Exposé Online » Reviews of releases for 1972

Fumio & Osamu - Shinchugoku

Long out of print, finally reissued in early 2020, Shinchugoku makes a case for being the missing link between Osamu Kitajima’s “Justin Heathcliff” period (the name which...

Twenty Sixty Six and Then - Reflections!

Twenty Sixty Six and Then's Reflections on the Future remains one of the most legendary German prog LPs. As the master tapes were lost long ago, a reissue didn't seem likely,...

Matching Mole - Smoke Signals

After leaving Soft Machine in 1971, drummer Robert Wyatt planned to record a solo album that featured his songwriting and singing talents. He then enlisted guitarist Phil Miller, Dave Sinclair (of...

Organisation & Kraftwerk - Tone Float, Kraftwerk 1 & 2, Ralf & Florian

Kraftwerk, like many of the long running German outfits, was a completely different creature at its inception then after they rose to popularity. These albums, including the pre-Kraftwerk...

Soft Machine - Live in Paris May 2nd, 1972 (aka Live in France)

[This was written about the original One Way edition. - ed.]

Wow! Another newly found live recording which was previously available only in bootleg format? Unfortunately, the disc...

Soft Machine - Fourth / Fifth

Support for the Soft Machine catalog and its movement to the digital age has been excruciatingly slow, to put it mildly. English label Big Beat did some excellent re-work to place Volume One and...

Ginger Baker - Do What You Like

You may think this isn’t Exposé material, but let me tell you this is quite surprising music even for today. Ginger Baker has proven he qualifies a progressive drummer /...

Wendy Carlos - Sonic Seasonings +

Proving that you have to go back before Brian Eno to find the roots of ambient electronic music, we now finally have the reissue of one of the field’s first classics, Wendy Carlos’...

Genesis - Foxtrot

Now if there could be any album on my third-tier list that might be there for its lifetime achievement award it would probably be Foxtrot, although maybe that would be a close second to...

Rastus - Steamin'

Like Genesis and Tangerine Dream, Chicago (Transit Authority) and Blood Sweat and Tears also had a lot of bands heavily inspired by them and Rastus took strongly from the former with a touch from...

Mouvements - Mouvements

In 1972 Swiss avant-garde guitarist Christian Oestreicher gathered some friends from the jazz-rock scene, among them Jean-François Boillat, Blaise Català, and Jerry Chardonnens, in a...

Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen / Seven Up & Join Inn / Starring Rosi

Here we have domestic releases of the consummate Krautrock band’s early albums. Though not as quotable to neo-Kraut hipsters as Can, Faust, Kraftwerk and Neu! — Ash Ra Tempel were...

Gnidrolog - ...In Spite of Harry's Toenail

While Yes, King Crimson, ELP, and Genesis went on to considerable fame, there were a good number of English bands that didn’t fare so well as far as output goes, but were equally as...

Quella Vecchia Locanda - Quella Vecchia Locanda

If early PFM showed a surprising amount of musical integration, the first album by Quella Vecchia Locanda showed a bit more of a split personality, one that worked really well for them. Take the...

Miles Davis - On the Corner

McLatchey's Second Tier

It's strange when you consider it but the music Miles was putting out live around this time didn't really have that much to do with this album,...

Tony, Caro & John - All on the First Day

The original 1972 private LP pressing of All on the First Day (only 99 copies with spray painted cover) by the psychedelic folk trio of Tony Doré, Carolyn Doré, and John...

The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - New Tricks

Comedy troupes recording albums for the rock and roll audience stem from such acts as the Firesign Theater and England's Monty Python (with Eric Idle and John Cleese). Voiceprint has been keen...

Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys

McLatchey's Second Tier

In the early 90s when Vinyl Magic was exploding onto the reissue market, there were still a number of Italian albums that weren't in that wave and...

Gentle Giant - Three Piece Suite

The first three Gentle Giant albums occupy a spot in the history of progressive rock that illustrates the transition from 60s psychedelic rock to full-fledged avant-prog. While the band’s...

Pure Food and Drug Act - Choice Cuts

Their extended version of "Eleanor Rigby" sounds uncannily like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" with a splash of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." Preferring jam over...

Circus 2000 - Circus 2000 & Escape from a Box

Circus 2000 is an entirely different beast from the rest of the Vinyl Magic catalog, falling more in the psych realm than in the more classically styled progressive genre. It's not to say they...

