Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Grannie, "Leaving," 1971

This is one of the very first obscure numbers I posted several years ago, but it's such a great tune by a forgotten British band that I'm putting it up front again (a mix of Blind Faith and Traffic, as it were):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Warpig, "Rock Star," 1970

Canadian hard rock band of the early 1970s, that enjoyed some local success in Ontario, but not really elsewhere.  This is from their one and only album (with echoes of Deep Purple):

UPDATE:  As reader David Frydrych points out, the "echo" may be going the other way!

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Dirty Tricks, "Too Much Wine," 1975

Another strong number from the debut album of this short-lived British rock band:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Hard Stuff, "Jay Time," 1972

We haven't featured this British hard rock band, spun off from Atomic Rooster, in a good while; here's the lead number from their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Black Widow, "Sacrifice," 1970

British hard rock/progressive band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, this is the title track of their second, and most successful album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: White Witch, "It's So Nice to be Stoned," 1972

Eclectic Tampa, Florida band, ranging across many styles, this tune comes from their debut album (thanks to Davd Wasser for the tip):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Jerusalem, "Frustration," 1972

Britsh hard rock band, that toured widely as an opening act for major hard rock acts in the early 1970s, this is the b-side of the one single from their one and only album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Weed, "Weed," 1971

After leaving Uriah Heep, Ken Hensley went to Germany and recorded one album with a group of German rock musicians; this is the title song, an instrumental very much in the Uriah Heep style:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Dirty Tricks, "Wait Till Saturday," 1975

Short-lived British hard rock band, this is a fine rocking tune that leads off their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Fat, "Country Girl," 1970

Western Massachussetts band that never made it nationally; this is from their debut album (UPDATE:  Shaun Nichols, John Fischer, Dean Rowan and others tell me they aren't getting the video, so I'm reposting with anew video, which I hope works):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Flower Travellin Band, "How Many More Times," late 1960s

They don't get much more obscure than this Japanese pscyhedelic/progressive/hard rock band of the late 1960s and early 1970s, that enjoyed no commercial success even in Japan, but has long had a small cult following.   They began by doing covers of various British blues rock numbers, of which this is one--a rather distinctive version of the song Led Zeppelin ripped off from Howlin' Wolf and Albert King and made famous:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Juicy Lucy, "Who do you love?", 1970

British blues rock band, doing their version of the Bo Diddley tune that George Thorogood made famous for later audiences (their version is better!):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Band of Joy, "I Got to Find My Baby," 1968

Before they joined Led Zeppelin, singer Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham both played in this British band, that recorded several demos but never released any records.  You can certainly recognize the voice and the drumming in this early song:

 

Great moments in rock 'n' roll covers: Black Pistol Fire, "Oh Well"

And here's a contemporary rock band covering, and putting a distinctive imprint, on the Peter Green classic:

 

Great moments in covers of "Oh Well": Johnny Gallagher, 2015

A great Irish blues guitarist does his brilliant solo version of this month's song:

 

Great moments in covers of "Oh Well": Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes

This may be the best version after the original:

 

Great moments in rock 'n' roll riffs: Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, "Oh Well," 1969

In 1968-69, the British blues band Fleetwood Mac, led by guitarist Peter Green, ruled the British charts, including with this number, which may be the best riff in the history of rock 'n' roll.  For May, I'll be featuring various covers of this tune, but here's the original (that's Green on vocals and doing the riff, while Danny Kirwan, whose career went to ruin in mental illness, drugs, and alchohol, is doing the lead):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Roy Young, "I'm a Loner," 1973

British rock musician who performed and recorded in many different genres over the course of nearly fifty years, although with not much success on this side of the Atlantic.  This was the b-side of a 1973 single:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Kleptomania, "Stop," 1971 (not released until 1979)

This Belgian hard rock outfit released various singles throughout the 1970s, and was a popular live act on the Continent, but never had much commercial success.  Various songs from a 1971 recording session, including this one, eventually appeared on an album released in 1979.

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Jeronimo, "Understanding," 1971

German hard rock band that had some success in Europe in the early 1970s.  This song is a bit atypical, and better than their standard fare (which I found a bit tedious):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Warhorse, "St. Louis," 1970

British hard rock band formed by ex-Deep Purple bassist Nick Simper, this was the single from their debut album (a cover of a song by The Easybeats):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Sir Lord Baltimore," "Kingdom Come," 1970

Another tune from Brooklyn-bred proto-heavy metal band Sir Lord Baltimore, the tilte track of their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Stone Axe, "Snakebite," 1971

Houston-based hard blues rock outfit (split off from the band Josefus) that recorded several songs, including this heavy number:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Temple, "Triple Guitar," 1971

Dutch hard blues rock outfit from the early 1970s, this comes from their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: The Good Rats, "Coo Coo Coo Blues," 1978

We haven't featured this Long Island, NY band in quite some time, but here's another favorite of mine, from their fourth album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Lucifer Was, "The Meaning of Life," 1971

Norwegian proto-heavy metal band, with progressive rock influences as well, they were active in the early 1970s; this song is representative:

 

Great moments in public boogie-woogie piano playing

By chance, I discoverd this whole YouTube genre of boogie piano players who record themselves playing in public places,like train stations, airports, and shopping malls.  Here's a few.

