Light Year for...Jazz-Rock/Fusion?
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Suggest New Bands and Artists
Forum Description: Suggest, create polls, and classify new bands you would like included on Prog Archives
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=98311
Printed Date: May 02 2024 at 23:44
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Light Year for...Jazz-Rock/Fusion?
Posted By: Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Subject: Light Year for...Jazz-Rock/Fusion?
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 09:31
Hello all, after discussing this band with Meltdowner on the `What Albums Did You Listen To Today?' thread, I'd like to propose to the Archives a vintage San Francisco based female fronted band called Light Year, who released one long-lost album `Reveal The Fantastic' in the Seventies that has recently been re-released for the first time on CD by the Green Tree Records label. Actually...I'm not sure if it was unreleased until now?  Apparently there was a previous thread about the band, which said the following: "Light Year was formed in 1974, when drummer Zak McGrath joined forces with his friend and colleague, pianist Cornelius Williams, with the idea of putting together a band to play new music. They recruited Randy Sellgren (Mingo Lewis-Flight Never Ending) to play guitar. John Yu, the bass player, brought Doug Johnson to play percussion (vibes, marimba, hand drums and other bells and whistles). The singer Sharon Pucci joined later to complete the ensemble. The band was fortunate in having a fledgling manager, Sandy Einstein, who later went on to success with Journey and Mr. Big. Einstein’s energy and persistence secured Light Year gigs at the best clubs in the Bay Area, as well as the reviews reproduced on this site, despite the definite oddness of their music. The one thing the band could not achieve was a record contract. Light Year was, as a rule, admired by the public and reviled by club owners. They were also championed by such notable groups as The Tubes and The Sons of Champlin, who would persuade reluctant impresarios to let Light Year open for them. One exception was Todd Barkan of the well-known jazz spot Keystone Korner, who liked them and booked them on Monday nights--one of the few unsigned groups to play Keystone. But most clubs refused to book them more than once. Their big “showcase” gig at the Starwood in Los Angeles was marked by record executives exiting the club en masse with their hands over their ears. Without a contract, and with the scarcity of gigs and money fraying their psyches, the band broke up after less than two years." Phew! Got all that?!  The playing is absolutely blistering, impossibly foot-tappingly catchy, very groovy and hard-rocking, lots of jazz-fusion flavours, and the female singer, Sharon Pucci, has an amazing bellowing voice, and she might just be a little insane as well - but in a good way! Definitely sounds of Cos/Zao/National Health because of the singing around jazzy-rock moods. Check out the only Youtube below: Opening track, `Giant Babies' (and sure enough, the lyrics are about just that!  If a group decides to look into them, I have the physical CD so can provide more tracks as well as the info from the CD booklet. Listening to it now, I've thinking jazz/-fusion might be the go to first? Have a spin of that tracks and see if you agree? Thanks for your time, Michael. |
Replies:
Posted By: yam yam
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 11:10
Apparently JR/F are still evaluating it....since 15th March 2011!!  See Uwe's http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73562&PID=4095530#4095530" rel="nofollow - post in http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=73562" rel="nofollow - this old thread by Sean (Digestor) from 'Get The Word Out' forum, which is still 'live' (the one I think you are referring to in your o.p. Michael, and from where I imagine you got your info about the band). The thread has been 'bumped' a few times, last time being in August 2013 (the last time that Sean logged in here - I guess he eventually gave up!  ), but perhaps now that they have been officially suggested, a decision might be reached...Scott? 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 13:05
| Took me some time to search for it in our thread but I found out they were rejected in April 2012. |
Posted By: yam yam
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 13:40
Thanks checking this out and providing the update George.  I wonder if there are any other options for these guys? They surely belong in the archives...don't they?  They're tagged as Progressive Rock, Avant-Prog on RYM: http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/light_year_f1/reveal_the_fantastic/" rel="nofollow - http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/light_year_f1/reveal_the_fantastic/ , and there is an interesting site with a bit more background info about the project here: http://www.numusi.de/light_year/reveal_the_fantastic/psych_jazz_prog/3162/en/" rel="nofollow - http://www.numusi.de/light_year/reveal_the_fantastic/psych_jazz_prog/3162/en/ .Must admit though, I would have plumped for JR/F as the first choice sub too.
