Rock Crusade

The final album of an (unintentional) trilogy, Crusade is most notable for the appearance of a very young, pre-Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on lead guitar. Taylor's performance is indeed the highlight, just as Eric Clapton and Peter Green's playing was on the previous album. The centerpiece of the album is a beautiful instrumental by Taylor titled "Snowy Wood," which, while wholly original, seems to combine both Green and Clapton's influence with great style and sensibility. The rest of the record, while very enjoyable, is standard blues-rock fare of the day, but somewhat behind the then-progressive flavor of 1967. Mayall, while being one of the great bandleaders of London, simply wasn't really the frontman that the group needed so desperately, especially then. Nevertheless, Crusade is important listening for Mick Taylor aficionados.

In 1969 bluesgroup ‘Crusade’ was founded by Henk Bol aka Philhelmon. After some time, like many other bluesgroups, 'Crusade' changed their music in 1971 to Progressive Rock. In 1973 they signed an exclusive contract with the famous Paul Acket Agency and even appeared at the Holland Festival of that year. In 1974 they started recording at the Rainbow Studios in The Hague. These sessions were to produce a first single and an album. Due to the world wide oil crisis this was, unfortunately, never to be. The disappointment eventually led to the break up of the band. In 2000 Sound Art & Design restored these recordings and now you can enjoy them too.

The final album of an (unintentional) trilogy, Crusade is most notable for the appearance of a very young, pre-Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on lead guitar. Taylor's performance is indeed the highlight, just as Eric Clapton and Peter Green's playing was on the previous album…

The final album of an (unintentional) trilogy, Crusade is most notable for the appearance of a very young, pre-Rolling Stones Mick Taylor on lead guitar. Taylor's performance is indeed the highlight, just as Eric Clapton and Peter Green's playing was on the previous album. The centerpiece of the album is a beautiful instrumental by Taylor titled "Snowy Wood," which, while wholly original, seems to combine both Green and Clapton's influence with great style and sensibility…

Konchordat hail from Kent in the UK. They are a progressive rock band in the 'English' tradition; their music has been described as "majestic and often epic in scale." On their debut album 'English Ghosts' the music is led by main stays Steve Cork (basses, keyboards), Lee Harding (voice, keyboards) and Stuart Martin (guitars, keyboards, vocals). The album 'English Ghosts' scored 7/10 in a review by Geoff Bartom in Classic Rock Magazine (Feb.2010, issue 141). "The 20-minute title track is stately and masterful…" Their second album - The New Crusade - saw a personnel change, with Stuart taking over lead vocal duties as well as guitar. The new album has been described by Paul Baker - SoundScapes show on UK internet station ARFM as "A Classic Prog Album."

The Church - The Blurred Crusade (1982) {Parlophone-EMI Records CDP 790625 2}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 319 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 109 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1982 Parlophone / EMI Records | CDP 790625 2
Rock / Neo-Psychedelia / Alternative / Indie

After such a fine debut as Of Skins and Heart, creating a follow-up might have been a burden for the Church – and maybe it was, but the end result was well worth it. Perhaps even better than their first, Blurred Crusade captures what for many remains the classic early Church sound, blending both the various strains of '60s inspiration and postpunk drive detected from the start with an even more elegant melancholy. Musically, both Willson-Piper and Koppes are just fantastic, their combination of guitar playing running the range from sparkling post-Byrds chime to sharp power. If the group doesn't fully explode here as much as later albums would demonstrate, especially on Heyday, that perhaps can be laid at producer Bob Clearmountain's feet.

Pervy Perkin - Ink (2014) [2CD] {Rock CD Records}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 955 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 219 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Rock CD Records / PP | RCDR157
Rock / Progressive Rock

Wonderfully epic debut from this Spain-based group that has already gone down as one of 2014's best albums in my mind. This is symphonic prog rock/metal that sounds influenced by stuff like Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Transatlantic, Queen, but never sounds derivative. Not only does this album rock your socks off, but it has moments where it gets almost surreal, quite a musical journey. This group should be getting a lot more notice than it is.