Earth Song/Ocean Song - MARY HOPKIN***

International/There's Got To Be More/Silver Birch/How Come The Sun/Earth Song/Martha/Streets Of London/ The Wind/Water Paper & Clay/Ocean Song

After a chart career lasting two years pop vocalist Mary Hopkin’s commercial appeal began to fade. Her well received folk influenced Earth Song/Ocean Song LP was produced by husband Tony Visconti.

“Mary's vocals seem to fit the Ralph McTell songs very well, just like Donovan's compositions on Post Card. I don't know if Streets Of London has ever sounded as beautiful as here. Of the two songs by Liz Thorsen, Ocean Song is the better one, and the ending is very good. How Come The Sun and Martha may be relatively impressive, but they are over lengthy. The rest is OK, but nothing very special.”

“This is a terrific and beautifully produced orchestrated folk-pop album. Mary is delightful, and her then husband Tony Visconti brings a hip contemporary vibe, with help from a Strawb and Pentangle member, here and there. The whole thing is marvellous, probably better than her debut.”

“This is Mary's best, most cohesive album. No pop fluff, but some meaty type songs. She was newly married to Tony Visconti, who produced the album with excellent acoustic instrumental musicians. This album was released when Apple Records was having a lot of internal problems, and no money went into promotion, so with the exception of a minor hit of Water, Paper & Clay it disappeared. The overall theme of the album is about parts of the human condition. Before this, Mary had been pushed into appearing everywhere, and was growing to hate it. With this release, she took more control of her career.”

“After three years of doing pop at Apple, Mary Hopkin finally got to show her true colours on her final album there. The exquisite arrangements and her crystal clear voice make for a listening experience you won't forget. There's not a single weak track, highlighted by the beautiful and very environmentally themed title songs.” “Mary Hopkin's voice is absolutely beautiful. It is pure and clear as a bell. On this album without layers of production that suited a Beatles' album, Mary's voice shines on songs such as Ralph McTell's Streets Of London which is exquisite and also on his plaintive Silver Birch & Weeping Willow. Mary gives a gorgeous rendition of Cat Stevens' The Wind.”

Flying - UFO***

Silverbird/Star Storm/Prince Kajuku/The Coming Of Prince Kajuku/Flying

Flying was the follow up album from the British band UFO who were then best know as one of the leading proponents of the space-rock sub genre. This is best exemplified in the extended title track.

“Flying seems to have just as much going for it as against. For every line that really works, there's another with no rhyme and too many syllables. For every dull, repetitive riff, there's a moment of true genius immediately following it. Just when I get sick of listening to a song, it turns itself around and pulls me back in.”

“There are just five songs here in UFO's second studio album but two of them are really long. UFO's hard space-rock sound is very satisfying and I really enjoyed this record.”

“Unfortunately and unavoidably there are some dated guitar experiments that drag for several minutes. The vocals are a bit better, and less of them - but still nothing to get excited about.”

“Before guitar legend Michael Schenker made UFO into one of the greatest and most influential hard rock bands this is what they originally were - a space-rock band. And Flying is just what the title says, epic space-rock. Here the band are far less tight and focused, far more informal and apt to jam.”

“Strong vocals, a space theme, and some drawn out hard rock guitar jams. There's some pretty obvious Interstellar Overdrive influence, but the band manage to spin Syd's vision into a slightly more melodic and mainstream sound.”

“This is definitely a lot like Hawkwind. The guitar work is excellent, in fact it dominates the album. The bass and drums are there to keep some rhythm, and they do not completely get buried by the guitar. Phil Mogg appears now and again to add some vocals.”

“For one hour of space-rock read one hour of unlistenable torture by inept musicians. To be fair these guys were young kids at the time and it shows.”

“Hypnotic, druggy bass mantras hammer out continuously while the guitar plays great minimalist stuff over the top.”

Grateful Dead - GRATEFUL DEAD***

Bertha/Mama Tried/Big Railroad Blues/Playing In The Band/The Other One/Me & My Uncle/Big Boss Man/Me & Bobby McGee/Johnny B Goode/Wharf Rat/Not Fade Away-Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad

The Grateful Dead are best remembered as a live band which might explain why this self titled double album was released so soon after their last double live set. (US:25)

“As a jam band, The Grateful Dead definitely are good at improvisational jamming along to a simple beat, and after their mingling in psychedelic stuff, they have now formed into a country rock band, and one of my most favourite. Big Boss Man is probably my favourite example of all these aforementioned characteristics.”

