NAmerican vintage NON PROG

Petra wrote: I love Spirit and they are pretty darn close to prog with Dr Sardonicus too. My favourite Allman Bros is 'Eat a Peach' I adore Mountain Jam on that album Okay DB how about these... Underground psychedelic rockers 13th Floor Elevators debut album 'The Psychedelic sound of the 13th Floor Elevators' with Tommy Hall and his electric jug! Blue Cheer - 'Outsideinside' Grateful Dead- 'American Beauty' Neil Young and Crazy Horse- ' Everybody Knows this is nowhere' (sorry if this is an obvious headliner) Quicksilver Messenger Service   - Happy Trails

What a great list, Petra!

13th Floor Elevators are superb - essential listening really, and "Outsideinside" is a pure classic if ever there was one - "Vincebus Eruptum" set the mould, but even compared to "Outsideinside", the production is appalling. Never mind that, though - the music is awesome - and essential for any progger who has a penchant for the dark side.

...and "Happy Trails" too

(not sure about Neil Young tho' - I've never really liked his music, but he must have a huge following for a reason )

I would add "Fanny Hill" by Fanny - I love their cover of "Bulldog", and "First Time in a Long Time" is one of those songs that sends a shiver down my spine every time! David Bowie was a big fan of their music - so that's a good enough reason to like them

I would also suggest "United States of America" as a curio that would appeal to most proggers - the Byrd brothers attempt to create their own Sergeant Pepper using everything including the kitchen sink!

And lastly, Jefferson Airplane. I'm not sure which is the best album of theirs, as I've only heard two or three. I like "Surrealistic Pillow", tho'

The whole SF scene was hugely incestuous - people changed bands almost as often as they changed bed partners... some were bands practically in name only, getting in session musicians because the band were too stoned (Chocolate Watch Band).

...and my understanding is that the Byrds were first with psychedelic music / acid rock (8 Miles High) 

Most of the good stuff covered

For some reason I really like the Allman Bros 'Brothers and Sisters' - even if it was without Duane

CSNY's first couple of records are amazing

as are Stephen Still first two solo albums

Neil Young - Everybody Knows This is Nowehere, Harvest, After the Gold Rush

Joni Mitchell - anything up to Hissing of the Summer Lawns (tho in my opinion nothing surpasses Court and Spark)

The Doors - The Doors (revisionism has painted the Doors as the overcooked vehicle of the neanderthal Jim Morrison and while he was a goon of the first water thgis is a great album)

The Eagles - Hotel California (don't care - it's a great album)

The Doobie Brothers - What Once were Vices...

Grateful Dead - Europe 72

Hendrix - Axis (did anbybody mention him???? if not why not)

Little Feat - Dixie Chicken (Lowell's finest moment for me)

ZZ Top - Tres Hombres/Tejas

Stevie Wonder - Talking Book/Innervisions/Fulfillingness' First Finale/Songs in the Key of Life (just amazing)

Sly and the Family Stone - There's a Riot Going On

Lou Reed - Transformer/Berlin/Coney Island Baby

Velvet Underground - 1st/White Light White Heat/One with Sweet Jane,Sweet Nothing (can't recall the title just now)

Steely Dan - anything up to Gaucho

Weather Report - Heavy Weather

Joe Walsh - The Smoker You Get/Live

Paul Simon - Still Crazy After All These Years

Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge/3am

Bruce Springsteen - Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle

some are way late for the period bu what the hey....

James Lee wrote: Cert & Garion- good points, but both just slightly wrong. Balin started JA after hearing "Mr. Tambourine Man", but I've never heard or read anything about the song or the band directly influencing the Dead; at the time, The Byrds were still mainly a folk-rock pop band (combining an as yet still acoustic Dylan folk influence with the electric instrumentation of the Beatles- especially a certain Rickenbacker 12-string that Harrison had been seen playing), while the Dead (as The Warlocks) had already been the "house band" for Ken Kesey's Acid Tests- unquestionably the first real "psychedelic" shows that would be repeated and imitated worldwide as the psychedelic scene grew. JA had the edge on exposure, having signed a major album deal first out of all the SF bands and profiting from a business relationship with Bill Graham, while the Dead never had a big radio hit but toured more extensively, with or without the Airplane's assistance...and though it wasn't a competitive thing, I don't think there was ever any doubt within the SF scene which band was at the real heart of the phenomenon. Don't get me wrong- I'm not putting down the Airplane in any way, I'm just saying that the Dead belongs a bit higher than JA on the 'essential American rock' scale.

Very good overview James.   I think in retrospect I agree the Dead were the band we relate San Francisco to.  They lasted longer became a phenomenon unto itself. I was just thinking back (although I was very young I had older brothers into this music) that the Dead /Airplane concerts were events not to be missed. You can look back through the lists of Fillmore West/East concert listings to see there must have been 50-70 concerts that these two groups appeared together over those 4 years at those venues.  I just know JA always headlined them because they were nationally known because of White Rabbit and Somebody to Love. That was really my only point.   Which is ironic since both of those songs were Great Society songs written before Grace Slick joined JA.  Somebody to Love was written by her brother in law Darby. The airplane was to fractional to have made a long lasting footprint the way the dead did.  Although because of that they wrote some very good music. I think if Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Cassidy were not so blues influenced that they could easily have become involved in early prog music.  I just recently bought the remastered Volunteers and there are two songs written by grace which are kind of stunning.  One is more of a jam thing but the other really has some odd time signatures and is pretty cool. OK enough of that.