Classic Rock 215 Items

“Super Van Vacation is an album for anyone who likes the genre’s music. The riffs still feel gritty despite crystal clear production values, and with a fittingly sketchy singer, the album feels and sounds like a rock album. Really, there isn’t much else that you can ask for. In the end, the album rocks, which is clearly its intent.” (Sputnikmusic) Released September 29, 2011. Produced by Billy Anderson and 1000mods. Engineered by George Leodis and Billy Anderson. Mixed by George Leodis and 1000mods. Mastered at Unreal Studios (gr). Artwork by Malleus Rock Art Lab.

180 gram vinyl!

Giacomo “Mino” di Martino started his musical career in several early 1960s Italian beat bands. By 1968 he had found enormous success with pop superstars I Giganti. After a brief split in 1970 –during which Mino formed Il Supergruppo with Ricky Gianco and other greats of the Italian scene– he came back to I Giganti in 1971. With them and with new advanced ideas that set the band pretty far away from the sophisticated pop and beat sounds they had been so successful with, they would record the amazing Terra in Bocca conceptual LP, an adventurous experimental album that explored the obscure connections between the Italian state and the mafia. A delicate topic full of political criticism which also found them having to fight censorship –it was played only once in the radio. This fact, along with the advanced new sound probably being too far ahead from the mainstream audience’s taste, turned the record into a commercial flop. Nowadays Terra in Bocca is a highly regarded album among critics, afficionados and collectors, and a pretty seminal one for the Italian scene of the seventies, since it can even be seen as a precursor to the works on the Cramps label. Gianni Sassi, producer and photographer who founded Cramps was involved in the release of Terra in Bocca –his is the amazing cover concept.

After the Terra in Bocca experience, Mino’s will was to keep exploring new musical paths and free his mind to experimentation. Along with his wife, actress and singer Edda “Terra” di Benedetto, they formed the Albergo Intergalattico Spaziale, just after the brief post-Giganti project Telaio Magnetico (with Franco Batiatto, among others) was over. The Albergo was a venue where artists from diverse disciplines, mainly musica and theatre, could meet and create works together.

On the musical side of the community, Mino and Terra explored the cosmic sonorities that were coming from Germany and mixed them with the Italian experimental scene of names like Franco Battiato, Luciano Berio or Roberto Cacciapaglia. It is from the sessions that took place in the Albergo from 1974 onwards that the Albergo Intergalattico Spaziale LP came out. Originally released in 1978 the compositions had been made during those years of exploration, the goal not being the release of an album but the aim to explore new sounds and experiment with music. Eventually it was decided to present a sample of all that work, and a few copies of the Albergo Intergalattico Spaziale LP were privately pressed.

The record sleeve and notes on the insert reivindicate the fight against nuclear power. The music is dominated by Mino’s keyboards, creating amazing space sounds reminiscent of those from 1950s and 1960s science fiction B movies brought to the most avantgardist experimentation of the moment, exploring new sounds with the newest keyboards available. This intriguing background sets the athmosphere for Terra’s voice to improvise all over.

This is a 500 copies only reissue, housed in its original artwork with the addition of a bonus 7" EP, a reproduction of a giant original poster and 3 inserts.

Hey Stoopid is the 19th studio album by rock singer Alice Cooper, released in 1991. After his smash 1989 hit album Trash [MOVLP1862], Cooper attempted to continue his success with this follow-up album, which features guest performances from Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars (both of Mötley Crüe).

Heavy-rock / bluesy sound with West Coast overtones and some devastating fuzz-wah guitar. Originally named Strawberry Dust, Ancient Grease was a hard psychedelic band from Wales, connected to Eyes Of Blue and Racing Cars. They were supported by John Weathers (Eyes Of Blue) who also acted as producer and songwriter for their sole album, recorded in London. When eventually released in 1970, “Women and Children First” was credited to Ancient Grease instead of Strawberry Dust (one of those “great” ideas by major labels). The album was first issued in the US and later in the UK, both on the Mercury label but with different sleeves (being the UK one the most desirable and collectable).

One of the key albums when talking about psychedelic hard-rock and early proto-metal, originally released in 1969. Featuring the great John Du Cann (The Attack, Atomic Rooster, Hard Stuff…) on guitar plus Mick Hawksworth (Fuzzy Duck, Alvin Lee) on heavy bass plus the powerful drumming of Ian McLane (Neat Change, Ray Owen’s Moon).

