Stone Garden - s/t 1969-1971

The Speer brothers Gary (guitar), Paul (guitar), and Neal (drums and piano) were at the core of what would eventually turn into Stone Garden. The Lewiston, ID pre-teens from a musical family, took up their instruments in the early 1960's. Their father built them makeshift amplifiers out of old stereo equipment and the Three Dimensions were born. Still barely teens they were scoring paying gigs. The trio took on Junior High schoolmate Dan Merille as it's full time bass player, and with his addition, adopted English style ruffled shirts as well as a new name, The Knights of Sound. The quartet made its first studio recording in 1965, and began to play regularly around Lewiston, eventually drawing the attention of aspiring manager Don Tunnell. With psychedelia in full flower, Tunnell renamed the band Stone Garden in 1967 after seeing a poster with the name. They began growing their hair long and ditched their Carnaby street duds for Nehru jackets and the quartet developed a repertoire loaded with songs by the Doors, Hendrix, Cream, the Beatles, and the Stones as well as a smattering of it's own original material. By 1969, Stone Garden was ready to record the latter, and a friend with a rather sophisticated basement studio helped put out the "Oceans Inside Me"/"Stop My Thinking" 45 single. A pressing of 300 that actually earned significant local airplay and got the attention of DJ Chris Adams, who became a vocal supporter of the foursome, eventually getting them time in a professional recording studio in Vancouver, WA. While there, Stone Garden recorded the remainder of it's original material, which went unreleased until re-issue label Rockadelic records collected it for a 1998 eponymous release. Once Gary left for college in 1969, the band went through a number of line-up changes, and due to constant instability, broke up in the early weeks of 1972.

Crank - "A Night in the Cave" 1971

This is the B-side of a split E.P. from two heavily obscure bands, (a limited press of about 750 copies from 1997) Thump Theatre being the A-side, which is of a more progressive flavor from what I've read. Crank however is: "Consistantly Heavy tightly played, energetic, hard bluesy rock. Owing a debt to Led Zep no doubt, but with it's own brand of aggression it stands on it's own merit as the sound of a young and extremely talented band that could have gone on to greater success. The final track regresses into blues rock, but this is eminently forgivable, acknowledging the influences this music emerged from." (this paragraph has been present on every blog I've read concerning Crank).
Other descriptions found on various mail order sights: "Heavy Rock with a progressive touch unearthed by the Rockedelic label featuring ultra-rare underground 70's rock sounds (c.1971) with one side by each band. These tapes came from the Cavern Sound studios (Stoned Circus, Bulbous Creation, Phantasia, Trizo 50) the Crank tape had 'Zep Jr' written on the box, which is a pretty accurate frame of reference. Thump Theater offers a more progressive rock sound with some good guitar breaks and catchy lyrics. Last copies from a long gone edition from 1997.

May Blitz - 1969-1971

British heavy rock power trio May Blitz was formed in 1969 by bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker, the rhythm section of the blues rock trio Bakerloo, both of whom left the group when guitar player Clem Clemson left to join Colosseum. Jamie Black joined the group on vocals and guitars but both Poole and Baker left this group before they recorded anything. Poole joined Vinegar Joe, and Baker joined Uriah Heep. Black then added fellow Canadian Reid Hudson on bass, and Tony Newman (Jeff Beck, The Hollies) on drums. After some time playing in pubs around the U.K. they signed with Vertigo and released their self titled album in 1970. They then recorded and released a second album in early 1971, but failed to see ant real success and disbanded before the year was over. Newman went on to join Three Man Army. I've picked three of the heaviest selections from both albums for this write up. But do look into the rest of their catalog if you get the chance. It's a bit lighter, but it makes for great stoner music.

Leaf Hound - "Growers of Mushroom" 1971

Leaf Hound formed in London, England in 1969 under their original name Black Cat Bones. Early incarnations of Black Cat Bones featured guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke who both left to form Free. Black Cat Bones issued one album for Decca Records entitled Barbed Wire Sandwich. They replaced their vocalist shortly after releasing the album adding Peter French to the lineup. Guitarist Rod Price was the next to leave to join Foghat, and French added his cousin Mick Halls on guitar. A short time later, Black Cat Bones changed their name to Leaf Hound and at this point, the band consisted of French on vocals, Halls on guitar, the Brooks brothers, Derek and Stuart, on guitar and bass respectively, and Kieth George-Young on drums.

