Although the Greatest Show on Earth (GSOE) were not the first bunch of rockers to incorporate a powerful brass and woodwind section, they are among the best and heaviest-sounding British bands to have emerged from the post-psychedelia of the late '60s and early '70s. GSOE were, in essence, the invention of EMI Records subsidiary Harvest, who were focusing in on new and progressive artists such as Pink Floyd and Deep Purple. When the group was initially signed in 1968, they were an R&B/soul revue whose forte was more along the lines of Stax or Motown, instead of trippy acid rock. After ditching their original vocalist, Ozzie Lane, they eventually settled on Colin Horton Jennings, a multi-faceted performer who would begin to compose originals that would allow the octet to incrementally abandon their Yankee soul leanings.
Compilation CD's. Those Classic Golden Years - An Essential collection the second half of the sixties and the early seventies…
Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of "Living On The Hill: A Danish Underground Trip 1967-1974", a 3CD clamshell boxed set celebrating the so-called “underground” rock music scene that emerged from Denmark at the tail end of the 1960s. It was an era that saw huge changes, both musical and social and was a pivotal period for creativity in rock music throughout Europe.
The influence of ground-breaking artists from Britain and the USA such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Jefferson Airplane et al spread far and wide. In Denmark, as in many other European countries, the cries of change were made by students, radicals and hippies to a backdrop of emerging “underground” bands who were fusing the musical influences of psychedelia, jazz, blues, folk…
Help Yourself (1971). There's no question that Help Yourself's debut album was a product of its times - something about the whole easygoing boogie vibe and gentle psych-inspired trippiness, the way of singing, the production, and more just screams early-'70s non-metal and non-glam rock & roll. Look at it one way and Help Yourself was just a cut above incipient bar band culture but, heard with fresh ears years after its release, it strikes a great balance between entertaining the crowd and exploration. Call the band a more down-to-earth Pink Floyd or Hawkwind set somewhere in the English countryside without specifically owing anything to either band. Morley, who takes vocal lead throughout, shows a fine voice similar to Neil Young's, with just that hint of twang while not sounding quite so cracked and strained…