Andromeda was formed during the final days of Du Cann’s previous band The Attack, when he decided to go in a full heavier & proggier musical direction. Recruiting his friend/room mate Mick Hawksworth on bass plus drummer Jack McCulloch (of One In A Million, soon to be replaced by Ian McLane), the power-trio was born. After initial interest from John Peel (Dandelion) and Kit Lambert (Track Records), Du Cann decided to go with a major label, RCA, who offered him the chance to self-produce their first album. Recorded at Advision Studios, the impressive Andromeda debut was released in 1969, housed in a sleeve designed by John with photos by Gered Mankowitz. But despite receiving excellent reviews and the band playing lots of gigs (some of them billed above bands like Black Sabbath), RCA didn’t know what to do with such a heavy rock band. Tired of the lack of promotion and support, John accepted an offer to join Atomic Rooster… but that’s another story.

When XTC finally downed guitars after the recording and release of “Wasp Star”, their last album to date, one of Andy’s ideas about what to do next, was to become a songwriter in the traditional sense, writing songs for others… It was something he had been asked to do throughout the XTC years, but never had the time. Songs were written. Songs were sent. Sometimes speculatively, often specifically requested, many tailor-made for an artist's requirements, but then choppy waters could still lay ahead. Even where everyone seemed to think that newly written song A would be wonderful if recorded by singer B, whose manager C had initiated the request via music publisher D for album E on record label F… Well, you begin to see the potential problems of such an approach – almost a quarter of the way through the alphabet and not a note recorded beyond Andy's original demo. That’s without detailing the sort of horrendous politics that makes a fresh batch of alphabet spaghetti of any of the above as they interact. Still, songs are like children. A songwriter gives birth to them, feeds them, watches them grow before sending them out into the world. So it’s unfair to abandon them as orphans just because their first experience outdoors might be a traumatic one of being cold shouldered. As a loving parent, Andy brought them all back together, re-Andy-fied them and buffed them up in his home studio, et voila! Here is the first selection of song siblings that resulted from all of this work, four brothers and sisters, happily reunited and presented as a family group aural snapshot for your entertainment and delight. The story has a happy ending after all. It is almost as if The Sound of Music, had been set in Swindon.

This was the first album released on Decca's progressive Nova label. Co-produced by Peter Sherter and Ian Sippin, much of the album bares an uncanny resemblance to early Spooky Tooth. Propelled by Bailey's hoarse vocal growl and the band's penchant for screaming guitars, this comparison is reinforced on tracks such as Going Home, Take These Chains and Out Of Us Two. Elsewhere Bailey sounds like Joe Cocker on Practically Never Happens, while Bob Weston's Slightly Country sounds like it was stolen from the early Steve Winwood and Traffic catalogue. With the exception of the pedestrian blues number Backlash Blues the album, but including the extended Darkness, is worth hearing.

Leeds-born folk-rocker John Trevor Midgely, alias Beau, was known for his deft twelve-string guitar work, his poignant voice and distinctive song-writing, which brought him onto the roster of John Peel’s Dandelion label in 1969. His self-titled debut album is arguably his best and includes the outstanding single ‘1917 Revolution,’ said to have inspired America’s smash, ‘Horse With No Name,’ the LP ably demonstrating that all the artist needed was his voice, his guitar, and his individual approach to song writing, the work bearing his haunting hallmarks throughout. In short, an unjustly obscure release that is ripe for current reappraisal. Including 2 Bonus Tracks

A master of the mixing board, from the late '60s until the '90s Bernard Estardy was the wizard of French musical recordings. As head of CBE studios, he shaped everything from Gérard Manset's concept albums to Claude François' hit singles, Françoise Hardy's delicate tear-jerkers and Michel Sardou's soul-stirrers. This "giant" had his hand in the whole range of mainstream French music by making his studio a veritable playground for experimentation. His legendary album 'La Formule Du Baron,' released in 1969, and the eight LPs of production music he made between 1974 and 1978 for Tele Music are vivid proof.