Herbie Hancock - Crossings

I spent some time last year going through The Complete Columbia Albums Collection of Herbie Hancock. I bought it hoping that there would be some gems I didn't know about after...

Procession - Frontiera

Processions are another in the tangled Italian family tree, being related to Raccomandata con Ricevuta di Ritorno and others. This album was their first and best of two (Fiaba was reissued...

Heat Exchange - Reminiscence

The Heat Exchange were a band from Toronto that began to generate some interest in the late 60s. They played a number of concerts and were pursued by RCA and eventually signed with Yorkville...

Grateful Dead - Dave's Picks Volume 11: Century II Convention Hall, Wichita, KA 11/17/72

Easily the best show in the Dave's Picks series so far and a pick from the winter tour which hasn't been nearly as well documented on official releases or the trading circuit as the rest of...

Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks Volume Eleven 9/27/72

I had a tradition for a long time after clicking with the Grateful Dead of playing a show every Sunday. This created a very strong impression on me of a sort of "deep time" vibe with...

Chicago - Live in Japan

It wasn't very long ago that the original CD release of this album was worth a little bit of money, but thankfully Rhino went ahead and got it out affordably. I was originally introduced to...

Nuova Idea - Mr. E. Jones & Clowns

Nuova Idea are probably best known for being part of Italy's largest family tree, including the New Trolls and Osanna. Nuova Idea's Ricky Belloni (on Clowns) joined the New Trolls...

Slapp Happy - Sort Of

In the early 70s Anthony Moore was exploring different avant garde musical techniques, working in Uwe Nettlebeck’s studio in Wümme. Anthony recorded and released two experimental albums...

Proto-Kaw - Early Recordings from Kansas: 1971-1973

Kansas was pretty widely exposed back in the 70s, and while they were basically similar to other bands of the era, there was a hint of the progressive sound that appealed to many fans of more...

Terry Dolan - Terry Dolan

Terry Dolan was an East Coast singer-songwriter who took Horace Greeley’s advice and migrated to San Francisco in the late 60s. In 1972 he recorded a full album of songs that was never...

Chicago - Chicago V

McLatchey's Second Tier

So I covered live Chicago in the last post (and unfortunately not all the great live Chicago is commercially available — there's video footage...

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Darwin!

One of the most alluring aspects of Italian progressive rock from 1972-1977 is the wide array of tonal coloring, particularly due to experimentation with analog synthesizers. This was a completely...

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Banco del Mutuo Soccorso

Symphonic progressive rock bands are known for their flashy keyboard players, in fact some of the excesses of the genre tend to be symbolized by Rick Wakeman in his cape or on ice or whatever. But...

Syrinx - Tumblers from the Vault (1970-1972)

If anyone had any doubts that the late 60s and early 70s were a time of broad innovation and experimentation, this collection provides ample evidence that even outside the cultural centers of New...

Premiata Forneria Marconi - Storia di un Minuto

McLatchey's Second Tier

When it comes to debut albums, Storia di un Minuto is one of the most well-realized out there and a great balance of young talented...

A Bôlha - Um Passo a Frente

A Bôlha (The Bubble) were one of Brazil's first progressive bands, back in a time when progressive meant something more fundamental than the keyboard drenched symphonics and complicated...

Battiato - Fetus, Pollution, Sulle Corde di Aries & Clic

Franco Battiato, as is well known, was an Italian pop singer who for a span in the 70s made a string of very experimental albums that fit in the vein of groups such as Opus Avantra or Pierrot...

J.E.T. - Fede, Speranza, Carità

The sole album from this Italian outfit dates back to 1972. The band is a four-piece consisting of guitar, keys, bass, and drums. While there are certain clearly Italian melodies and harmonic...

Tasavallan Presidentti - Tasavallan Presidentti, Lambertland & Milky Way Moses

The first eponymous album Finnish band Tasavallan Presidentti recorded was a cross between folk, blues, and jazz-rock with pop influences. A really diverse album with an immaculate rendition of the...

The Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach

McLatchey's Second Tier

I always felt this was a bit of a sister album to At Fillmore East even if its studio record was more of a follow up, but this was essentially...

