'', ''Sulle corde di Aries'' and ''Clic''.His first album with the very strange title ''Frrrrrigidaire'' was released on the C.P.T. label, actually a branch of the Italian EMI.It is however unclear if the whole album was performed only by Pezzera or he was backed up by a group.

Anyway, musically ''Frrrrrigidaire'' proposes an all instrumental keyboard-based Progressive/Art Rock with the synthesizers of Pezzera in evidence, switching from melancholic moods with a Classical edge to pleasant and quirky keyboard Fusion with lots of acrobatics and impressive skills.The music is often quite similar to the Library albums of BRAEN'S MACHINE with piano and dual keyboards leading the way in dreamy, atmospheric or more complicated themes.The dramatic title-track is definitely the highlight of the first side with a style crossing the borders of GOBLIN and LE ORME and lots of shifting climates.The flipside is dominated by the 13-min. suite ''Multi Facet'', where Pezzera's inspirations are fully revealed.Filled with cinematic textures, Folk touches, experimental bites, jazzy segments and of course symphonic flavors, this piece shifts between ambiental and rich soundscapes with either mellow passages or full-blown proggy parts and comes as a nice package of multi-influenced Progressive Rock, albeit a bit uneven.A more pronounced jazzy taste is offered in the closing ''Transfert 2002'' and the combination of synthesizers and piano along with a discreet brass section.Overall, the music is nice and elegant, not helped by some bland moments with a partly cheesy sound.

The album remains very rare until today and if you have the bucks to purchase it be sure to be a lover of keyboard-driven Prog/Fusion.If so, the chances to love this effort are more than high.Recommended.

zravkapt

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 09:07

Only knew Thinking Fellers and I voted for them. I liked the other three as well.

Magma America Great Make Again

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Posted: May 27 2016 at 09:09

A great album Thumbs Up

Hope to find the vinyl in Montreal tomorrow.

Lewian

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Posted: May 28 2016 at 19:18

I owned the Michael Bundt LP once, sold it, and haven't regretted it ever since. So this time the only one I knew already is ranked 4. Le Groupe X is kind of fun but ultimately the way they put together the different parts sounds too arbitrary and random to me. The Thinking Fellers one seems like a good album that would take me more time to get into probably. Elephant's Memory is very charming and as a fan of Broadcast singer Trish (RIP) I gotta give them my vote.

Edited by Lewian - May 28 2016 at 19:19

Poll Question: Which one do you prefer ?
Poll Choice	Votes	Poll Statistics
Michael Bundt : Just Landed Cosmic Kid	1	[12.50%]
Elephants Memory : St	2	[25.00%]
Le Groupe X : Frrrrrigidaire	1	[12.50%]
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 : Strangers From ...	4	[50.00%]
This topic is closed, no new votes accepted

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hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Topic: 4 little gems (172) Posted: May 27 2016 at 00:19
	Michael Bundt : Just Landed Cosmic Kid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wwa201LScU Elephants Memory : St https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC17RRpqAHk Le Groupe X : Frrrrrigidaire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFZnqz_uFMs Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 : Strangers From The Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5Fz_S8345Y

hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Posted: May 27 2016 at 00:20
	Review by LearsFool COLLABORATOR Post/Math Rock Team A crazed, fun, rocking record from your Local 282. Here, we have a very rock oriented oddity, with the guitars and mandolin sometimes being made to sound like sitar as well. And of course, as quirky and hilarious as ever with the lyrics and singing. "My Pal The Tortoise" and "February" particularly stick out from the weird, euphoric soundscape. In fact, "February" has to stand as the best track, with the sitar sounding mandolin and the ever rocky guitar playing to their fullest amongst complex craziness and a bit of noise. "Socket" and "Pull My Pants Up Tight" are also stellar, the latter being a calmer, quieter respite. And "Cup of Dreams" has an intro that is either eighty years old, or some dour electronics, before some more great rock-via-sitar. All of this is performed brilliantly by our band, especially Hageman pulling off the sitar-out-of-mandolin playing. Very energetic and enjoyable, and as odd as can be expected from a quirky avant prog band with way too much skill and time. Highly recommended, just excellent.

hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Posted: May 27 2016 at 00:24
	After spending some time with Peter Seiler in a duo called Sirius, Michael Bundt (ex-Medusa) went on to record several solo electronic works that resembled both the space majesty of early Jean Michel Jarre and the quirky krautrockish kinetics of Moebius & Plank. Michael Bundt used to play the bass with several bands as Nine Days Wonder on We Never Lost Control and Only the Dancers, Wintergarden on Wintergarden III, Medusa on a CBS single, and German Band called Nerve. His debut solo album Just Landed Cosmic Kid was originally released in 1977, was the first of 3 solo LP’s made around the time. This seminal album contains luscious space electronica throughout, and was one of the first cosmic disco albums ever penned. It has since become a collectors item, mainly for its main highlight The Brain Of Oscar Panizza which has been hailed by many as one of the seminal early krautrock tracks, as is still played in many club mixes…. But if you did a little deeper the album has a whole host of treasures including La Chasse Aux Microbes, gorgeous 8 min emotional-space trip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG0w5EBqF-Y