“This is a great live album. My pet gripe with Skulls & Roses is that its jam packed with overdubs, almost to a point where you forget it's a live album. There are some great highlights and the album overall is a decent representation of the live sound the Dead would really be known for from the 70s onward. However, all the overdubs ruined the album for me, but it's nowhere near terrible.”

“The Dead's second live LP, issued a year after the psychedelic expanses of Live/Dead, solidifies the band's remake as purveyors of mellow roots rock with a set of country and traditional rock covers, plus a few straightforward originals and one extended improvisation.”

“Not to be confused with the Dead's 1967 debut, this is an untitled double live album recorded mostly in New York in spring 1971. The material presented here are mostly covers, the originals are all songs that appear on a Dead album for the very first time. One of these songs is the classic Playing In The Band which has remained a live favourite throughout their entire career. Another highlight is the eighteen minute jam The Other One which starts off as a boring drum duet but really takes off when the others come in.”

“Another live offering from the world's most notorious live act, this album served as an introduction to the wealth of new material the Dead had written. This album also served to establish the fact that their turn towards more traditional rock & roll, with a slight country flavour, was no fluke.”

“This is a very good album which explores the many different styles of this classic band. Jerry, Bobby, and Pig Pen all have their time on lead vocals and each have strong moments.”

High Time - MC5**

Sister Anne/Baby Won't Ya/Miss X/Gotta Keep Movin'/Future Now/Poison/Over & Over/Skunk (Sonically Speaking)

The third album from MC5, High Time, departed from their previous proto-punk style to provide more extended and experimental tracks with a classic guitar sound. (US:137)

“High Time contends with the debut for the title of MC5's best album. Fast, furious Motor City rock, the only thing separating this from the power of the debut is the fact it isn't live.”

“It may not be Kick Out The Jams, but the whole room still smells like revolution when listening to this, and you can just feel the radical politics blasting out of your speakers. Even though the energy levels have been toned down a bit since the first album, this one still rocks hard.”

“The MC5's final album, High Time, boasts improved production over its predecessor. It is also more consciously a studio album, as several of the tracks feature heavily-layered guitars, pianos, back-up singers, non-Western percussion instruments, and a horn section. As a result, the proto-punk immediacy of the first two albums has been replaced with a more decidedly classic rock direction that yields solid, but hardly groundbreaking music.”

“Not my favourite band in the world, but this one rocks pretty hard. Some trippy stuff, but mostly it stays simple with lots of great guitar. Lyrics are more mumbly come-ons than revolution now, and there's a slight jazz influence to some tracks which keeps it interesting.”

“High Time combines the meaty sonic onslaught of the first record with the more compelling musicianship and songwriting of the second. Rock solid through and through, there's something for all fans of rock music here - style for the classic rock aficionados, energy and rebellion for the punks and intelligent lyrics for the radical.”

“It's pretty simple, really, what MC5 does, but not easy: basic guitar-bass-drums rock and roll delivered with high energy.”

“Although not as immediately catchy as Back In The USA, this album reveals a grittiness and packs a soulful punch thanks to the amazing vocals.”

In Search Of Space - HAWKWIND***

You Shouldn't Do That/You Know You're Only Dreaming/Master Of The Universe/We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago/Adjust Me/Children Of The Sun

In Search Of Space was the follow up release from the British space-rock band Hawkwind. It proved to be their commercial breakthrough, aided in part by the success of the non-album UK No.3 hit single Silver Machine. (UK:18)

“Hawkwind kick into high gear with their second album, In Search Of Space. With the fifteen minute opener, You Shouldn't Do That, they prove to be one of the few fullbore psychedelic acts capable of being considered proto-punk, with their sturdy grooves and steady pace. All the elements that make this group's early recordings great are here: the chunky guitars, the trippy synthesizer-generated sound effects, treated flutes, and alto saxophones.”

“This here is the real stuff, tribal space rock fuelled by LSD, all set to trip you out. You'll love every moment of it. Each of the songs (and the long ones especially) get you into a groove with trancing, chanting vocals with repetitive patterns and sounds.”

“In Search Of Space sees Hawkwind go from a bunch of hippie folkies to the space rock band we know and love. This contains all the elements that would make the band beloved to their fans but hated by critics. You Shouldn't Do That is nearly a quarter hour of repetitive lyrics, power chords, throbbing bass and random electronics.”

“Consists largely of uninspiring and repetitive jamming, it fails to conjure up images and feelings of space, is mostly devoid of melody, and contains totally non engaging vocals. Much better space rock than this exists.”

“Don't really know what the hype is about. Not an especially good band or album. Sounds like they're all stoned on something. Perhaps an indifferent album to add to your collection of 70s space trance. If not, skip this band and album.”

