Flash Out Of Our Hands (1973) [j. Edition 2010]

A loosely organized concept album - an otherworldly prophet is institutionalized, befriends a fellow inmate, and escapes back to his home world - this release is primarily of interest today to Peter Banks fans. Too often the songs appear to be formed around the lyrics, rather than the other way around, and they only really get rolling when Colin Carter steps aside to let the band kick out the jams. "None the Wiser" has some tearing leads by Banks, and "Man of Honour," their strongest track, moves from a phased banjo introduction to fine interplay between acoustic guitar, bass, and tight drumming. But waiting for the four or five worthy instrumental passages on this album may try the patience of most listeners.

A loosely organized concept album - an otherworldly prophet is institutionalized, befriends a fellow inmate, and escapes back to his home world - this release is primarily of interest today to Peter Banks fans. Too often the songs appear to be formed around the lyrics, rather than the other way around, and they only really get rolling when Colin Carter steps aside to let the band kick out the jams. "None the Wiser" has some tearing leads by Banks, and "Man of Honour," their strongest track, moves from a phased banjo introduction to fine interplay between acoustic guitar, bass, and tight drumming. But waiting for the four or five worthy instrumental passages on this album may try the patience of most listeners.

“Out of Our Hands” brings together Alvin Lucier and Jordan Dykstra who, through the hands of Ordinary Affects, have created debut recordings of two new compositions…

Recorded live in December 1972 and released the following year, Space Ritual is an excellent document featuring Hawkwind's classic lineup, adding depth and weight to the already irrefutable proof that the group's status as space rock pioneers was well warranted. As the quintessential "people's band," Hawkwind carried '60s countercultural idealism into the '70s, gigging wherever there was an audience. The band's multimedia performances were a perfect accompaniment for inner space exploration and outer space imagination. Though not concerned with rock's material trappings, Hawkwind was among the hardest-working groups in Britain, averaging a show every three days during the year preceding the recordings…

If it seems as though the familiar ABBA sound isn't present on this album, that's because there was no entity known as ABBA at the time that the earliest sides here were recorded. Growing out of an attempt by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to record together with their respective companions, Agnetha Faltskog and Frida "Anni-Frid" Lyngstad, the first side cut here, "People Need Love," featured the two men singing just as prominently as the women, and was credited to "Bjorn and Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid." It was only after its release and the cutting of a further single, "Ring, Ring," that the more familiar sound of the quartet began to coalesce along with the idea of a permanent professional association. Unreleased in the United States until 1995, this album is more of a generic European pop release than an ABBA release; the music has several unusual attributes…