Growers of Mushroom was recorded in 1970 and then the Brooks brothers left the lineup. Ron Thomas filled in on bass and the band toured Europe as a four piece. They then released the "Drown My Life In Fear" single as well as the Leaf Hound album on Telefunken in Germany. "Growers of Mushroom" came out right after with all the songs from the self titled album. "Growers of Mushroom" became a super highly collectable album in the years to com and was voted the most collectable album by Q-Magazine. It has also been cited as a major influence on the stoner rock movement. It's been re-released four times (3 times on CD, once on L.P.) on four different labels with the last one being on Repertoire in 2005. Happy Hunting! And good luck, yer gonna need it.

Stark Naked - s/t 1971

There's a common belief that with no Alice Cooper, there would've been no Kiss (not to mention the Rob Zombies, Marilyn Mansons, etc.) and Gene Simmons himself confirmed this when he stated: "we thought that if one guy called Alice Cooper could make it so big, how about four of them?" Needless to say, it wasn't the makeup alone that made Kiss the giant that they were/are, but I digress. So if you ask the typical crate comber about the band Stark Naked, they'll no doubt tell you that they're a dark prog/hard rock band. And this is true. However, if you ask any of their hometown Long Island, NY fan base, they'll tell you about elaborate stage theatrics and a show very comparable to that of Alice, or Kiss. The music, displays the maturity of a more seasoned band (this was their ONLY album) and is even more impressive when you know the fact that the musicians were only in their teens at the time. This was a very obscure record that appeared on the RCA/Victor label, and if given the time and opportunity, I believe could have blossomed into just as much of a household name as any of the aforementioned acts. After the release of this album, the band fell victim to the all too familiar "take the money and run" bit from their manager and therefore lost faith in the music business, which led to the bands ultimate demise. Sad. This 1971 L.P. is worth tracking down, even if it does carry a hefty price tag.

Stepson - s/t 1974

Founded in Portland, Or. in 1974, the band mainly consisted of ex-members of the defunct Portland band Touch. This album is their sole l.p. and the band didn't last too long. It's rumored that they had plans to do a second l.p., but that never came to pass. The only other material is a single "It's My Life" (The Animals) b/w "Rude Attitude" (both songs pulled from this l.p.) Apparently the band was relatively unknown due to the fact that they never toured in support of this fine l.p. After they disbanded, various members went on to work for Elektra records, others became session musicians for artists such as Carol King and James Taylor. A fine example of Detroit area hard rock, and I believe one reviewer went as far as to say one of the earliest examples of "cock-rock." You be the judge.

The Human Instinct - "Stoned Guitar" 1970

The Human Instinct are a New Zealand blues rock band that has been active since the 1960's. The band currently consists of Maurice Greer (lead vocals and stand-up drummer), Phil Prichard (guitar), Joel Haines (guitar), and Tony Baired (bass). The band has more than 25 members and has changed lineups and has changed several times since it's formation under the leadership of Greer. They have released a total of seven albums and over thirty singles. Their most recent album, Midnight Sun was released in 2010. The band is most known for their song "Black Sally" and the Stoned Guitar album. Their peak of popularity coincided with the acid rock/blues rock of 1969-1971. You can hear an homage to the band Mountain on this l.p. with the band carrying through the first bars of "Mississippi Queen" in the beginning of the song "Midnight Sun". The album also features "Railway and Gun" by Rory Gallagher. Amassed with fuzzed out "stoned" guitar.

"The Nile Song" - Pink Floyd (Waters/Gilmore)

Dschinn s/t (plus) 1972

Dschinn is another German krautrock band that leans more towards the hard rock side of the spectrum, with upbeat, heavy guitar work and two drummers making for a solid hard rock sound. This album from 1972 was their only release, and was released 10 years after the group's formation. Including a cover of the Yardbirds' "For Your Love." The band was formed under the name The Hurricanes, but once their contract was up, they changed their name and musical style as it was too old fashioned. They existed under the name Dschinn from 1970 to 1972 when they disbanded. Sadly this album never found the exposure it deserved as it was just lost in the influx of music happening in the early '70's.

