Unknown Soldier

Up until now, all the albums listed have been more or less on the same level and on a different day some of their positions would probably change. The top three though are imo the next level up, two bands feature in the final three places.

03. Free Tons of Sobs 1969 (Island)

Blues Rock

Hard rock and melody! Well it starts right here!

Overview
An album that was actually recorded in 1968 but released in 1969, thus qualifying it for this selection of albums. Free were essentially a heavy blues rock act that emerged from the shadow of power-trio Cream and their debut album Tons of Sobs was a delicious chunk of heavy orgasmic blues, that was powered by the liquid gold guitar of Paul Kossoff and the soulful vocals of Paul Rodgers, along with the rhythm section of Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke. Free were in essence cut from the same cloth as heavy blues counterparts Led Zeppelin, but both bands had a very different interpretation of that blues sound. Whilst Led Zeppelin filtered famous blues tunes into their own style and sound, Free performed these songs as a mark of homage and respect to their blues peers. The other area where they differed was in their execution of the music. Led Zeppelin went all out with a sonic assault that was full of extravagant power, whilst Free preferred a far more subtle and melodic approach to their sound. Free throughout their career often reminded me of a wild dog that was always firmly kept on his leash, you knew the aggression was there but they always kept it firmly under control, not an easy thing to do! The album is produced by Guy Stevens who had built up a reputation with his R&B background and went on to work with bands such as Procul Harum, Mott the Hoople and most famously with the Clash on London Calling. Paul Rodgers would write the bulk of their material with the rest of the band gradually gaining more influence as time went by, especially Andy Fraser.

Paul Rodgers- Vocals
Paul Kossoff- Guitar
Andy Fraser- Bass
Simon Kirke- Drums

Production- Guy Stevens

Album
Over the Green Hills Pt.1- The listener is instantly greeted by the soulful voice of Paul Rodgers which leads straight into......Worry- With its menagerie of instruments melding together and Rodgers singing over the top. Walk in My Shadow- Orgasmic blues that is so friggin dense sounding. Wild Indian Woman- Another stunning track, as the band just breeze through another number. Goin' Down Slow- A cover of the James Burke Oden blues song and clocking in at 8+ minutes, gives the band a chance to show-off a bit and show us what they can do. Just check out Paul Kossoff's guitar on this track. I'm a Mover- The band in one of their more commercial moments. The Hunter- One of the best songs on the album and a cover of the Albert King song, which had also been covered by numerous other bands in the 1960s. Moonshine- Slow Burning and one of the best tracks on the album. Sweet Tooth- Another vocal display from Rodgers backed by some great thumping piano. Over the Green Hills Pt.2- The album finishes with a reprise.

Verdict
one of the most essential albums in the development of heavy music at the end of the 1960s and it would be the most bluesy album that Free would put out. Every aspect of this album cries out to be listened to and then to be slowly inhaled, at times the guitar of Paul Kossoff just sounds amazing on this album, without doubt one of the greatest guitarists to grace rock. The album though, amazingly didn't chart on either side of the Atlantic and is often overlooked with the emergence of the Led Zeppelin debut also released the same year. Like their counterparts Led Zeppelin and Humble Pie, Free also managed to release their sophomore effort the same year under the moniker of the eponymous Free. It seemed a popular thing to do then and that was to name a second album after the band name. At times their sophomore effort lacked the spontaneity and musical freedom of the debut but it was still a great album, despite just missing my top ten list. Paul Rodgers would of course go onto become a household name in the 1970s due to his involvement with Bad Company, but he was so much better with Free and his voice at times was just so special, as it welded so well with the precocious talents of his fellow band members. This album is a gem and its still an album that I can enjoy at any time.

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Guybrush

For the record, I think King Crimson's inclusion makes perfect sense in this thread.

Great thread, Unknown Soldier

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Something Completely Different

Unknown Soldier

Glad you like it and will be kicking into 1970 with another ten albums very soon.