Black Stone Cherry’s third album Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea offers another amount of the fully loaded southern rock from the group that was awarded the Best New Band at the Classic Rock Awards in 2007. The opening statement “White Trash Millionaire” refers to the celebrity culture and all the things that will come with being famous. The stomping riffs and country turn of their music is mixed all over the album. They’re bringing something a little bit dirty, but it never get’s too much of the good thing on this record. The melodic compositions, great vocal work and outstanding rhythms makes this another worthy release by the band. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea on black vinyl includes a 6-page booklet.

Signed By Simeon

Conceived as a studio project and conceptually inspired by the world of sci-fi novelist Aldous Huxley, Brave New World was created by Reinhart Firchow (recorders, flutes, ocarina, Stylophone, percussion, vocals), John O'Brien-Docker (guitars, organ, percussion, vocals, wind chimes) and Herb Geller (flutes, cor anglais, saxophones, organ). They where aided by Dicky Tarrach (drums, percussion), Lucas Lindholm (bass, bass fiddle, organ, piano) and Esther Daniels (voice). Irishman John O'Brien-Docker had previously played on Die City Preachers and Marcel, and also recorded as Inga & John - Inga was, of course, Inga Rumpf of Frumpy fame. He also played with Dagmar Krause and Anthony Moore, who would later be known as Slap Happy. Reinhart Firchow had also been around for a while and would later form Kaarst. Herb Geller was an accomplished jazz musician who had been playing and recording in several jazz outfits since 1954. Their album, originally released on Vertigo in 1972, featured an eclectic mixture of styles, blending medieval music, folk, electronics, jazz and rock in pure krautrock eclectic lore in the line of Annexus Quam, Achim Reichel or Tomorrow's Gift.

First ever reissue, housed in a glossy laminated gatefold cover reproducing the phenomenal original artwork and an insert with notes, and it's limited to only 500 copies!

Cheap Trick at Budokan is a live album by Cheap Trick from 1978 and their best-selling recording. The louder, harder-rocking versions of such Rick Nielsen classics as "I Want You to Want Me" and "Come On, Come On" connected to a wide audience. The music is terrific and it certainly is interesting to hear all of this the way it was actually performed. Any hardcore Trick fan will need this document of the band's most celebrated concert.

Colosseum was one of England's prime rock-jazz outfits. Valentyne Suite takes the band out of their bluesy comfort zone into something closer to prog rock. The album is generally seen as their best album and still extremely enjoyable.

Limited edition on 180 gram wax!

First reissued by us in 2012 and out of print for many years, here’s a new, improved repress of this UK psych holy grail. Axe (known also as Axe Music and finally Crystalline by the time they recorded their rare acetate) were an obscure British psych band led by acid-rock guitar player extraordinaire Tony Barford and graced by Vivienne Jones ethereal vocals. The band hailed from Northampton (home also of their mates Dark of “Dark Round The Edges” fame). In 1970, they recorded a demo album of which only 12 copies were pressed as a demo acetate. Here's a straight reissue of this legendary artifact, as the previous "reissue" on the Kissing Spell label from 1993 and credited to Axe was altered without the band consent and included newly edited tracks, artificial echo / phasing effects, altered song titles...

Here' you'll find the acetate recording on its pure form: 100% unadulterated heavy psych and acid-rock sounds full of raw, fuzzed-out guitars and dreamy female vocals. Four impressive original songs plus a long, psyched to the max cover of Love's "A house is not a motel" which has to be heard to be believed. Carefully remastered from an original acetate copy in 24-bit. Unfortunately, no masters survived and no 100% clean copies are known to exist of the original acetates, but you’ll get the best result for the possibilities. In fact we’ve managed to improve the sound a bit over our first edition from 2012. * New artwork (the original acetate came in blank sleeve), insert with unseen pictures and liner notes by Paul Cross (Sweet Floral Albion). Rated with the maximum rarity (six stars) in Hans Pokora's 5001 Record Collector Dreams book.

Seattle's first 'alternative' band from the 60s, the Daily Flash were caught in the psychedelic explosion of the West Coast with their electrifying blend of folk-rock, pop, blues and jazz. This compilation (the most comprehensive to date) includes their essential 45s ("Jack Of Diamonds" of Nuggets fame, "Queen Jane Approximately", “The French Girl”...) plus unreleased studio / live recordings and rare demos / acetates.