Henri Herbert:

Terry Miles:

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Buffalo, "Freedom," 1973

Here's another, heavier number from the second album of the Australian hard blues rock band, Buffalo that we featured a few weeks ago:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Poobah, "Rock 'n' Roll," 1972

Here's another tune from the Ohio hard rock band that never made it nationally; this is also from their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Buffalo, "Suzie Sunshine," 1972

Australian hard rock outfit, this is from their debut album--I'm sure I'll be featuring more from them in the future.

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Sir Lord Baltimore, "Hard Rain Fallin'," 1970

Brooklyn-based proto heavy metal band, this song comes from their debut album, which just barely cracked the Billboard top 200.

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Trapeze, "Touch My Life," 1970

It's been awhile since we've featured this British blues/rock band; here's another good number from their second album Medusa:

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: the five best finds of 2018...

...in my opinion, anyway.  Glad to hear yours in the comments (click on the category, "Great Moments in Obscure Rock 'n' Roll" to see this year's selections).  Here's mine (with apologies to The Nazz, Bloodrock, Poobah, and The Frost, who almost made it):

Hawkwind, "Mirror of Illusion," 1970

Toad, "Vampires," 1972

Fat Mattress, "Black Sheep of the Family," 1969

Stepson, "Lil' Bit," 1974

Freedom's Children, "That Did It," 1971

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Hard Stuff, "Hobo," 1972

Guitarist John Du Cann and drummer Paul Hammond left the Atomic Rooster to form this very good, but short-lived melodic hard rock outfit, which enjoyed some modest success in the U.K.  This is a great tune from their first album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Poobah, "Mr. Destroyer," 1972

Youngstown, Ohio hard rock/heavy metal outfit (think Black Sabbath) led by guitarist Jim Gustafson.  They had a big Ohio following, but thanks to bad luck and lack of smart management, never made it nationally or internationally.   Hard to understand why this song, from their debut album, isn't a standard of "classic rock" radio, for example:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Freedom's Children, "That Did It," 1971

South African band, almost entirely unkonwn outside the homeland, they began as a psycedelic band in the late 1960s, gradually transforming into a hard rock/progressive band in the 1970s.   Here's a representative tune from that period:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: The Apryl Fool, "April Blues," 1969

Japanese psychedelic blues band, recorded one album, from which this instrumental comes:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Tomorrow, "My White Bicycle," 1967

British psychedelic band (featuring, among others, future Yes guitarist Steven Howe), this tune (later covered by Scottish hard rock band Nazareth in the 1970s) comes from their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Bob Seger System, "Noah," 1969

Long before he became a 1970s rock icon, Bob Seger was a local Detroit sensation, who earlier in 1969 scored a top 20 hit with this song; this was the title number from his second (and very unsuccessful) album--another song very much of its moment!

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: The Open Mind, "Magic Potion," 1969

British psychedelic band active from the late 1960s into the early 1970s.  This song is very much of its moment!

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Tin House, 'Endamus Finallmus,' 1971

We haven't featured this short-lived Florida hard rock/blues band in some time, but here's another fine number from their debut album:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Grand Theft, 'Ben the Rat Meets Led Zeppelin,' 1972

This raw power trio emerged from Mercer Island in the state of Washington, to record one wild album and then disappear.  This is the closing track:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Jo Jo Gunne, 'Run, Run, Run,' 1972

This Los Angeles band had a top forty hit with this song from their debut album in 1972; I'd never heard it, however, until recently:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Stepson, 'Back to Bama' and 'Turnpike,' 1974

Two more good rockin' numbers from last week's discovery, Portland's Stepson.  First, their tribute to Jerry Lee Lewis, "Back to 'Bama":

 And another fine rocker, "Turnpike":

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Stepson, 'Lil' Bit,' 1974

This Portland-based hard rock/blues band recorded but one album, from which this great rocking number comes (the whole album is worth a listen):

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Street, 'Multilevular Conversational Tightrope Walkin' Shoes,' 1968

This may be the most unusual title of a rock song in history, but it's also a decent tune.  It's the lead number from the debut album of the NYC-based and loosely "psychedelic" band Street, featuring female lead singer Anya Cohen (this was, after all, the era of the Jefferson Airplane, with Grace Slick, and Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin):

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: May Blitz, 'Smoking the Day Away,' 1970

Another short-lived hard rock/blues band from Britain (some members were Canadians, but the band formed in the UK), this number from their debut album is representative:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Family, 'Peace of Mind,' 1968

We haven't featured anything from the great English psychedelic/progressive band "Family" in quite some time, so here's a number from their debut album, Music in a Doll's House, which I recommend in its entirety:

 

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Fat Mattress, "Black Sheep of the Family," 1969

Noel Redding may be best-known as the bassist with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, but he fronted several bands of his own, including Fat Mattress, a folk-rock-psychedelic band he formed in 1969 where he played guitar, his original instrument.  This song never made it on either of the two albums they originally released, but was featured on a later anthology.  It is certainly representative of their style:

 And here they are on Beat Club performing a song from their second album in 1970, "Naturally":

Great moments in obscure rock 'n' roll: Long John Baldry, "It Ain't Easy," 1971

With our summer excursion into the African-American blues roots of rock 'n' roll concluded, let's pick up with the Canadian-English blues singer "Long John Baldry," who had more success in the UK than on this side of the Atlantic.  This blues-tinged tune is the title track of his 1971 album, his most successful in the US (and will no doubt call to mind Leon Russell, who enjoyed more success in the U.S.):