Raw Material

Raw Material is a British band that released two albums in the ealy 70's that are now highly collectible. The group consist of your standard prog quartet plus frontman Mike Fletcher on wind instruments. A self-titled effort, the first Raw Material release (barely) saw the light of day in 1970, pretty early in progressive rock's development, but thanks to a chicken-livered label and complete-and- utter apathy from the days music press this was an album cruelly doomed to fail right from the start. However, whilst 'Raw Material' may have sunk without trace when first released, the same cannot be said for the album's 21st century CD reissue, which has happily re-ignited interest in the forgotten group. And they deserve it. Blending elements of psychedelia, organ-baked blues, jazz-tinged rock, folksy meanderings and lysergic- dipped pop, 'Raw Material' is indeed a fascinating set…

Raw Material is a British band that released two albums in the ealy 70's that are now highly collectible. The group consist of your standard prog quartet plus frontman Mike Fletcher on wind instruments. A self-titled effort, the first Raw Material release (barely) saw the light of day in 1970, pretty early in progressive rock's development, but thanks to a chicken-livered label and complete-and- utter apathy from the days music press this was an album cruelly doomed to fail right from the start. However, whilst 'Raw Material' may have sunk without trace when first released, the same cannot be said for the album's 21st century CD reissue, which has happily re-ignited interest in the forgotten group. And they deserve it. Blending elements of psychedelia, organ-baked blues, jazz-tinged rock, folksy meanderings and lysergic- dipped pop, 'Raw Material' is indeed a fascinating set…

British band Raw Material recorded two albums between 1970-1971, and the second album from the band, "Time Is…" is a strong collection of mostly Proto-prog styled pieces with light psych, jazz and folk elements. Due to the inclusion of saxophone/flute player Mike Fletcher, fans of the sax dominated early King Crimson albums and Van der Graaf Generator will find much to appeal here, with bands such as Beggars Opera, Pink Floyd and Novalis also other possible little reference points. It's not an album that instantly impresses, instead one that gradually reveals the consistently strong instrumental and compositional skills of the band on repeated plays.