Spooky Tooth & Curved Air!

...Curved Air, fantastic group and Sonja Kristina was so amazing...

Guillermo wrote: In the book "Peter Frame:The Complete Rock Family Trees", he says that Keith Emerson was in the band called "Art" (AKA  "V.I.P.S.") for a few weeks. The band in 1967 changed their name to "Art" and recorded an album called "Supernatural FairyTales". They also appear in an album called "Hapshash and the Coloured Coat" ("they provided backing tracks"; I don`t know nothing about this album, if it is a soundtrack for a film or what).The line-up of "Art" was:Greg Ridley, Mike Harrison, Mike Kellie and Luther Grosvenor. When Gary Wright joined the band, the name of the band was changed to "Spooky Tooth", in October 1967. I have listened to their "Spooky Two" and "The Mirror" albums. I like both albums. Peter Frame says that "Spooky Tooth" was released in March 1969, and "The Mirror" in October 1974.Both albums are available on CD. "The Mirror" is available on CD but without the original cover. It was also released on CD with another title and cover, as "Comic Violence", and it also has the order of the tracks changed.

Hapshash and the Coloured Cat released one album named "Featuring the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids".

I never heard it, but according to Tibor Kneif's "Encyclopedia of Rock Music Terms" it was one of the most chaotic albums of all times, comparable with the frst album of Amon Düül (not to be confused with Amon Düül 2). I sincerely doubt Keith Emerson provided backing tracks for this; the musicians of Hapshash were not very accomplished, if one can believe the encyclopedia. The flair of that album supposedly stems from the naivety they played their instruments with.

Intruder wrote: Spooky Tooth is progressive?  Just pop-rock to me....though I love the Spooky Tooth II LP, esp. Hangman Hang My Head from a Tree.....the Last Puff LP is also a gas.  There is a pretty "progesssive" LP they released with the electronic music pioneer Pierre Henri....I think it's called Ceremony (for an Electronic Mass)....this is an album that never would have been made if Mike Harrison hadn't left for a brief spell.  His departure left the door open for Gary "Dream Weaver" Wright to take the band into the more expiremental realm.  Can't say I like the Ceremony LP, but I dig the LPs that bookend it. As for Curved Air, the first three LPs, culminating with the Phantasmagoria LP, are all recommended.  Tread lightly with the stuff after the 1972.  Why isn't the Phantasmagoria LP in the ProgArchives Top 100?  Dream Theater fans stuffing the ballot box!

Harrison didn`t leave the band for "Ceremony". But Wright left the band after recording "Ceremony".

There are three albums recorded by very diferent line-ups:

"The Last Puff" was recorded after "Ceremony" by Harrison, Grosvenor, Kellie and two members of Joe Cocker`s "Grease" band.

"The Mirror" was recorded after Harrison and Kellie left the band after the "Witness" album in 1974. So, the line-up for "The Mirror" was: Wright (the only remaining original member), Mick Jones, Mike Patto, Bryson Graham and Val Burke. This was their last album for several years.

In 1999, the band appeared again with an album called "Cross Purposes", which was recorded by:Harrison, Kellie, Grosvenor and Greg Ridley (who left the band after "Spooky Two" to join "Humble Pie" in 1969), four original members. Ridley died two or three years ago.

There is a line-up of Spooky Tooth playing concerts in the present:Harrison, Kellie, Wright and two new members. See www.spookytooth.com for more details.

Edited by Guillermo

And Queen should be here for Queen II alone...

Spooky Tooth were a great band (especially the Spooky 2 album) but I wouldn't classify most of their output as prog. They had a Big Hammond Sound , but that doesn't automatically make you prog.

They were very loud and overblown (which I'm all in favour of as long as it's done by talented musicians), but on their early albums they more fit the description 'psychedelic heavy blues'.

Maybe their more experimental and adventurous stuff (Ceremony) could be included in the archives, but that came in the early 70s so I don't think they pre-date The Nice (or King Crimson) as a prog band.

However you classify them, lovers of old-style prog are likely to enjoy their music

 

If you are interested to see the original LP cover of "The Mirror":

http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/S/spooky_tooth.html

In the book "Peter Frame:The Complete Rock Family Trees", he says that Keith Emerson was in the band called "Art" (AKA  "V.I.P.S.") for a few weeks. The band in 1967 changed their name to "Art" and recorded an album called "Supernatural FairyTales". They also appear in an album called "Hapshash and the Coloured Coat" ("they provided backing tracks"; I don`t know nothing about this album, if it is a soundtrack for a film or what).The line-up of "Art" was:Greg Ridley, Mike Harrison, Mike Kellie and Luther Grosvenor. When Gary Wright joined the band, the name of the band was changed to "Spooky Tooth", in October 1967.

I have listened to their "Spooky Two" and "The Mirror" albums. I like both albums. Peter Frame says that "Spooky Tooth" was released in March 1969, and "The Mirror" in October 1974.Both albums are available on CD.

"The Mirror" is available on CD but without the original cover. It was also released on CD with another title and cover, as "Comic Violence", and it also has the order of the tracks changed.

Edited by Guillermo

Chris Stacey wrote: Spooky Tooth are a great band and like Curved Air, Wishbone Ash should be included on this site. Given time I am sure they will be added!!!

Here we go again - one album or  the few tracks, out of a large discography do not constitute  completeness as a prog rock band - which is evident with Spooky Tooth (Ceremony is as close as you get) and do we need to go over Wishbone Ash's limited creditials in the genre. Rock bands for sure... And how did Curved Air get tangled up the other two???

Such

I've mentioned "Spooky Two" several times recently - it's a fantastic album, and one that anyone interested in the history of prog or metal should check out.

I believe it was released in the UK in 1968, but only hit the US a year later.

It's fantastic mainly because it pre-empts just about anyone who was anyone in rock in the early 1970s, and shows a clear line from bands like Traffic, the Small Faces, Savoy Brown, Cream et al whilst providing the momentum for bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Yes.

Some of the vocals in "Evil Woman" do suck quite badly - but it's still the best track on the album musically - can anyone say "Sweet Leaf" (Master of Reality)?

Curved Air is a fantastic band, on the poppier side of prog.  Ulta-Vivaldi is a great song.  In fact, their First three realeases (Air Conditioning, Second, Phantasmagoria) and Live are all fantastic albums with tight composotions.  (I haven't heard Air Cut (1973) with E. Jobson yet though).