The 1980 Floor Show was a rock musical spectacle featuring English rock musician David Bowie as the protagonist, held at the Marquee Club in Soho, London, on October 18–20, 1973. It was broadcast in the United States by NBC on November 16, 1973, as part of the series The Midnight Special, and presented the last performance of Bowie as his character Ziggy Stardust. The set list included songs from the albums Aladdin Sane and Pin Ups.

One of the most experimental bands of the Italian Prog scene, Dedalus were founded at the beginning of the '70s by Michele Bonansone (keyboards, cello, vocals) and Marco Di Castri (guitar, saxophone) in Pinerolo, near Turin.

Their first eponymous LP consists of instrumental jazz-rock compositions, influenced by artists like Nucleus, Miles Davis, Soft Machine, Stockhausen and many other musical innovators of the time. "Dedalus" was originally released in 1973, and in the same year the band took part at the Avantgarde and New Trends Festival in Naples, being pointed as the real revelation of the event.

The album, enclosed in one of the most peculiar Italian Prog artworks by Cesare Monti, already contains some of the avantgarde hints which would be fully developed in the following "Materiale per tre esecutori e nastro magnetico".

200g 45rpm

Ultra loud heavy psychedelic rock from Colorado, late 60s, with loads of fuzz guitar all over.

Dragonfly were actually a band called The Legend, who changed their name just when they were recording their self-titled album. Originally released by the Megaphone label in 1968, Dragonfly is a hard-psych classic, highly sought-after by collectors since day one. Back in 2012 we did the first official vinyl reissue and we now present a new, improved repress with expanded liner notes and newly sourced / remastered audio, sounding better than ever.

*Official reissue with original artwork in gatefold sleeve *Newly audiophile restoration / remastering *Insert with liner notes and rare photos *Repro of the elusive original sticker

“This album is sure to share space at the top of your shelf with Plastic Cloud, Savage Resurrection and SRC for those special moments when you want to teach a young, unsuspecting psych convert just what that acid rock guitar thing was all about” - Aaron Milenski

The last, and previously unreleased, recordings from the legendary and world renowned Swedish psychedelic organist Bo Hansson before he passed away. (Jimi Hendrix was a fan and recorded his song “Tax Free”). Here you can listen to Bosse in fine form together with his lively organ student and keyboardist extraordinary; Eric Malmberg, joined by drummer Niklas Korsell, creating mesmerizing and ethereal space jazz. The music seems to contain information about a deep perspective that questions both time and space and recognize the universe unfolding its abstract process of creation.

First ever reissue of this sought-after punk-funk / no wave / electro post-punk 45 from 1979 by post-Wayne County Electric Chairs, produced by David Cunningham (flying Lizards). Expanded to 12” including hot edits / reworks by Gareth Goddard aka Cherrystones. In 1979, Wayne County & The Electric Chairs – the legendary punk-rock band - recorded their third album, Things Your Mother Never Told You, in London. It was produced by David Cunningham of the Flying Lizards, famous also for his work with This Heat, Michael Nyman, etc. He also played synthesizer on some of the tracks. Often compared to Bowie’s Low and Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life, the album combined the no-frills punk-rock sound of the band with the experimental production of Cunningham, showing his love for dub music and cut'n'paste / electronica. After a tour promoting the album, vocalist Wayne County along with guitar player Eliot Michaels departed the band and returned to New York, where County later emerged as Jayne County. The remaining Electric Chairs members - Val Haller, JJ Johnson and Henry Padovani (ex-Police!) - decided to continue under the Electric Chairs name. Their record label gave them just a month to find a replacement singer and write material for an album. After rehearsing with a few singers, none of which were suitable, the trio decided to go into the studio and record some tracks with Cunningham as producer. The result was the "So Many Ways" / "J'Attends Les Marines" 45, released in November 1979 by Safari Records. Here, Cunningham applied his most experimental production techniques, using electronic treatments on drums, rhythms and vocals. "So Many Ways", featuring Val on lead vocals, was far from anything else the band had previously done: an hypnotic punk-funk / no wave / synthetic pop hybrid that still sounds years ahead of its time. In 2013, it was included on the compilation "Under The Influence" by famous DJ James Glass. "J'Attends Les Marines" was a rework of "Waiting For The Marines" from the Things Your Mother album but adding a cool dub / experimental touch. Here's the first ever vinyl reissue of this sought after punk-funk / no wave 45, featuring the original artwork but expanded to 12" format for maximum sound quality and including two exclusive edits / reworks by Electric Chairs fan and mix/edit wizard Gareth Goddard aka Cherrystones

Ellesmere, a symphonic-prog music project founded and led by Italian multi-instrumentalist Roberto Vitelli, author of all the music and lyrics, surprisingly comes back just one year after their second album "Ellesmere II / From sea and beyond" with an amazing work in terms of freshness, energy, impact and meticulous attention towards its sound and arrangements.

