Fields: Feeling Free (The Complete Recordings 1971-1973)

Another shiny object found in the detritus of the 70s: Fields, a trio led by keyboardist Graham Field that rolled deep in the waters of symphonic, progressive, and psychedelic rock. I was only made aware of them a month ago, and I don’t think I’m alone; how else to explain the existence of Feeling Free (The Complete Recordings 1971-1973) which – accurate to its title – collects the band’s entire brief output over two discs? There’s an interesting, “What if early ELP with pop hooks?” vibe to the music that works well, and while there’s nothing earth shattering to be found, it’s a solid compilation I’m glad to fold into my current rotation of classic prog and rock.

ChrisNovember 10, 2025Leave a comment

CD, Vinyl

Mahogany Rush: Child Of The Novelty (1974)

Out of the thousands (probably millions) of guitarists influenced by Jimi Hendrix, it’s a rare player that actually embodies Hendrix’s particular slippery vibe. Stevie Ray Vaughn was definitely one of them, and for my money Uli Jon Roth hits the same psychedelic fire highs. Frank Marino is another, and his early work with Mahogany Rush shows off just how indebted this muscular trio out of Canada was to that classic sound. I was unfamiliar with Marino and the band, but Child Of The Novelty hooked me at my local used shop with that killer cover art, so I took a chance on it. Slinky and funky, this is a killer early hard rock album that’s going to sit comfortably in my collection when I want to groove out to something like but not quite Hendrix.

ChrisSeptember 3, 2025Leave a comment

Blind Golem: A Dream of Fantasy (2021)

I said I’d been listening to a lot of recent Uriah Heep lately, but I’ve also been listening to a lot of reasonable facsimiles of Uriah Heep, too. Specifically Blind Golem, a band out of Italy who takes the classic hard rock band’s influence to heart so much so that Ken Hensley is not only featured on the album, but prominently displayed on the fantasy driven album art, to boot. A Dream of Fantasy takes the driving guitars, heavy organ, and proto-metal prog thunder and gives it a bit of that modern European polish for an effective tribute that also manages to make a solid statement on its own.

ChrisAugust 14, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Uriah Heep: Salisbury (1971)

Despite my love and recent purchases of the later, most current iteration of Uriah Heep – Living the Dream and Into the Wild are killer modern rock records – there’s nothing like that classic, early 70s incarnation. Like their debut, sophomore record Salisbury has a different track order depending on if you have the UK or the US version, and while the original UK would have been a better selection (you can’t beat opening with “Bird of Prey”), you can’t throw a rock in a record store here without hitting at least three copies of the US pressing for under $8. On the upside, wicked cover art, though.

ChrisAugust 11, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Haystacks Balboa: Haystacks Balboa (1970)

Another band lost to the either of the early 70s rock and prog brigade, Haystacks Balboa formed up in Forest Hills, Queens and hit the circuit hard, opening for the likes of Jethro Tull, Faces, Savoy Brown and Mungo Jerry. Their one and only album was produced by Shadow Morton, which is pretty much the extent of their listing on Wikipedia (under Shadow Morton, no less). What makes one band rise to the top, and another fall to obscurity? Listening to Haystacks Balboa again, I have ideas but no firm answers. There’s some real gold on the debut, but there are also the claw marks of inexperience, though not enough to turn me off to the band’s many charms.

ChrisJuly 22, 2025July 22, 2025Leave a comment

Cargo: Cargo (1972)

Another fast review of a “lost” band, this time the Dutch progressive rock band Cargo, forming in 1970 under the name September, releasing a few singles, changing personnel and name, recording a single album and breaking up shortly thereafter. I’m sure that’s a trajectory hundreds if not thousands of bands fell victim to during the same period, and truth be told Cargo the eponymous album doesn’t sound like progressive rock to my ears. Sure, it’s only four tracks with two going over the 10-minute mark, but musically this falls into a Wishbone Ash classic hard rock vein to my ears, so if that’s more your thing than twisty time changes and copious keyboards Cargo might fit the bill as a lost gem.

ChrisJune 25, 2025Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: classic rock