Raga Guitar

When the North London-based group Magic Carpet's LP was released on Mushroom Records in 1972, it failed to leave an impression on the consciousness of the general record buying public. It is difficult to say why the music of Jim Alford, Clem Alford, Keshav Sathe and singer/guitar player Alisha Sufit disappeared through the metaphorical 'cracks in the sidewalk', but it is likely that a combination of the label's economical restraints, which subsequently led to only a small pressing of the album ever being made and the era's perpetually shifting musical-climate played more than a small a part in the fate of what has become a jewelled crown in the treasure trove of psyche-tinged folk music. It is in turns haunting and beautiful; happy and sad; poignant and light-hearted. An unique journey of sounds!

During an era when everyone wanted to be a bluesman, Howe brought jazz, country, flamenco, ragtime and psychedelia into the mix for prog - rockers Yes. Stephen James "Steve" Howe (born 8 April 1947 in Holloway, North London, England) is an English musician, songwriter and backing vocalist, best known as the guitarist of the progressive rock group Yes. He has also been a member of The Syndicats, Bodast, Tomorrow, Asia and GTR, as well as having released 19 solo albums as of 2010.

John Fahey - The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites (1964) {Takoma TAKCD-8909-2 rel 1999}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 260 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 122 Mb
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© 1964, 1999 Takoma / Fantasy | TAKCD-8909-2
Folk / Contemporary Folk / Finger-Picked Guitar / Folk Jazz / Folk-Blues / Progressive Folk

The title The Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favorites might lead some to believe that this is a collection of public-domain items that go back to the Deep South of the 19th century. However, while this 1964 session does contain a song titled "Dance of Death," most of the material (including that tune) was written by Fahey himself in the early '60s. So an intriguing title is simply that: an intriguing title. Nonetheless, Fahey's music does have strong southern roots. Unaccompanied, the acoustic guitarist/instrumentalist demonstrates his love of African-American blues as well as the Anglo-American country, folk, and hillbilly music of Appalachia.

The Koala - The Koala (1969) {2006 Fallout FOCD2024}
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© 1969, 2006 Capitol Records / Fallout | FOCD2024
Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Garage Rock

The Koala prove themselves to be above average players, full of passion and conviction on their lone album. "Look at the Way She Comes" is typical of the band's best material: a Who/Stones hybrid with bile-inducing vocals, wild psych guitar, and a tight, nearly deranged performance – plus it's a great tune. At first, "Strange Feelings" seems to be teen-punk angst all the way, but features an unexpected yet seamless raga detour (and the only time they would noticeably embrace Indian music).

East of Eden's debut LP is one of the hardest-rocking albums to come out of the progressive rock movement, and maybe the best non-Rolling Stones albums issued by English Decca label during the late 1960s. It's also one of the most daring debut albums of its period, less tightly focused than, say, King Crimson's Court of the Crimson King, but otherwise equally bold and maybe more challenging. The whole record is eerie - coming from a pop culture where most psychedelic rock tended toward the light and airy - East of Eden use high-impact bass, drum, and guitar parts mixed with the distinctly Oriental and Central/Eastern European classical influences…

The first album by the '70s (i.e. Annie Haslam) version of Renaissance is a transitional work, rooted in more standard hard rock sounds (including psychedelia) than what followed. One can spot the difference, which may please some listeners and put others off, in the fairly heavy guitar sound of "Prologue," Rob Hendry's electric instrument playing both lead and rhythm parts prominently at various times behind Annie Haslam's soaring vocals and adjacent to John Tout's piano. "Kiev" may also startle some longtime fans, since Haslam doesn't handle the lead vocals, the male members' singing being much more prominent. The ethereal, flowingly lyrical "Sounds of the Sea" is the cut here that most resembles the music that the group became known for in the years ahead, and shows Haslam singing in the high register for which she would become famous.

Blossoming at the nexus of tradition and innovation, where soul and technique feed into one another in pursuit of an ecstatic oneness, the music of Debashish Bhattacharya has astonished and moved listeners since he first unveiled his unprecedented concept of Hindustani slide guitar in the late 1970s. As a young man, Bhattacharya fused his love of Hawaiian steel guitar with his family’s deep roots in traditional Indian music, discovering that slide guitar techniques are ideally suited to the microtonal inflections and disarmingly vocal-like melodic cadences of Hindustani forms. In the process, he created an entirely new instrumental tradition – leading the way with such virtuosity, sensitivity, and imagination that global music pioneer John McLaughlin proclaimed that “Debashish is the master of the slide guitar. He has no equal.”

Gabor Szabo - Spellbinder (1966) {2007 Impulse! Japan Mini LP 24bit remaster UCCI-9100}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 217 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
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© 1966, 2007 Impulse! / Universal Japan | UCCI-9100 | 24/96 remaster | Mini LP
Jazz / Post Bop / Guitar

Released just six months after Gypsy '66, Gabor Szabo's second album as a leader (after leaving a sublime Chico Hamilton band that also included Charles Lloyd) remains one of his finest moments in the studio. Szabo utilized the tales of bassist Ron Carter and his old boss Hamilton on drums, as well as a pair of fine Latin percussionists – Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja. The groove quotient was very high on Spellbinder, maybe even higher than on later albums such as Jazz Raga or Sorcerer. This set is all Szabo, drifting, wafting, and soaring above all that rhythm; the track selection provides ample space for Szabo's highly individualized Eastern modal style to shine. The set opens with the title track, a snaky guitar masterpiece with plenty of droning strings and pinched chords that are followed by open string flourishes.