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Posted By: Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 13:46
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Thanks, Historian, for the info! Honestly...Amen, David! I can't work out for life of me why on Earth they would have been rejected...the album is overloaded with fusion playing. Admittedly, there's barely that one single Youtube clip, so I wonder how much of the album was actually heard. 100% absolutely they belong on the Archives! Perhaps Eclectic might be the next closest?
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Posted By: yam yam
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 13:56
Michael - read this thread through if you haven't already seen it - several of our more prominent collabs posted in it: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63184" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63184 . Sean (Digestor) is the son of the band's drummer, and there's some more music to listen to on myspace (just three samples): https://myspace.com/lightyear74" rel="nofollow - https://myspace.com/lightyear74 . I have the album too, and can provide full samples for any team willing to give this another shot.
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Posted By: Aussie-Byrd-Brother
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 14:06
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Thanks again, David! It is a BLISTERING album!! Deserves a place somewhere on the Archives, as well as some good exposure! I'd write a rave review for it in a heartbeat!
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Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: May 19 2014 at 16:56
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Stunning album. JR without hesitation. Not sure why it is not yet in PA. ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: May 21 2014 at 06:28
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Hey I just stumbled this thread, I always thought Light Year was on PA, I could swear I saw a review for it sometime Superb album!! it really cooks! Although it does go in a few mild directions, I think it's perfect for JR/F. |
Posted By: Digestor
Date Posted: June 15 2014 at 13:18
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I did indeed give up! I'm glad to see someone has taken up the cause. ------------- https://lightyear.bandcamp.com/ |
Posted By: Anon-E-Mouse
Date Posted: June 15 2014 at 14:44
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Going on that little I've heard so far, I feel compelled to support the inclusion of this band under JR/F. A re-evaluation by the team would be welcome.
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Posted By: Digestor
Date Posted: February 11 2015 at 11:51
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Any movement on this? I can't for the life of me understand why this would be rejected. I've bought albums that were reviewed on this site that are very similar in style to Light Year. ------------- https://lightyear.bandcamp.com/ |
Posted By: Sagichim
Date Posted: February 11 2015 at 12:08
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Well I think if they were already rejected they can't be evaluated again by the same team (in case they haven't released anything new). Since I don't see any other genre that suits them maybe Related will do? Admins?
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Posted By: yam yam
Date Posted: February 11 2015 at 12:49
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Sagichim wrote:Posted By: Digestor
Date Posted: February 11 2015 at 13:00
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I assume that obscure contemporary bands who break up after one album are submitted and accepted. Encyclopedia Metallum (Metal Archives) has bands that only recorded demos included in their archives. I thought that was the whole point of archives. If it helps, Randy Sellgren (the guitarist) went on to record on the Mingo Lewis record "Flight Never Ending". I have to say, this whole thing doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. ------------- https://lightyear.bandcamp.com/ |
Posted By: yam yam
Date Posted: February 11 2015 at 13:27
Yeah - there is no problem with obscure one-album bands being accepted in progarchives...& we have them a-plenty in all the 'real prog' sub genres. The issue here is solely with the Prog Related option. That category is highly exclusive on here - and with good reason too. If every band/artist that had the slightest tenuous connection with prog was admitted to Prog Related then there would be more entries there than in all the 'real subs' put together, and the site would descend to being little more than a clone of RateYourMusic. http://www.progarchives.com/subgenre.asp?style=38" rel="nofollow - Prog Related is therefore reserved only for acts which have left a lasting legacy on the genre, and are extremely well known by a large proportion of those who follow it. An obscure band that has lain undiscovered for 36 years can never meet these criteria, so the only way of accomodating Light Year on the site is in the 'proper' sub genre into which their music closest fits...and that would be JR/F. Yeah - the previous rejection there doesn't make a lot of sense - but it happened - and it seems we are now stuck with it. 
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