Stray - s/t 1970

English hard rock band formed in 1966 by students of the Christopher Wren School in London. The groups brand of melodic, hook-laden hard rock proved to be a popular draw on the local club scene in the 70's. They signed to Transatlantic records in 1970, however, the band didn't have commercial success with it's record releases. There are two Iron Maiden connections to Stray, "All In Your Mind" from Stray's first album was covered by Iron Maiden, and Maiden bassist Steve Harris's daughter, Lauren, has covered "Come on Over." The original Stray dissolved in 1977. They had released 8 albums between 1970 and 1976. The older the album, it seems, the more gritty & raw it sounds. This is their debut album, probably my personal favorite. (comes in a cool die cut cover) Various versions of the band have popped up in the 2000's, with all of their 70's albums being re-released on Sanctuary records in remastered C.D. format.

Vinyl pics by totally vinyl.com

Felt - s/t 1971

Felt was formed in Alabama in the late 60's around the talents of Mike Jackson (no relation) guitars, Mike Neel-drums, Stn Lee-guitars (again, no relation), Tommy Gilstrap-bass, and Allen Dalrymple-keyboards. The bands self titled album released on the small Nasco label in 1971, contains half a dozen original songs, written for the most part by Jackson. The mostly blues-style songs on this album are full of great guitar work, and contain fine Beatles-esque harmony vocals. While most of this album has a blues feel to it, some of the songs hint at progressive rock with swirling keyboards, intense drumming, and blistering guitar solo's. The album has recently been discovered for it's musical excellence and has turned into a very rare collectors item. Guitarist Lee would go on later to play in punk rock band The Dickies in the late 70's. This welcome re-release by Akarma Records, features a reproduction of the original fold out album graphics in the mini-L.P. styled Akarmapack.

Photo by Sinistersalad'smusikal

Three Headed Dog - Hound of Hades 1972-73

Birmingham England was home to a large number of bands like Black Sabbath, The Move, Led Zeppelin, and Judas Priest. Three Headed Dog appears to be a greater 'unknown quantity' than many other of the underground hopefuls of the time. Even luminaries from the era such as midlands promoter Norman Hood who ran Tramp Entertainment could shed no light on the band saying "They seem to have sunk without a trace." Judas Priest's original singer, Al Atkins said he remembers the band playing out when he was fronting Priest, "but other than that, nothing" While the groups identity remains shrouded in mystery, what we can tell you for sure is that at least part, if not all, of this mega rare recording was made at the Railway in Birmingham's Curzon St. in 1973. Overtones of Priest are apparent with the song "Sick Solution" a homegrown song can without a doubt be compared with the Halford/Downing composition "Cheater" from J.P.'s first album, "Rocka Rola." A couple covers (Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4, Butterfly) mixed in with originals, makes this basement sounding recording pretty fuckin' cool. (Taken in part from "Rockesteria")

Left End - Spoiled Rotten 1974

Formed in 1970 in Youngstown, Pa., Left End was primarily known for their mad stage antics, drawing sold out crowds through out Ohio and Pennsylvania. 1970-'74 saw a string of singles released, most of which ended up with good chart numbers on local radio charts. The band played a hard rock sort of glam rock type of music. "Spoiled Rotten" was released in 1974. Another L.P. wasn't released 'till '91 with a live album appearing. The band was active from 1970 to 1985, and reformed in the '90's for a period, then again from 2001-2004 for some special gigs. An in-depth history can be found on their webpage, right HERE

After Shave - "Skin Deep" 1972 / "Strange Feeling" 1974

Formed in 1968 in Bienne, Bern, Switzerland, the bands longevity lasted 6 years until they broke up in 1975. But not before they released two albums. One of their first gigs in '68 saw them at a pop contest organized by a Zurich magazine. They were disqualified with no glory to this critique: "the group might be good if the guitarist did not use so much distortion." (I like reviews like that) Never the less the group carried on playing blues rock a-la Cream, Zeppelin, Deep Purple, John Mayall. Their first single was recorded, but never marketed due to the band running out of money. Between '71 & '74, the band got rather big, releasing "Skin Deep" in 1972. The group took on a few lineup changes before recording "Strange Feelings" in 1974.
In 1975, the group recorded a demo with two titles, this drew the interest of EMI, who offered to sign them if they changed their name. So from there on the band was known as "Slick." EMI ended up cancelling their contract with the band, exit After Shave, and exit Slick.

