American Beauty - GRATEFUL DEAD*****

Box Of Rain/Friend Of The Devil/Sugar Magnolia/Operator/Candyman/Ripple/Brokedown Palace/Till The Morning Comes/Attics Of My Life/Truckin

American Beauty is the second half of the excellent duo of albums in which the Grateful Dead eschew their trademark noodling and deliver a package of songs with both tune and musical structure. (US:30 UK:27)

“Like their previous studio album, there is a wonderful balance between melodic richness and musical playfulness. I melt before these jazzy rhythms, the guitars of virtuosity and the multiple voices of loveliness.”

“Of all the jazz, classical music, folk and roots music I have ever listened to, I still have not found songs which parallel these in their strength and grandeur.”

“This release is truly one of the all time most amazing pieces of musical work. American Beauty is just a pleasure to hear time and time again.”

“This indeed is a unique entry into the Grateful Dead lexicon. The band totally discard their trademark long psychedelic jamming for a totally laid back, country rooted album.”

“The Grateful Dead's studio masterpiece. Every song is a marvel. These people are musicians, and good ones. And this is one fine rock album.”

“This album is a prime example why the 60s and early 70s were and are so much better than any other era of music. The band knew how to create an album and it has no songs in which I consider to be of the filler variety.”

“This release does a great job in showcasing their songwriting and singing abilities. There isn’t a bad song on the whole entire album.”

“American Beauty features lyrical, complex songs and straightforward American folk music. Ripple may be the most beautiful song ever written. Box Of Rain is funny and poignant. And I dare you not to break into a huge grin during Sugar Magnolia. While this is a much different Grateful Dead from what they performed in concert, it is equally glorious.”

Twelve Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus - SPIRIT****

Prelude-Nothing To Hide/Nature's Way/Animal Zoo/Love Has Found A Way/Why Can't I Be Free/Mr Skin/Space Child/When I Touch You/Street Worm/Life Has Just Begun/Morning Will Come/Soldier

Dr Sardonicus was the most acclaimed album by the Los Angeles progressive band Spirit. It has been described as exploring the fragility of life and the complexity of the human experience. (US:63 UK:29)

“Spirit have always been a classic underrated band, perhaps due to the eclectic nature of their music, a hybrid of rock, pop and jazz. Dr. Sardonicus is the band's watershed album from the acid-influenced cover art, to the ingenious melange of musical styles incorporated into the songs. Existentialism, war, ecology are the subject matters touched upon, and the musicianship is superb.”

“This album is an absolute classic. It's funny in that it was recorded pretty much after the end of the psychedelic era but you wouldn't know this by listening to it. Whereas other psychedelic albums often got bogged down in experimentation for the sake of it, the flourishes on here are all suitable for the songs. The production is perfect and so are the arrangements. Most of the songs end leaving you wanting more, which is great.”

“A masterful release by Spirit and a perfect snapshot of the strange transition period when psychedelic rock's time in the sun was coming to an end and progressive rock was emerging from its elder sibling's shadows. These Twelve Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus take the listener on a wild and diverse trip, held between folky acoustic gentleness, psychedelic head trips, and some downright rocking numbers.”

“Twelve Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus is just as trippy as the title and the album cover would imply, but it is also a potent brew. I am not quite sure how to describe the sound, which is at least one sign of a good record, or at least a unique one. There are elements of jazz, folk, and hard rock, with spacey guitars and processed vocals.” “It's just one of those albums where all the elements come together perfectly. There are no weak tracks, and I can listen to this one over and over again without getting bored. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, as virtually everyone I've shared this album with has fallen in love with it.”

“A light, dark album, full of beautiful melodies, superb drumming, its pretty much a musical equivalent of the LP cover. Almost exists in the realm of dream music if you are not too cynical.”

Watt - TEN YEARS AFTER****

I'm Coming On/My Baby Left Me/Think About The Times/I Say Yeah/The Band With No Name/Gonna Run/She Lies In The Morning/Sweet Little Sixteen

Watt was the quick follow up album to capitalise on the commercial success of the previous release Cricklewood Green. Some critics considered that greater delay would have produced an even stronger album. (US:21 UK:5)

“Well this is not as good as their previous recording but that was a tough act to follow. That said, this is still a very good hard blues album, not many psychedelic touches here but bluesy as hell.”

“A step down from Cricklewood Green, but still pretty fine. I love the way the band jumps out of the gate with the hard drivin' I'm Comin' On, and they even lay down a funky groove on I Say Yeah. As usual, there are a couple of ballads, a traditional blues, and some good old rock n' roll. So it's standard fare from a pretty exceptional band.”