Excalibur - "The First Album" 1971

Excalibur, from Germany, released their debut album The First Album in 1971 and even though the band was essentially catagorized as krautrock, it is mostly of interest to those who have interest in the German twist on the Hard/Heavy-Rock style. A single "Get Me if You Want" b/w "Hollywood Dreams" was lifted from the album, another "Why Do People Cry" b/w "Run Through The Past" featured original songs possibly for a scheduled second Reprise album which never came to pass.
Three more Excalibur songs were featured on the obscure "Hells Angels in Rock" sampler released on Jaguar in 1974. These were the last traces of the band.

Orang-Utan - s/t 1971

An often considered Prog-Rock, Acid-Rock, Hard-Rock, Heavy-Rock group from England, whose sole album was released in the U.S. exclusively on the Bell label. The band was previously known as Hunter, although no recordings exist of them under that name. They are based heavily on sludgy blues type riffs. They have great musicianship in all departments, especially the twin lead guitars. The band is widely considered a huge influence on the Stoner Metal genre. Their sound is like that of U.S. and U.K. bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Mountain, Led Zeppelin, B.F. Trike, and Hendrix. Essential for any heavy 70's collection.

Warpig - s/t 1970

The eponymous debut album of Canadian hard rock band Warpig, was released in 1970 on local indie label Fonthill Records. Blabbermouth.net has referred to the bands lone studio album as "an early masterwork of psychedelic proto-metal." Later, London picked it up for re-release. It was also re-issued in 2006 on Relapse, and then Creation records in 2009. Before forming Warpig in 1968, namd members Rick Donmoyer, Dana Snitch, Terry Hook, and Terry Brett had played in a number of other Canadian bands such as Mass Destruction, Wot, and the Kingbees.
The London re-issue featured alternate cover art and two re-recorded tracks, both recorded by Terry Brown, producer of Canada's Rush. Warpig disbanded between '74 and '75 but reunited in 2004 for a reunion when their album began demanding high prices on ebay.

Blues Addicts - s/t 1970

An extremely obscure heavy blues rock band from Denmark, Following in the footsteps of their infatuation with the likes of Hendrix and Cream. This is the only known release of this band. They notably started out with their own material as opposed to covers (as was the norm of the time). This has some really great moments on it. I've read that it's more sought after as a rarity more than anything else, however I believe this album has much more merit. Great guitar work, as you would expect from a blues rock outfit. Some have said they can hear the element of the project being rushed in the recording, which it was, due to the original master tapes being lost in a fire. All in all, crankin' this one up will not disappoint! Re-issued on the Shadocks label in 2008.

Tear Gas -: "Piggy Go Getter" 1970 - Tear Gas s/t (full l.p.) 1971

From Allmusic: A Glasgow, Scotland progressive band formed in the late '60's, Tear Gas initially comprised Eddie Campbell (Keyboards), Zal Clemenson (Guitar), Chris Glen (Bass, vocals), Gilson Lavis (drums), and Andy Mulvey (vocals). Mulvey had originally sung with local beat group The Poets. After changing from their original name, Mustard, they chose Tear Gas as a variation of the same theme. Mulvey was soon replaced by keyboard player and vocalist David Batchalor and Lavis (who later played with Squeeze) by Richard Monroe from Ritchie Blackmore's Mandrake Root. It was this lineup that recorded their 1970 debut: "Piggy Go Getter", an album typical of the time with it's long guitar and keyboard passages. However, they were more playful than some - "We were a really loud band, in fact we used to open with Jethro Tull's 'Love Story' which started out very softly and the crowd would drift towards the front. Then we'd turn the volume up and blow everyone out of the hall!" After a couple more lineup changes, the group recorded material for a second album for a release on Regal Zonophone Records, but was met with a lackluster response from the critics. Despite regular touring in an effort to establish themselves, it wasn't until they teamed up with Alex Harvey in August 1972 to become The Sensational Alex Harvey Band that they saw any real success. Check out another review of "Piggy Go Getter at MONOLOVER