Funkadelic - Early album reissues

Funkadelic’s self-titled debut album from 1970 shows the band in search of a style. There are still remnants of the 60s soul of their background, essentially expanding a kind of...

Mormos - Great Wall of China & The Magic Spell of Mother's Wrath

In some ways, Mormos can be seen as an American equivalent to the Incredible String Band. They have a similarly free-wheeling take on folk music, infusing it with flower-power enthusiasm and...

Zabu - My Coffin's Ready

This is a highly unusual Musea release. The bulk of the music on My Coffin’s Ready is blues rock! Even though Zabu’s band consisted of his Magma cohorts, most of the music on...

Zabu - My Coffin's Ready

Lucien Zabuski, aka Zabu, was the original vocalist for Magma, prior to the enlistment of Klaus Blasquiz. This is his first post-Magma solo album, which showcases his unique gravelly voice in a...

Tangerine Dream - Zeit

McLatchey's Top Tier #25

I first heard this one fairly early in the CD age after having explored Tangerine Dream through what was probably Underwater Sunlight around...

Klaus Schulze - Irrlicht, Dune, Dziękuję Poland, Miditerranean Pads, Sequenced? & Crime of Suspense

Revisited Records continues reissuing the Klaus Schulze back catalog. The past twelve months have seen seven more albums released with another batch due Fall 2006. Revisited is holding true to the...

Tyburn Tall - Tyburn Tall

From Speyer, Germany, Tyburn Tall were together from 1969 to 1975. During that time they became a well-respected live band, acting as opening act for name European groups such as Golden Earring,...

J.A. Caesar - Kokkyou Junreika & Shintokomaru

J.A. Caesar – this is obviously not his real name – has been an enigmatic figure in Japanese rock and avant-garde music dating back to the early 70s. His music is impossible to...

Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys (Original & English)

Ys is certainly one of the more controversial progressive rock albums. Many people will tell you not only that it is a classic, but it's often quoted as being the very best of...

Il Balletto di Bronzo - Ys (Original & English)

Ys is certainly one of the more controversial progressive rock albums. Many people will tell you not only that it is a classic, but it's often quoted as being the very best of...

Jumbo - Jumbo, DNA, 1983 & Live

The list above is the entire discography of Jumbo except for two rare singles, one from 1970 and one from 1975, and Vietato Ai Minori Di 18 Anni? which is

Sixty Nine - Circle of the Crayfish & Live!

Sixty Nine were an unusual "group" being only a duo of keyboards and drums. For these limitations, Sixty Nine made a pretty big sound, a combination of influences that on the more mundane...

Abacus - Everything You Need

In the early seventies in Germany, there seemed to be three subsections of progressive rock: 1) the "Berlin school" of electronic space rock forming the basis for the Ohr label; 2) heavy,...

Claudio Rocchi - Viaggio, Volo Magico No.1 & La Norma del Cielo

In many ways, Claudio Rocchi can be best described as the Italian Donovan – in music, lyrics and even artwork. His career that began with Stormy Six on L'Idee di Oggi per la Musica di...

Stormy Six - L'Idee di Oggi per la Musica Domani & L'Unità

Stormy Six are perhaps better known for their involvement with Rock In Opposition in the late 70s and early 80s. Their later output such as Al Volo were interesting pop rock albums with an...

Osage Tribe - Arrow Head

The Osage Tribe were practically a super group in the annals of Italian history, fitting somewhere between I Gleemen (pre-album) and Duello Madre or Il Volo. Being on Bla Bla records naturally ties...

I Teoremi - I Teoremi

This group would have fit nicely on the Vertigo label – heavy Black Sabbath, May Blitz, and Clear Blue Sky similarities as well as Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. I Teoremi are crunchy and heavy...

Analogy - Analogy

Analogy were a band made up of both Italian and German members, yet remained far closer stylistically to the latter. Analogy's main influence was certainly Ummagumma era Pink Floyd...

Gentle Giant - Octopus (Expanded Edition)

With Octopus, Gentle Giant truly came into their own as a progressive powerhouse with a style all their own. Three Friends was great, but once its successor came out, it was clear...

Agitation Free - Malesch

Agitation Free was a most unique German band in the early seventies, in that their sound was heavily influenced by Turkish and Arabic themes, although never more so than on this, their first, from...

