Emanuelle 1974

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of the three classic albums by legendary British Jazz Rock group Isotope. The band was formed in 1973 by guitarist Gary Boyle and also featured Jeff Clyne on bass, Brian Miller on keyboards and Nigel Morris on drums. Jeff Clyne had previously played with Ian Carr's Nucleus, whilst Gary Boyle had played with Stomu Yamashta's East Wind. Isotope's self titled debut album was released in 1974 and continued the tradition of Jazz Rock fusion that had been pioneered by acts such as Tony Williams Lifetime and The Mahavishnu Orchestra. This Esoteric Recordings reissues has been newly remastered and features a booklets with new essay.

Man's importance in the history of Welsh rock music cannot be understated. Fusing the worlds of Psychedelia, Blues, Rock and Roll and West Coast inspired rock, they were simply one of Britain's most original groups of the 1970's. Along with label-mates Hawkwind, Man were true champions. The reissuing of Man's entire legacy for United Artists continues with their 1974 Top 30 album hailed by many as their defining moment. The reissue is expanded with an extra previously unreleased CD recorded in Los Angeles in 1974 featuring "American Mother" never recorded by Man. The booklet includes liner notes exclusively penned by Man guitarist and raconteur Deke Leonard.

The very first release by the Concord label was a quartet set featuring guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Jake Hanna. Ellis and Pass (the latter was just beginning to be discovered) always made for a perfectly complementary team, constantly challenging each other. The boppish music (which mixes together standards with "originals" based on the blues and a standard) is quite enjoyable with the more memorable tunes including "Look for the Silver Lining," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Georgia," "Good News Blues," and "Bad News Blues." This was a strong start for what would become the definitive mainstream jazz label.

This recording was the third and final matchup between guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass and, unlike the first two (which were both made for Concord), this is a duo date rather than a quartet session. Pass was just beginning to gain recognition for his remarkable unaccompanied solos, but Ellis had not recorded in such a sparse setting before. They complement each other quite well on such tunes as "Love for Sale," "Seven Come Eleven," "Oh, Lady Be Good," "I've Found a New Baby," and two versions of "Cherokee."

After a scission of the avant-garde group "Kluster" due to the departure of Conrad Schnitzler, the two musicians Dieter Moebius and Hans Joachim Roedelius go to work in duet as "Cluster". The band's first years were clearly orientated to Krautrock and to experimental electronic music. Consequently, the production of the band started with massive, radical improvisations, constructed around electric organ works, electronic collages, guitar sound manipulations, feed back. The result is rather similar to Kluster's underground, conceptual music, very chaotic with lot of distortion and reverb. With its repetitive, hypnotic guitar patterns and embryonic electronic collages, the second album "II" can be seen as a classic in 70's German electronic underground. This high quality experimental electronic music will progressively lead the band to something far from the krautrock scene and extreme music…

Formed in 1968 in Gloucestershire by Johnny Coppin (Guitar, Vocals) and Dave Bell (Guitar, Vocals), by 1971 the band evolved into a quartet with the arrival of Al Fenn on Lead Guitar and Mandolin and Geoff March on Violin and Cello. The group originally signed to Vertigo Records in 1973 and recorded their debut album for the label that year. By 1974 the band’s line-up had changed with Al Fenn departing and Dik Cadbury joining the group on Lead and 12-string acoustic guitar and bass. Geoff March incorporated Keyboards into his repertoire and the band signed to Mooncrest Records to record the album "Mammoth Special", which showed a turn towards more introspective and progressive material that was to define their sound for the remaining years of their all too brief existence.