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Unknown Soldier

If both 1967 and 1968 were the years of heavy fondling, it was 1969 that finally saw hard penetration and the baby being conceived, but it was in 1970 that the baby would truly be born and it was one hell of a birth! Led Zeppelin had already in 1969 set the yardstick of excellence for all heavy music with their two groundbreaking albums and they along with Grand Funk Railroad had become two of the biggest heavy acts around (they were already selling millions in the USA). Other talented bands which I've already mentioned in 1969, were now starting to get more acclaim amongst music fans and were becoming far more cohesive with their overall sound, despite the fact that huge sections of the music media were still deriding a lot of music at the heavier end of the spectrum. As for 1970 the year that will now be looked at, this would now see 'heavy music' gain even more momentum as the already established 'heavy acts' were now two and three albums down the line, and the heavy blues and psychedelic influences of most of these bands were now being fused into a more tighter hard rock sound. The year would also see, a whole host of very interesting new bands with some truly great albums and whilst some of these bands would never achieve the popular acclaim that they were surely due, their future influence would be highly noticeable to anybody listening to these albums. But 1970 would truly be remembered as the arrival of Black Sabbath, who would of course go on to become the most revered band in all metaldom and also be the first band to try and break out of the heavy blues and psychedelic inflluences of most of their counterparts. As a year 1970 produced even stronger albums album for album than 1969 did, with Black Sabbath's first two albums easily making the cut.

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Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

The Batlord

John Bonham had a rather dubious moustache, wouldn't you say?

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Unknown Soldier

Those taches were very much the in thing back in the 1960s and 1970s. The following link explains some of this. As a lot of well known celebrities had them at the time.

BRING BACK THE ‘STACHE. | MEN, MUSTACHES, MARVELS AND MISSTEPS « The Selvedge Yard

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Unknown Soldier

A long forgotten power-trio.

Overview
In the late 1960s power-trios were all the rage on both sides of the pond, this was largely due to the success of bands such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream and Blue Cheer to name just some. Throughout the following years, power-trios would gain even more momentum and many of these power-trios would also become acclaimed artists in their own right as well. As always there is a flip side to the coin and this would see a number of talented power-trios either missing out on deserved success, lasting for just a short time or becoming largely forgotten, May Blitz would certainly fit into this flip side of the coin category. May Blitz themselves were a British based hard rock band, whose brand of hard rock had a heavy acid-fuelled tarnish about it and they really knew how to play as well from the word go. Like a lot of power-trio bands, their aim was to make the biggest possible noise with just a three man line-up a task that they were easily able to achieve. Like a lot of bands, they had originally made a name for themselves on the UK pub and college circuit before finally getting their record deal with Vertigo. Their best known member at the time, was a certain Tony Newman who with his jazzy infected style had previously played drums on Jeff Beck's highly acclaimed Ola album a couple of years earlier, Canadians James Black guitar and vocals, along with bassist Reid Hudson completed the line-up. With this line-up the band would go into the studio to release their debut album, not to everybody's taste but certainly to mine.

James Black- Guitar/Vocals
Reid Hudson- Bass
Tony Newman- Drums

Production- May Blitz

Album
Smoking the Day Away- An epic kick-off that gradually builds its way through this 8 minute song, with plenty of melody and a catchy chorus before the band submerge themselves into a series of some highly impressive jamming. I Don't Know?- Kicks off with some nifty guitar licks before moving into a steady rocker. Dreaming- Slow and heavy, before it disintegrates into a drug crazed jamming session and then they take their foot off the pedal again, a truly epic song. Squeet- Starts off as a straight forward track before shooting into another extensive and intense jamming session, this is true pussy licking music.....just love it! Tomorrow May Come- A very subdued song and a very good track, this was the sort of thing that Wishbone Ash would become masters of. Fire Queen-Dominated by Tony Newman on drums. Virgin Waters- The album finishes with this highly distinctive song, with some great guitar overtones and spoken sections by James Black, before the whole thing gradually increases into an intense proggy style crescendo and then fades with the sound of running water.

Verdict
A highly self-indulgent album full of acid-fuelled jamming and very much a product of its time, as said before it's not for everybody, but if you like your music based around heavy jamming and a certain amount of unpredictability then you'll be impressed with this album. The album itself faced disappointing sales at the time possibly due to its haphazard and very self-indulgent feel. The album though, has some very impressive proto-metal tones that are noticeable throughout, along with some really impressive playing and the already mentioned heavy jamming, that was surely influenced at the time by the style of Grand Funk Railroad. Like other bands at this time that failed to make a commercial breakthrough, May Blitz instead of coming back with a tighter sound for their next album, decided to move into a more proggy and space rock direction and this was done with some rather dubious results. May Blitz occupied an interesting period of heavy music history and sadly time would forget them, but they are really worth listening to on this their debut and most honest release.

