The Blonde In The Blue Movie (1971)

Released in the Spring of 1971, 'Paladin' was the debut album from this creative band. Formed the previous year by Keith Webb and Pete Solley (both ex-members of Terry Reid's band), Paladin encompassed all that was experimental in early 70's rock. Fusing the worlds of jazz, rock and ethnic Cuban music, Paladin's debut album was both powerful and rhythmic, in places echoing excursions by bands such as Traffic, Manfred Mann's Chapter Three and Ginger Baker's Airforce. One of the first signings to Bronze records, Paladin shared a home with Uriah Heep, Colosseum et al and were highly regarded. With this 24-bit remastered edition from Esoteric Recordings, Paladin's debut release has never sounded better.

Take a Look Inside was recorded in 1971 in London - while the semi-obscure guitarist and songwriter Mickey Baker was living in Paris. The session players include Chris Spedding, Conrad (Reg) Isidore (later of Robin Trower fame), Fuzzy Samuels, and a host of others on percussion and backing vocals. One of the he most startling tracks here is the medley of Spirit's "Fresh Garbage" and "Water Woman." The segue is seamless, the music is raw and immediate, and the loose feel of the musicians in the studio is utterly warm and inviting. Baker then slips into the R&B classic "I'll Be Doggone," and then his own "Checking Out My Garden." Everything here is utterly present and loose - its closest comparison is a feeling like that inspired by Delaney & Bonnie's Motel Shot album…

Digitally remastered edition of this extremely rare early '70s album. Recorded in London in the summer of 1971 by Austrian singer/songwriter Bobby Haumer and an English pick-up band, Zakarrias was issued on the highly collectable Deram label. However, Deram withdrew the album almost immediately when they discovered that Haumer didn't have a work permit and therefore had to return to Austria. Full of unexpected melodic shifts, and with an over-whelming sense of space and unresolved tension, the album skillfully blends singer/songwriter introversion with elements of Folk, Blues, Psychedelia and Progressive Rock. The results have been compared to outtakes from the third Led Zeppelin album, but while the lead vocals are certainly reminiscent at times of Robert Plant, the overall sound and general air of quiet pretension is probably closer to Van der Graaf Generator leader Peter Hammill's early solo work.

The Kinks were one of the most influential bands of the British Invasion. Early singles "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" were brutal, three-chord ravers that paved the way for punk and metal while inspiring peers like the Who. In the mid-'60s, frontman Ray Davies came into his own as a songwriter, developing a wry wit and an eye for social commentary that culminated in a pair of conceptual LPs, The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), that proved enormously influential over the years.

Haze played excellent 1971 progressive rock with lots of impressive instrumental passages. 5 tracks that lean towards heavy bluesy progressive and some freaked out parts with good guitars, flutes, bass & drums, but their lead-singer's voice sometimes sounded somewhat strange. This limited SB version is a replica of the original Gimmix cover coming in a Digipak with the DIA in the frontcover.