First of all, "Wyrd" deserves admiration starting from the cover artwork made by Rodney Matthews, an iconic illustrator at least equal to the legendary Roger Dean. Musically, it evolves on the same path of "Ellesmere II", so the main references are classic prog outfits Yes, King Crimson, Kansas, plus a good amount of jazz-rock, present in every song; but there are also references to contemporary progressive rock and to artists such as Transatlantic, Flower Kings and Spock's Beard. "Wyrd" is therefore a third epic and even more enthralling chapter than the previous one, almost completely instrumental and captivating from the first minute to the very last one.

As per tradition, "Wyrd" also involves a series of prog-related prestigious guests: Mattias Olsson (Änglagård, White Willow / drums), Tomas Bodin (The Flower Kings / keyboards), David Cross (King Crimson / violin), John Hackett (brother of the famous Steve Hackett and a constant presence in his solo records / flute), David Jackson (Van Der Graaf Generator, Osanna / saxophone), Tony Pagliuca (Le Orme / keyboards), Luciano Regoli (Raccomandata Ricevuta Ritorno / voice), Fabio Liberatori (Loy & Altomare, Lucio Dalla, Ron / keyboards), Fabio Bonuglia (keyboards) and Giorgio Pizzala (vocals).

In a path of musical and stylistic evolution that started from the acoustic and pastoral prog of "Les Châteaux De La Loire" (2015), we hope that "Wyrd" does not represent point of arrival, but another passage towards new unexplored lands!

Three stunning covers, the traditional ‘Hey Joe’ (as arranged by Jimi Hendrix), Screamin' Jay Hawkins ‘I Put a Spell on You’ (1957) and Love ‘She Comes In Colors’ (1967) for a revolutionary psychedelic album with hints of folk-pop and rare groove (thanks to master drummer Hal Blaine precious performance). Released on New York label Ampex Records in 1970, the record shows up a slight gospel tinge, thanks to backup vocalists the Blackberries. While Dennis Keller bluesy inflection brings to mind a Jim Morrison twin or maybe a proto Mark Lanegan. A must have Texas psych highlight !

Issued in 1983 as a limited private pressing, ‘Die Erde und Ich sind Eins’ was Florian Fricke’s first ‘solo’ LP. It features the guitar of his Popol Vuh partner Daniel Fichelsher and vocals by Anni Morris Wieland, Bettina Fricke Waldthausend, Dieter Prym, Florian Fricke, Friedemann Berger, Friedemann Wieland, Gisela Von Doering, Ingeborg Jahnke, Jan Lorck-Shjmerning, Jana Faust, Karl F. Weber and Klaudia Wieland.

‘You could label it as ‘body-space-music’ (Körperraummusik) where you sing inside the body and take it in such a way that every cell in the body, from the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, starts to vibrate. In order to be able to realise this I have experimented to find where speech resonates in the body. The consonants vibrate at the body walls, the bones and flesh and the vowels fill the body spaces. And that sounds like a gong-concert: it also has a great therapeutic effect.’ (FLORIAN FRICKE)

Being a private pressing 'Die erde un ich sind eins' has become one of the rarest LPs in the Popol Vuh saga, a mint original may cost you over 400 euros. Comes in original artwork plus the 50 page book that Fricke wrote for the release but was never published (until now!), plus an insert with liner notes by Dolf Mulder & Original insert all in a limited edition of 500 copies only.

Officially reissued for the first time on vinyl here's a definitive pop psych masterpiece, originally released in 1968 on Dunhill Records. It's not a legend that John Lennon named the band after an art book by Yoko Ono. The Beatles were closely involved in their early career, signing them to Apple Publishing. Lennon and McCartney produced their single "Lullaby". Here's their debut album with extra tracks taken from their 1967-1968 London Session Apple.