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Unknown Soldier

Hard rock with harmony and diversity.

Overview
Coming from a hard rock, R&B, psychedelic and proggy background it was always likely that when Stray put out their first album it was going to be something special. The London based band would primarily focus on the hard rock and progressive rock angles for their debut album, which would turn out to be be a highly diverse affair of various styles that encompassed all the influences of the band. They were fronted by dual guitarists and vocalists Del Bromham principal writer and Steven Gadd who together immediately had that great musical understanding in the studio. This understanding included their harmonic singing, something not usually associated with the type of music that the band were putting out, which all helped to give the band its very distinctive sound. Stray from the word go, seemed destined to achieve success as one of the key bands of the heavy music movement of the early 1970s, but maybe the diversity and style of their sound came at a time when listeners would be less receptive to this type of diversity and the band would largely pass the decade failing to make that vital commercial breakthrough. Like any great band, they would prove to be influential on future metal bands such as Diamond Head and Iron Maiden, two bands that made no secret of their love for the Stray sound of the early 1970s.

Del Bromham- Guitar/Vocals
Steve Gadd- Guitar/Vocals
Gary Giles- Bass
Ritchie Cole- Drums

Production- Hugh Murphy

Album
All in Your Mind- The album kicks off with the 9 minute sprawling gusto of "All in Your Mind" which highlights the band's harmonic singing and their at times intense sounding wah-wah guitar solos. In hindsight this sounds like one of the quintessential hard rock tracks of the decade. Iron Maiden would go on to cover this song as a B-side for one of their singles. Taking All the Good Things- One of the album's heavy rockers, highlighted by some great guitar mashing. Around the World in Eighty Days- An introduction to some of the softer dynamics of the band, with its Beatlesque feel. Time Machine- Time for the band to show some of their diversity with folky acoustic guitars and handclaps. Only What You can Make It- Kicking off with the almost now trademark thumping sound of the band, this is one of the heavier and best songs on the album and dig that harmonica at the close! Yesterday's Promises- Sultry sounding mid-album number. Move On- An almost jazzy/funk affair that sounds like its in permanent motion, the middle section of the song has echoes of the Doors classic "Light My Fire". In Reverse/Some Say- The 9 minute fuzzy rock jamming album closer, really highlighted by Ritchie Cole on drums before entering into its galloping final phase and shit this is what it's all about! (There is a remastered and greatly extended version of the album that I need to get hold of, with a lot of extra tracks, when I locate that I'll add them here)

Verdict
Due to its diversity, the album actually echoes the type of sound that Wishbone Ash-progressive rock, the Pink Fairies-psychedelic rock and Hawkwind-space rock were and would be putting out around this time, whilst still maintaining their hard rock credentials. Few bands at that time would've been so bold as to put out a debut album of contrasts like this and that is where the strength of this debut album lies. Despite its diversity, there is a cohesive feel to the whole thing as Stray were able to stamp their own sound across the album. At times the album is a rip-roaring harmonious affair, the next a softer moving affair, the next a jazzy infused affair and finally a high octane affair with that distinctive thumping sound typical of the band. Highly distinctive in its sound and feel, this album was well ahead of its time and in many ways it sounds like a quintessential album from its time. After this album, the band would go onto release another classic album the following year called Suicide and makes my top 10 for 1971 as well, before gradually moving into an ill-advised foray of unfocused proggy style rock (the excellent Saturday Morning Pictures being the exception here) which would characterize much of the rest of their work in the 1970s. This in turn would alienate much of their original and dedicated fanbase and the band would never capture the magic of their first two albums again.

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The Batlord

How could you review that album and not mention the album cover. It's so atrociously awful that it's memorable for it's hideousness. Which makes it good, I guess, cause I'm sure I'll remember this band for a while, even if only for that abomination of a cover.

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Unknown Soldier

I completely forgot to comment on that, but for your interest its actually meant to be what Leslie West of Mountain would look like in drag. Apparently the band found it very funny whilst Leslie West never shared the joke.

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History