“Ten Years After are a band that were consistently really good, who never quite attained greatness. Alvin Lee is a great guitarist but as a vocalist, I'd say he's average. The songwriting here, and on all their albums I've heard, leaves a little to be desired when compared to many similar bands of the era. The instrumental sections are the best parts of the album.”

“Alvin Lee and company may have been wiser to leave this album a few months until they had gathered stronger material, if only to make it something of a match for Cricklewood Green.”

“The atmosphere in this music is electric and captures a period of time that will never be duplicated. From I'm Coming On to She Lies In The Morning you're transported to the mythical realm of drug induced euphoria via the transport ship of Ten Years After. This band toured so much during this period that you can feel the weariness in this recording. This plays well on these songs and adds texture and atmosphere.”

“Watt is a solid effort with a great overall consistency to it. Every song is different but fits into a consistent sounding album. No clunkers, just good rock & roll blues. Alvin Lee and band really get into a great groove with a solid rocker to finish it off. When you talk about the good old days this album says it all to me.”

Everything Is Everything - DIANA ROSS ***

My Place/Ain't No Sad Song/Everything Is Everything/Baby Its Love/I'm Still Waiting/Doobedood'ndoobe/Come Together/The Long & Winding Road/I Love You (Call Me)/How About You/Close To You

Everything Is Everything was the second solo album release from Supremes vocalist Diana Ross, let down by some superfluous covers. Includes the excellent UK No. I hit I’m Still Waiting and the impossibly titled No.12 Doobedood’ndoobe. (US:43 UK:31)

“A given in pop music is that some songs are suitable only as filler. Here, Diana has given us nearly two sides full of it. She hasn't yet learned that not everything that comes out of her mouth should end up on an album. A case in point is hearing Diana croon Close To You, which in concert would probably be a fun surprise. As the closer here it is the opposite: predictable and painful. This and the two Beatles covers that open side two are probably the most cringe worthy moments on the album.”

“This funky little detour for the ex-Supreme is best known for I’m Still Waiting, a single which barely made a ripple in the US but managed to become one of her biggest and most enduring hits in the UK. Maybe American audiences weren’t used to hearing her sound like a vulnerable little girl, but it’s a beautiful song and Ross plays it to the hilt like the bravura actress she’d briefly become. The rest of the album is a glossy treat, albeit one padded with Beatles covers and the like.”

“Diana Ross was in her vocal prime at the time of this recording and standout tracks include the Anna Gaye and Marvin Gaye composition Baby It's Love featuring alto sax, an Aretha Franklin cover I Love You (Call Me), which earned Ross a Grammy nomination, and I'm Still Waiting, which was a huge hit in England.”

“Everything Is Everything has always been my favourite Diana Ross album of all time. I am an avid fan and have everything she ever made. Even though this album did not produce a major US hit, the songs are all gems. I love her Ashford and Simpson's hits but these songs are different and show another side of Diana. I could play this album over and over. Diana in the 1970s was way ahead of her time in music and fashion. You will fall in love with this album.”

Blows Against The Empire - JEFFERSON STARSHIP****

Mau Mau (Amerikon)The Baby Tree/Let's Go Together/A Child Is Coming/Sunrise/Hijack/Home/Have You Seen The Stars Tonight/XM/Starship

Blows Against The Empire was the first incarnation of the Jefferson Starship name, over three years before it was formerly adopted by the group. It comprises a loose jam session featuring many luminaries of the west coast music scene. (US:20 UK:12)

“This is a perfect example of how a bunch of psychedelic era musicians could show up, jam for a while, and have the end result come out as an excellent product. Let's Go Together features Grace Slick as a police siren in the middle of a tasty folk-rock ballad, and Have You Seen The Stars Tonight is one of rock's most eternal love songs.”

“A great slice of electric psych-folk-rock from a line-up that is more or less the same as on the first David Crosby LP. It shares the same kind of communal mood, yet the whole thing is less contemplative and moody in feel. There is a strong ‘party in the recording studio’ good time vibe here. Extremely enjoyable and juicy, I just cannot see why this shouldn't be regarded as a classic.”

“A unique hippie San Francisco take, with an all star cross section of the 1970 west coast music scene and influences, including some psychedelia and folk plus some sweet late 60s guitar distortion. Occasionally a bit messy and loose, like it's all being done in one take, but it's got some great moments.”

“An excellent album which I have been listening to steadily for a week, and it is really good. Beautiful sound, somewhere between the West Coast psych of the early 70s and Fairport Convention or similar of the same period. Don't be put off by the ‘Jefferson Starship’ in the artist name, this has very little to do with what followed.”

