The 5 Man Army

For Three Man Army's second album, their power trio lineup stabilized with the recruitment of Tony Newman for the drummer's chair (the first album, A Third of a Lifetime, had featured several drummers). A Third of a Lifetime had been journeyman early British hard rock with a few glimpses of more satisfyingly gentle and melodic moods. Unfortunately, Three Man Army put even greater emphasis on their pedestrian hard rock chops and even more pedestrian material, which at its best could only approximate a sub-Led Zeppelin (as the chorus of "Come Down to Earth" certainly does). Sure, you could hear differing inflections from time to time, like the funky rhythm of "Can't Leave the Summer," the tender pop melodics in sections of "Take a Look at the Light," and - weirdest of all - the pompous instrumental arrangement of "My Yiddish Mama," which segues into the far more conventional strutting hard rock of "Hold On."

Three Man Army - A Third Of A Lifetime (1971) {Repertoire Records ‎REPUK1106 rel 2007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 413 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 70 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971, 2007 Repertoire Records ‎| REPUK 1106
Rock / Classic Rock / Hard Rock

The first Three Man Army album, despite its confidently trio-based title, actually teamed Paul Gurvitz and Adrian Gurvitz with a number of different drummers, including Buddy Miles, Spooky Tooth's Mike Kellie, and Vanilla Fudge's Carmine Appice. Though the Gurvitzes were able at mimicking the cliches of early-'70s hard rock, their material was ordinary to the point of dullness, and their guitar soloing stereotypical almost to the point of unwitting self-parody.

Three Man Army - Mahesha (1974) (Progressive Line PL593 rel 2003)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 200 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 84 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2003 Polydor / Progressive Line | PL 593 | 24 Bit Digitally Remastered
Rock / Classic Rock / Hard Rock

For Three Man Army's second album, their power trio lineup stabilized with the recruitment of Tony Newman for the drummer's chair (the first album, A Third of a Lifetime, had featured several drummers). A Third of a Lifetime had been journeyman early British hard rock with a few glimpses of more satisfyingly gentle and melodic moods. Unfortunately, Mahesha put even greater emphasis on their pedestrian hard rock chops and even more pedestrian material, which at its best could only approximate a sub-Led Zeppelin (as the chorus of "Come Down to Earth" certainly does).

Three Man Army - Three Man Army Two (1974) {2010 Japanese SHM Mini LP ARC 8038}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 259 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 73 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2010 Reprise Records / Arcаngelo / Warner Music Japan | ARC 8038 / WQCP-878
Rock / Classic Rock / Hard Rock

Three Man Army's third and final studio album was, most confusingly, titled Three Man Army Two (Reprise/Polydor, 1974). It's a shame that this great early hard rock band aren't better known! So I was more than happy to grab this 2010 Jap SHM reissue when I came across it. I wasn't dissapointed, as it sounds so much better than a 1993 Repertoire copy that I was more familiar with.

Upgrading an earlier two-fer CD that curiously omitted great swathes of both albums, the coupling of 1979's breakthrough Replicas and the 1978 demos that comprised The Plan is both chronologically and musically askance – one entire LP, Tubeway Army's eponymous debut, divided these two projects in time, and while it, too, barely hinted at the utter re-evaluation that Gary Numan would soon be making, the jolt would have been a lot less pronounced had some kind of internal logic been adhered to. No complaints, of course, about the bang for your buck. No less than 38 tracks are spread across the two discs, as the original 12-track The Plan and ten-song Replicas are joined by a wealth of bonus tracks, each offering up a full snapshot of Numan's activities at those particular points in time. The Plan adds three more of the demos that were recorded with the original LP's worth, then adds on the six songs recorded during sessions for the band's first two singles, on either side of the main attraction; Replicas is appended by half a dozen session outtakes, two of which were period B-sides.

Hearts on Fire is Baker Gurvitz Army's third and last studio album, released in 1976. Baker Gurvitz Army were an English rock group. Their self-titled debut album featured a blend of hard rock laced with Ginger Baker's jazz- and Afrobeat-influenced drumming. The lengthy "Mad Jack" was that album's outstanding track, and the album hit the US Billboard 200 chart, and peaked at number 22 in the UK Albums Chart. The two following albums contained similar material, although neither charted in the UK nor the US.

Elysian Encounter is Baker Gurvitz Army's second studio album. Formed By Former Gun And Three Man Army Members Adrian Gurvitz (Guitar, Vocals), Paul Gurvitz (Bass, Vocals) And Virtuoso Drummer Ginger Baker (former CREAM), The Baker Gurvitz Army Recorded Three Of The Finest British Rock Music Of The Mid-1970s. The Recording Of "Elysian Encounter" Saw The Band Expanded With The Addition Of Vocalist Mr. Snips (Steve Parsons) And Keyboard Player Peter Lemer. Arguably The Band'S Finest Work, The Album Featured Such Classic Material As "People", "Time", "The Artist" And "The Key".