“In Search Of Space embodies much classic Hawkwind; heavy guitar riffs, wooshing electronic effects, squawking saxophone solos and science-fiction influenced lyrics.”

“The band attains its spacey atmospheres not through quiet keyboard noodling but through loud, hypnotic, pulsing bass and drum patterns which form a framework from which guitar, keyboard, sax and flute solos emerge and fade back into, with the singing on offer here being more like a tripped-out chants.”

Camembert Electrique - GONG***

Radio Gnome Prediction/You Can't Kill Me/I've Bin Stone Before/Mister Long Shanks/Dynamite I Am Your Animal/Wet Cheese Delirium/Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen's Heads/Fohat Digs Holes In Space/And You Tried So Hard/Tropical Fish Seline/Gnome The Second

Camembert Electrique was the follow up album from the psychedelic band Gong. It was recorded and released in France and did not become available on the UK market until a few years later.

“Although Cambembert Electrique isn't the Gong debut, it's undeniably the beginning of what most people consider the classic form of Gong - the one that concerns itself with Allen's hippie mystical and anti-establishment vision shrouded in mythology of teapots, pothead pixies and mythical planets, all displayed over some of the craziest jazz-influenced psychedelic music to be heard in the entire era.”

“This is an interesting transition album that feels like it has connections to the heavy psych of the 60s while branching out its tentacles into a new 70s space rock style garnished with all the zaniness and humour that the Canterbury scene was so famous for. This is a great example of how to combine the Canterbury whimsy with space rock, progressive heavy rock and healthy doses of anarchic psychedelia with totally original experimental elements.”

“On their second album Gong evolve significantly from their first, moving from whimsical folksy psychedelia to full-blown joyous space rock. The band is having immense amounts of fun, and that is the most important thing about making music. On top of this, they are also incredibly good at what they do, and what they are doing here had scarcely been done before. What I love about this album is the combination of playfulness and the seemingly perfect translation of idea to sound.”

“The crucial difference between most psychedelic groups and this album is that Gong contain virtuoso musicians who also know how to have fun, and how to incorporate traces of lots of different music of this world into a rock album. Their virtuosity is evinced by the fact that most of this music is intricately arranged.”

“Great psychedelic fun. Gong were a great whimsical childish band of the early 70s, singing about pixies and gnomes. Grand stuff, good musical arrangements, and quite trippy. A pretty stoned outing from Daevid Allen and gang of merry pranksters.”

“Gong's masterpiece and a prog classic. It's basically a collection of delirious, spaced-out acid rock jams, and you won't find a better collection of such music.”

Fiddler On The Roof - SOUNDTRACK*****

Prologue Tradition & Main Title/Matchmaker/If I Were A Rich Man/Sabbath Prayer/To Life/Miracles Of Miracles/ Tevye's Dream/Sunrise Sunset/Wedding Celebration & The Bottle Dance/Do You Love Me/Far From The Home I Love/Chava Ballet Sequence/Anatevka/Finale

A double LP soundtrack album of the highly successful Broadway musical Fiddler On The Roof but starring the lead for the London production Topol. This was one of the last traditional musicals to be translated to the big screen. (US:30 UK:26)

“The film version is not the same as the Broadway show, but it firmly stands on it's own as does this soundtrack. John Williams' orchestrations are wonderful and Topol brings a more human flavour to the role of Tevye than Mostel's more comic vision of the character.”

“The movie soundtrack is the best recording of Fiddler On The Roof available. The sensitive scoring (by Oscar winning John Williams) along with the great cast made this version sound better than any others including the original Broadway album.”

“Fiddler On The Roof is one of the best musicals ever to grace the motion picture screen. That being the case what else could the soundtrack be other than a wonderful audio experience. This version is the best of the best. Nobody can do Tevye the way Topol can. This is a celebration of life put to music and song that will have you on your feet dancing around the room with your arms raised high.”

“This gem of a soundtrack is truly one which lives up to the expectations of those who have seen the amazing film of Fiddler On The Roof. It captures all the emotions the viewer encounters in the film, and conveys them near-perfectly. If you are into generally upbeat music, you should immediately buy this LP - money well spent.”

“I enjoy the film soundtrack much more than the Broadway version. To me, the singing and orchestrations of the film are superior. I also feel that Topol gave a more impassioned performance in this soundtrack than that in the Broadway version.”

“From the beginning, the music entranced me with a mixture of familiar songs and some not so familiar. The performances are the right blend of earthy style and musical excellence, resulting in a realistic portrayal of the events in the film. The songs and the singing are appropriate to the story, serving the plot and circumstances rather than forming a story to fit great songs. It makes for a seamless musical presentation with a great deal of authenticity and artistic honesty.”