“This is one of my favourites from the early 70s. I love the whole concept of a bunch of hippies building a spaceship and going on to create some utopian paradise out in space. Beautiful music as well, some rock oriented tunes like the opener, but most of it is more psychedelic folk with acoustic guitars, piano etc. Members of the Dead and CSNY contribute making it a nice collaboration of the San Francisco scene.”

“The music is straight up acid-folk, misty and lost. Lots of acoustic guitars, rambling structures, and not many conventional lead vocals. Most of the singing is multiple voices joined in bleary-eyed harmony.”

Whales & Nightingales - JUDY COLLINS****

Song For David/Sons Of/The Patriot Game/Prothalamium/Oh Had I A Golden Thread/Gene's Song/Farewell To Tarwathie/Time Passes Slowly/Marieke/Nightingale I/Nightingale II/Simple Gifts/Amazing Grace

Whales & Nightingales was the commercial breakthrough album for American folk singer Judy Collins in Britain, helped by her version of the traditional Christian hymn Amazing Grace which became an unlikely UK top five hit. (US:17 UK:16)

“I love most of the songs on this album, from the opening cover of Joan Baez's Song For David to Jacques Brel's magical Sons Of, to the wry and cautionary Irish folk tale of The Patriot's Game. It is hard to pick a personal favourite from these absolutely terrific songs.”

“This is a snapshot of a one of the titans of modern American folk music, taken at the peak of her awesome vocal and collaborative talents. It will please the most discriminating of well-trained folk ears, and is one I am sure you will come to treasure as much as I do.”

“It's a more idiosyncratic collection than her earlier albums, heightened by varied recording locations that each provides a unique sonic ambiance. The result isn't always cohesive from song to song, but Collins voice is so singularly beautiful, and her talent for interpretation so strong, that the individual pieces merit listening.”

“When you listen to Whales & Nightingales the big question is which song do you find more haunting, her crystal clear version of Amazing Grace, or Farewell To Tarwathie, which is sung over the accompaniment of humpback whales. The glorious soprano voice is always there and the quality of her albums always comes down to the songs.”

“Farewell To Tarwathie is Collins' reworking of a traditional song about a Greenland whaler's journey into the hinterland, but the song is brought to life by the songs of humpback whales which accompany her acapella performance. I don't think there is another moment in modern music quite like this recording, it is too beautiful for my paltry words.”

“Every song is exquisitely arranged, from the Dylan tune Time Passes Slowly to the instrumental Nightingale II, each is different, with its own signature, making this an eclectic and unusual album. There is no one quite like Collins, her voice alone is astounding and unique, a type of beauty so rare it appears once in a lifetime.”

The Black Man's Burdon - ERIC BURDON***

Black In Black On Black/Paint It Black I/Laurel & Hardy/Pintelo Negro II/PC3/Black Bird/Paint It Black III/ Spirit/Beautiful New Born Child/Nights In White Satin/The Bird & The Squirrel/Nuts Seeds & Life/Out Of Nowhere/Nights In White Satin/Sun-Moon/Pretty Colours/Gun/Jimbo/Bare Black Ride/Home Cookin'/They Can't Take Away Our Music

Second collaboration between the former Animals vocalist Eric Burdon and the black R & B group War. A sprawling double album with extended jams which might usefully have been shortened to just a single LP. (US:82 UK:25)

“The album had its moments, though they were scattered across the collection's twenty tracks and four sides. In spite of his apparent megalomania, Burdon's voice was still in fair shape and while the quality of material bounced all over the map, there were certainly a couple of interesting moments. Burdon's non-too-subtle social commentary, the extended musical jams, and the general vibe, musically it didn't get much more '70s than this.”

“The Black-Man's Burdon is a wonderful album – as a concept. It contains lengthy musical epics built around some 1960s classics. It contains a lot of jamming, like a jazz-rock definition of their own: rock that is handled like jazz. It also features a few more conventional but still valid styles like soul and blues rock. Considering this, Eric Burdon was really creating something new here.”

“I know that some people find this album inconsistent and over-rambling but that's one of the reasons why I love it. The more I listen to it, the more I like it because the performances are so fantastic. Burdon's singing is probably at its strongest here, particularly on Paint It Black which is one of the greatest covers ever.”

“The passion of Burdon's vocal delivery is as believable as he was during his first few albums with The Animals. Nothing since those days found him this inspired or interested in what he was attempting to do.”

“There is some excellent jamming, but too much self indulgence. A single LP would have had less filler.”

“This is not the War from the later 1970s, but is an absolutely kicking feast of Latin grooves. Burdon had the voice and the improvisation skills to work wonders over these long jams, and this band is both tight and loose enough to sail along with him.”