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band - Live at Bickershaw Festival - North West England 1972

The front of the package proclaims "Joe Strummer's favourite concert." Well, I'm sure it was great to be there. The Captain and his crackshot '72 touring lineup (Rockette...

Univeria Zekt - The Unnamables

A Magma album in disguise, The Unnamables was designed to ease listeners into the musical world of Magma. Recorded by essentially the same lineup as on 1001 Centigrades, the album...

Grobschnitt - Grobschnitt

Prog fans have been enjoying a renaissance of vintage prog re-issues. Albums that either never made it to CD or were transferred poorly to begin with are being released for your pleasure. Premier...

Carol Grimes, Uncle Dog & Sweet F.A. - Voiceprint 2000 Reissues

Upon the demise of Delivery (Phil Miller's quartet augmented by Janis Joplin stylized blues vocalist, Carol Grimes), Grimes moved off to join another blues-based, less improvisational group,...

Mick Greenwood - ...To Friends

Who is Mick Greenwood, might you ask? Apparently the man is American and made a ploy to become a pop star in the UK after being discovered in a New York club in the early 70s. He issued three LPs...

Spettri - Spettri

I think it was my colleague Mike McLatchey who once jokingly said that in Italy in the 70s, there were more prog bands than there were fans. As such there were plenty of fine bands who fell through...

Niagara - S.U.B.

Niagara were an early 70s German jazz rock outfit that released three albums of heavily percussion-oriented music. In fact, on this, their second album there are often four percussionists playing...

Wind - Morning

Somewhere between their debut, Seasons, and this album, Wind seem to have gone through an abrupt and drastic personality change. That album was quintessential German heavy rock with an...

Various Artists - Tarzan Compilation

Originally on the Bla-Bla label from 1972, the Tarzan Compilation features eleven short tracks by four bands: Capsicum Red, Wells Fargo, Black Sunday Flowers, and Osage Tribe. Two of these...

Genco Puro & Co. - Area di Servizio

1972 was the year that Genco Puro released their one and only album, the fairly rare and fairly commercial album Area di Servizio (reissued as Artis ARCD 040 in 1992) originally on the...

Museo Rosenbach - Rare, Unreleased & Live '72

Museo Rosenbach's Zarathustra is one of the greatest symphonic/classical rock works of all time and has yet to be surpassed in the genre. These two titles are posthumous releases of...

Museo Rosenbach - Rare, Unreleased & Live '72

Museo Rosenbach's Zarathustra is one of the greatest symphonic/classical rock works of all time and has yet to be surpassed in the genre. These two titles are posthumous releases of...

Eiliff - Eiliff & Girlrls

It's amazing how many great albums are still being reissued from Germany from the early 70s. It seems at times that there is no end to the wealth from that period. Eiliff was another gem of a...

Out of Focus - Rat Roads

This is my first encounter with this classic German group, so knowing that the tracks are outtakes from their 1972 sessions for the album Four Letter Monday Afternoon didn’t tell me...

Amazing Blondel - Englische Musicke

Amazing Blondel existed throughout the early 70s, originally formed by John Gladwin and Terry Wincott after leaving another even more obscure band called Methuselah. This compilation is drawn from...

Grateful Dead - Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead - England '72

McLatchey's Second Tier

Twelve years ago, while you could still easily find a lot of the Europe 72 shows in trading circles, there were only a couple commercially available and...

McCoy Tyner - Sahara

McLatchey's Second Tier

There are few musicians who I respect and admire more than the legendary pianist McCoy Tyner, one fourth of John Coltrane's classic quartet. His...

Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per un Amico

McLatchey's Second Tier

I first heard PFM when I was 17 and a friend sold me a copy of The World Become the World for 50 cents. I liked it but wasn't really drawn...

Metamorfosi - ...E Fu il Sesto Giorno & Inferno

Metamorfosi were more or less a keyboard oriented trio with the addition of a lead vocalist. Their debut album was a very 60s psych/beat album with progressive touches – an overblown concept...

Yes - Progeny: Seven Shows from Seventy-Two

Yes has always been a bit behind the curve when it comes to exploiting their trove of live recordings, but with this set they are catching up. Big time. It started with the archival digging that...

Osanna - Palepoli

McLatchey's Top Tier # 20

This is the fourth Italian progressive rock album in this tier and truly one of the most original albums from the decade. Like Ommadawn but...