LearsFool Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: November 09 2014 Location: New York Status: Offline Points: 8618	Posted: May 27 2016 at 01:01
	Hey, I got quoted! And an easy vote for the 282.


hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Posted: May 27 2016 at 01:06


hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Posted: May 27 2016 at 03:46
	4.0 out of 5 stars It was the 60s, man! By Rand Higbee on January 16, 2005 Format: Audio CD Elephant's Memory is a difficult group to pin down. With shifting lineups (Carly Simon actually once sang for them!) and a constantly evolving sound, even the guy who wrote the liner notes for this CD can't quite seem to keep it all straight. (Ask yourself who the lead female voice is on this album. Though nothing on this CD actually indicates it, the singer must be Martha Velez.) One is tempted to say that Elephant's Memory was a product of the 60s and leave it at that. A combination of acid rock and jazz, this 1969 first album from the group might remind you a bit of Jefferson Airplane with a Big Band/Jazz twist. The album is a little too inconsistent to be called a classic, but it has enough good tracks and showed enough promise to warrant the 4 stars I give it. "Band of Love" is probably the best of the bunch here, with a feel good chorus where it sounds like the entire band joins in to sing along. "Yogurt Song" and "Hot Dog Man" show the group was not above having a little fun, while "Don't Put Me on Trial No More" and "Takin' a Walk" show signs of the harder direction the group would soon take. Elephant's Memory grabbed their 15 minutes of fame in 1972 when John Lennon discovered the group and used them as the backing band for his album "Sometime in New York City." What could have been a star turning break for the group ended in disappointment as the album became Lennon's biggest mistake. Bad reviews and bad sales made Lennon quickly forget about Elephant's Memory.

hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Posted: May 27 2016 at 03:49
	apps79 Dec 05 2013 Le Groupe X is nothing else than a name invented by Italian composer Gianluigi Pezzera.However the main occupation of Pezzera was sound engineering and in fact he became known during the 70's as a sound technician for several Pop, Jazz and Rock artists, among them Franco Battiato, with whom he worked on at least three albums, ''Pollution'', ''Sulle corde di Aries'' and ''Clic''.His first album with the very strange title ''Frrrrrigidaire'' was released on the C.P.T. label, actually a branch of the Italian EMI.It is however unclear if the whole album was performed only by Pezzera or he was backed up by a group. Anyway, musically ''Frrrrrigidaire'' proposes an all instrumental keyboard-based Progressive/Art Rock with the synthesizers of Pezzera in evidence, switching from melancholic moods with a Classical edge to pleasant and quirky keyboard Fusion with lots of acrobatics and impressive skills.The music is often quite similar to the Library albums of BRAEN'S MACHINE with piano and dual keyboards leading the way in dreamy, atmospheric or more complicated themes.The dramatic title-track is definitely the highlight of the first side with a style crossing the borders of GOBLIN and LE ORME and lots of shifting climates.The flipside is dominated by the 13-min. suite ''Multi Facet'', where Pezzera's inspirations are fully revealed.Filled with cinematic textures, Folk touches, experimental bites, jazzy segments and of course symphonic flavors, this piece shifts between ambiental and rich soundscapes with either mellow passages or full-blown proggy parts and comes as a nice package of multi-influenced Progressive Rock, albeit a bit uneven.A more pronounced jazzy taste is offered in the closing ''Transfert 2002'' and the combination of synthesizers and piano along with a discreet brass section.Overall, the music is nice and elegant, not helped by some bland moments with a partly cheesy sound. The album remains very rare until today and if you have the bucks to purchase it be sure to be a lover of keyboard-driven Prog/Fusion.If so, the chances to love this effort are more than high.Recommended.

zravkapt Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: October 12 2010 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 6446	Posted: May 27 2016 at 09:07
	Only knew Thinking Fellers and I voted for them. I liked the other three as well.
	Magma America Great Make Again

hellogoodbye Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Forum Senior Member VIP member Joined: August 29 2011 Location: Troy Status: Offline Points: 7251	Posted: May 27 2016 at 09:09
	A great album Hope to find the vinyl in Montreal tomorrow.

Lewian Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Reviewer page Prog Reviewer Joined: August 09 2015 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14110	Posted: May 28 2016 at 19:18
	I owned the Michael Bundt LP once, sold it, and haven't regretted it ever since. So this time the only one I knew already is ranked 4. Le Groupe X is kind of fun but ultimately the way they put together the different parts sounds too arbitrary and random to me. The Thinking Fellers one seems like a good album that would take me more time to get into probably. Elephant's Memory is very charming and as a fan of Broadcast singer Trish (RIP) I gotta give them my vote. Edited by Lewian - May 28 2016 at 19:19