Special CD "Song Pearls 1970"

13. July 2020

CD-Sampler

1. CRESSIDA - To Play Your Little Game (3:15) Album
: Cressida (1970/2010) (Repertoire/Bertus)

The eternal secret tip! CRESSIDA belonged to the Vertigo-Bands, who never managed to assert themselves, although their sound merged fragile progressive structures with dreamlike melodies. The harmonically sophisticated vocals, a present organ and the highly individual approach characterize the songs.

2. HARD MEAT - Through A Window (3:55) Album
: Hard Meat (1970) (Warner) (ISRC: USRH11902709), LC Code: Warner 00366

The Birmingham Power Trio wrote power in small letters. It was all about nuanced seventies rock, where the songwriting stood out from the everyday and the atmosphere determined everything. The two albums of the group have now been released on vinyl for the first time by Longhair Records

3. VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR - Darkness (11/11) (live) (7:38) Album/DVD
: Live At Rockpalast 2005 (CD+DVD) (2018) (MIG/375 Media GmbH) (Studio track released 1970)

The VdGG comeback culminated in this breathtaking performance. At that time David Jackson was still in the band, and it was above all his virtuoso playing on the wind instruments that gave the 'new' VdGG so much power. This can be heard on this new interpretation of the 1970 classic.

4. OUT OF FOCUS - Hey John (9:38) Album
: Wake Up! ℗ 1970 (Kuckuck/E.R.P. Musikverlag/Amazon.de)

In 1970 the Munich scene is one of the most important birthplaces of Krautrock. OUT OF FOCUS was the local band with the greatest musical abilities. Gripping psychedelic moods, a touch of jazz, audacious sound structures and endless solos radiate the desire for the "other"

5. ROGER McGUINN'S THUNDERBYRD - Lover Of The Bayou (live) (7:10) Album/DVD
: Live At Rockpalast 1977 (CD+DVD) (2019) (MIG/375 Media GmbH) (Original live version: The Bryds - Untitled,1970)

The opener of the untitled 1970s Bryds album was added to the set list by Roger McGuinn for the first Rockpalast rock night in 1977. And the song is not only more than twice as long. McGuinn and Co. even float through the Grugahalle like on a flying sound carpet.

6. FRIJID PINK - House Of The Rising Sun (4:42) Album
: Frijid Pink (LP) (1970/2015) (Repertoire/Bertus)

Anyone who entered a rock disco in the seventies had to expect to dance to this song sometime in the evening. FRIJID PINK from Detroit stood for an independent psych-rock garnished with fuzz guitars. But this powerful and independent cover will remain her legacy

7. ARMAGGEDON - Better By You, Better Than Me (4:34) Album
: Armaggedon ℗ 1970 (Kuckuck/E.R.P. Musikverlag/Amazon.de)

British Blues from Germany? But yes, and that with a Frank Diez on the guitar, who already proved international level at a young age. The cover version of the Spooky-Tooth-Cracker fits seamlessly into the board-hard blues rock with a personal touch, which determines the complete album of ARMAGGEDON

8. AFFINITY - I Am And So Are You (3:28) Album
: Affinity (1970/2012) (Repertoire/Bertus)

Snapping fingers, casual rocking along and cool grooves make AFFINITYS music, one of the earliest Vertigo Jazz Rock bands, so irresistible. The slightly Julie Driscoll-like vocals, the atmospheric changes and especially the succinct solos stand for an effortlessly innovative album

9. BLACK WIDOW - In Ancient Days (7:35) Album
: Sacrifice (1970/2014) (2CD+DVD) (Repertoire/Bertus)

Afraid of the incarnate? They didn't have BLACK WIDOW, because the album stands for the beginning of occult rock and the lyrics were based on ancient rituals. With their music, the band from Leicester combined progressive structures and rocking approaches, with dramatic solos shaping the sound

10. STEAMHAMMER - I Wouldn't Have Thought (5:38) Album
: Mountains (5:38) (1970/2007) (Repertoire/Bertus)

The track from the third STEAMHAMMER album illustrates all the qualities of the important protagonists of progressive blues rock. They united a gripping playing feeling with hippie squiggles. Stylistic new discoveries, unexpected turns and song-related solos work through the flow of play

11. ORANGE PEEL - Faces That I Used To Know (3:10) Album
: Orange Peel (1970/2012) (Bellaphone)

If there had not been ORANGE PEEL from Hanau, Bellaphon would not have founded Bacillus shortly afterwards. The first band of the drummer Curt Cress made a Hammond dominated rock sound with Anglo-American influences and was unique in Germany due to its quality in 1970

12. COLOSSEUM - Lost Angeles (live) (11:30) Album
: Live At Ruisrock Festival, Turku, Finland 1970 (2020) (Repertoire/Bertus)

COLOSSEUM were a top band in the studio, but it was only on stage that their perfection and joy of playing became apparent. As part of a large-scale retrospective, previously unknown live recordings are now being released. Here the band shows how they modulated their elaborate compositions in ever different ways