Spirit - Feedback

Cluster - Cluster II

Grateful Dead - Sunshine Daydream - Veneta, Oregon 8/27/72

McLatchey's Top Tier #11

I didn't like the Dead that much growing up as a youngster and to this day I'm still not too fond of their 80s and 90s work. But around 2000, I thought I'd...

Os Mundi - 43 Minuten

Os Mundi, Latin for “origin of the world,” was a 70s Berlin-based band that released only two albums, Latin Mass and 43 Minuten. Both of these Krautrock classics have been...

Sigmund Snopek III - Virginia Woolf

Kevin Ayers - Joy of a Toy, Whatevershebringswesing, Shooting at the Moon & Banamour

Ex-Soft Machine bassist Kevin Ayers left that group after their full-on live U.S. assault with the Jim Hendrix Experience in 1969. After that time, Ayers spent the following years putting together...

Banco del Mutuo Soccorso - Live & Papagayo Club 1972

Unlike the recently released PFM shows (Read more
(Posted by Mike McLatchey 1995-03-01)

Anthony Moore - Reed, Whistle and Sticks, Out & Flying Doesn't Help

Before hooking up with Peter Blegvad and Dagmar Krause to form Slapp Happy, Anthony Moore was experimenting with some very innovative musical techniques. Reed, Whistle and Sticks is one of...

Jarka - Ortodòxia / Morgue o Berenice

This release combines two early seventies albums from the obscure Spanish band Jarka, led by the excellent pianist Jordi Sabates. Playing with a strong jazz sensibility, Jarka also differed from...

Jarka - Ortodòxia / Morgue o Berenice

This release combines two early seventies albums from the obscure Spanish band Jarka, led by the excellent pianist Jordi Sabates. Playing with a strong jazz sensibility, Jarka also differed from...

Amon Düül II - Carnival in Babylon, Wolf City & Vive la Trance

Revisited Records is busy reissuing classic Krautrock albums by Klaus Schulze, Kraan, Guru Guru, Holger Czukay, and Amon Düül II. These latest discs are Amon Düül II’s fourth, fifth, and...

Amon Düül II - Carnival in Babylon, Wolf City & Vive la Trance

Revisited Records is busy reissuing classic Krautrock albums by Klaus Schulze, Kraan, Guru Guru, Holger Czukay, and Amon Düül II. These latest discs are Amon Düül II’s fourth, fifth, and...

Yes - Close to the Edge

McLatchey's Top Tier #31

If Rock Bottom was the hipster choice, this one might be the antichoice, or it is because I don't rate Topographic Oceans at all. It's...

Annexus Quam - Beziehungen

Cargo - Cargo

Khan - Space Shanty

McLatchey's Top Tier #15

In some ways a bit of a predecessor to the Steve Hillage Gong albums (and especially Hillage's Fish Rising), this six song one-shot is one of the...

Ange - 1995 Musea Reissues

These seven titles by the legendary Ange represent part of Musea's big score from absorbing the Baillemont label late last year. Although most of these have been released on CD before — not once,...

Premiata Forneria Marconi - Impressioni Vent'Anni Dopo & Bobo Club 2000

Premiata Forneria Marconi - Impressioni Vent'Anni Dopo & Bobo Club 2000

Univeria Zekt - The Unnamables

Brainstorm - Smile a While

Amon Düül II - Live in London

Nicholas Greenwood - Cold Cuts

Barclay James Harvest - ...BBC in Concert 1972

Osanna - Preludio Tema Variazioni Canzona (Milano Calibro 9)

Brainbox - Mythology

Perception - Perception and Friends + Mestari (1972-1973)

Light - The Story of Moses

Sparks - Sparks & A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing

Carmen - Fandangos in Space & Dancing on a Cold Wind

Joy of Cooking - Joy of Cooking, Closer to the Ground, & Castles

Those looking for a 'good ole time' need look no further — funky West Coast psychedelia flavored country-rock to be found here. Equally rooted in the blues, this stuff is steeped in the tradition...

Moving Gelatine Plates - The World of Genius Hans

Randy California - Kapt. Kopter and the (Fabulous) Twirly Birds

Carmen - Fandangos in Space & Dancing on a Cold Wind

Amon Düül II - Surrounded by the Bars

Univeria Zekt - The Unnamables

Yggdrasil - Yggdrasil