Awakening… (1969). From the legendary hard rocking South African psych rock scene, alongside such greats as Freedom’s Children, and Suck, comes The Third Eye. Awakening is the Third Eye’s debut full length, originally released in 1969, and is a masterful and complex album of late sixties South African heavy psych, featuring fuzzed out guitars, great brass arrangements and virtuosic organ work, provided by the young Dawn Selby, who, at the time of recording was all of 14 years old…
Audience was a London-based group that recorded their first album in 69 and had their eponymous debut pulled from the stores a few months after its release, which makes the album a major collectible (CD versions were also hard to come by until a recent reissue). They got signed by Tony Stratton-Smith of the Charisma label (Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, The Nice and a few others) but although not a purely progressive group, they bore a lot of characteristics of the masters. Among which , a profound (and somewhat derangesome) singer whose voice reminds you a bit of Peter Hammill, a great wind players able to switch to from flutes to saxes and oboe and a bassist…
This Nashville band featuring Mindy Dalton, Judi Griffith, Lana Napier, Pame Stephens, and Jean Williams has long been an enigma. There was even a rumour that they were a fictional band, and the material had been recorded quite recently by various American indie luminaries! This despite the original 1969 Athena Records album undoubtedly existing, and fetching astronomical figures.
In fact, The Feminine Complex were an all-girl garage band, a rarity in Nashville, to be sure. They were even heavily featured on various TV shows including the nationally-syndicated "Showcase '68" and the local "Nashville Now". The Feminine Complex made one of the few genuine girls-in-the-garage albums (all original songs too!) in a time when the 45 was king (queen?), and an extraordinary album it is too, as extraordinary indeed as the story of the band…
Keef Hartley came to prominence as a member of the british R&B group the artwoods before joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1967. He contributed to the album crusade before leaving in 1968 to form the first line-up of his own band. He recorded his first album, "Halfbreed" for Decca's Deram label in March 1969. Regarded as a classic of the fusion of rock, jazz and blues, Hartley went one better later in the year by changing the lineup of his band to include gifted guitarist, vocalist and writer Miller Anderson. This new band recorded the wonderful "The Battle Of North West Six" for decca later that year, around the same time they performed at the legendary Woodstock Festival. Unavailable for many years, Esoteric Recordings are pleased to reissue the album with liner notes by Keef Hartley.
Keef Hartley came to prominence as a member of the British R&B group The Artwoods before joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in 1967. He contributed to the album "Crusade" before leaving in 1968 to form the first line-up of his own band. With Gary Thain (bass), Peter Dines (keyboards), Spit James (guitar) and horn section that was a whos who of British jazz (Henry Lowther, Chris Mercer, Lyn Dobson and Harry Beckett), Hartley recorded his first album for Decca's Deram label in March 1969. Now regarded as a classic of the genre, "Halfbreed" is a fine example of the fusion of rock, jazz and blues.
Cult underground psychedelic 60's legends from Switzerland related to Toad, Brainticket, Deaf, and Les Sauterilles . This is their one and only album from 1969, containing a wide range of psychedelic and progressive styles. With dark passions and melancholic moods "Hey Mr Holy Man" is outstanding. This issue has three bonus tracks, two from a rare compilation LP, and one from an even rarer split single from 1968.. Sinister artwork illustration is the first record cover work of H.R. Giger.