Jamul - s/t 1970

Killer late 60's hard hippy rock album issued in 1970 with a down-and-wasted vibe. Greast guitar throughout with a killer cover of "Tobacco Road", plus loads of originals. The band were involved with Steppenwolf's management and the sound is similar to the early years of that band as well as other heavy acid rock bands like "Yesterday's Children" and "Frantic." (Freak Emporium)
Dirty hairy rockers whose music was every bit as grungy as the album cover would suggest. Gravel voice no-nonsense singing and dirty sounding rhythm guitars add to the appeal. They do cover three well-known songs here, but change them around (different tempos, rhythms, etc.). The best songs are the up beat originals, but all of it is good. This is in many ways what a hard rock album should be - Honest, rough, and slightly pissed off. (Acis Archives)

Big Brother feat. Ernie Joseph - Confusion 1970

Ernie and the Emperors, 1965 - present, were from Santa Barbara, California. They were an example of 60's rock & pop heavily influenced by the British Invasion. Their biggest hit was "Meet Me At The Corner", a no.1. Their unique sound as well as their energetic stage presence earned them a reputation of being one of California's best examples of a garage rock band. In Later years, they have also released materials as "The Giant Crab", "Big Brother feat. Ernie Joseph", and as the Brian Faith Band. In 1965, they signed a deal with Reprise Records, and released "Meet Me At The Corner." The Emperors kept a busy performance schedule that took them all over the country and won them thousands of fans. In 1969, Joseph changed his musical direction with the driving rock "Confusion" album, teaming up with brothers "Rubin & Jet." More tours followed with opening slots for Almond Brothers Band, Bruce Springsteen & Steel Mill, Marshal Tucker Band, and Strawberry Alarm Clock. They've worked with others producing C.D.'s and videos For Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow), Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge), Eddie Brigati (The Young Rascals), Nick St.Nicolas (Steppenwolf), Kenny Cetera (Chicago), Floyd Sneed (Three Dog Night), Roy Orbison, Katy Perry, Rare Earth and much more. They are currently performing as The Brian Faith Band and are a subject of a documentary movie called "Makin' It."

Samurai - s/t (a.k.a. "Green Tea") - 1970 / "Kappa" - 1971

From "Prog Archives": Samurai was a Japanese heavy prog/rock band. They were initially out of Japan but moved to England, where they hired many English musicians to complete the lineup. They recorded two albums: "Samurai" (also known as "Green Tea") 1970, and "Kappa", 1971. They played an interesting mix of heavy prog a la Deep Purple, with a lot of Japanese folk influence (like using traditional Asian instruments) + late 60's psychedelia. The Leader was Mikki Curtis (Japanese guy, English name) who seemed to be quite a popular pop singer in the late 60's in Japan, and these days he's an actor.
Their debut was released only in Japan, and the preceding single was an Italian release.They are not to be confused with the U.K. band of the same name who released their s/t album on Greenwhich in 1971. They've been compared to early Traffic, and the music on their first album is fairly accessible, without at all sacrificing quality or creativity. On "Kappa" they played lengthier songs with a more heavy prog leaning. The bass player Tetsu Yamauchi was later in Free, and the Faces.

Cosmic Dealer - "Crystallization" 1971

Formed in 1968, the band was initially called "The Floating Fudge Factory Featuring the Cosmic Dealer" In 1970, they changed their name (thank God!) to Cosmic Dealer. 1971 saw the release of two singles, "The Scene b/w Child of the Golden Sun", and "Head in the Clouds b/w Find Your Way." Neither one of them saw any success. These were followed by their debut full length, "Crystallization." The music was a mix of Psych, Prog, and Hard Rock. They toured frequently, then the lineup began changing. That combined with the lack of popularity, the band quit.
In 1977, the band reformed for a time and began working on new demos, however none of them ever saw the light as they broke up again. This time for good. You can check out a complete bio of the band Right HERE

Maximillian - s/t 1969

I've read a number of reviews that trashed this album. I disagree. Formed by three New Yorkers, who adopted a lot of Hendrix style and lineup (guitar, bass, drums) released this, their sole album in 1969. Lead by guitarist Mojack Maximillian, they deliver a soul/blues infected psych rock with lots of fuzz and wah-wah distortions and effects. This album has become painfully rare, selling to one buyer in Japan for 2,000 British pounds.

Axe - Live & Studio 1969

This album is kind of a trip. Lots of loud fuzzed out guitars, but interjected quite frequently (about every other song) with some really mellow soft typical late 60's moments. I dare say the vocals feel out of place on a lot of the loud moments, however it fits with the mellower side of the album. It definitely has some great hard moments. From Northampton U.K., Axe (or Axe Music) were on of the most obscure acts in the field of psychedelic/hard rock. They made a handfull of acetates of an album in 1969 titled "Music" and it was also released as "Live & Studio." In more recent years a live album was uncovered and released as "Live 1969" and featured them doing cover songs of various tunes. The lineup consisted of Vivienne (or Countess Vivienne) on vocals, A. Barford/guitars, R. Hillard/acoustic guitar, M.Knobbs/bass, and S. Gordon/drums and percussion.