Best stuff I have heard from this band. Almost like a cross between Black Oak Arkansas and Led Zeppelin although not nearly as heavy as either in their prime. Only a few to diverse tracks, and cool cover to boot. A buck well spent. - from rateyourmusic -

This is Klaus Hess version of legendary Hannover krautrock band Jane. Founding member Peter Panka died as result of cancer in June 2007, which put the band on hold. However, in compliance with Panka's wishes original member Charly Maucher took over as leader and another studio album Traces was released in 2009 with the current lineup of Charly Maucher on lead vocals/bass, Klaus Waltz guitar/vocals, Arndt Shulz guitar vocals and Fritz Randow (ex Eloy & Saxon) on drums plus Werner Nadolny on keyboards. Although Werner Nadolny has since left the band, he currently tours with his own Jane tribute band performing vintage Jane material. Klaus Hess' Mother Jane also remains active with a recently released 2009 album titled In Dreams.

Kestrel released their album of smooth, polished and song-based mid-70's symphonic progressive rock in 1975, and then vanished completely. Some of the most beautiful songwriting ever committed to vinyl. The piano and mellotron are exemplary here. It's typically lumped in with the progressive rock scene, and it is somewhat - but only tangentially so. I can hear parallels with Fruupp's "Modern Masquerades", Sebastian Hardie's "Four Moments", and Dragon's "Scented Gardens for the Blind" - a certain sophisticated AOR sound that is very hard to describe. And this is the best of that lot. This is one of those albums that doesn't sound good on paper, but if you have any tolerance at all for a commercially oriented sound, then Kestrel is a must listen.

Seventh studio album from the Hanover Krautrockers Jane. The most distinctive quality of Age of Madness is its crawling, slowly building crescendo of rolling rhythms that make this album more Pink Floydian than the group's other releases. Though not as bluesy as Together or as Allman-like as Fire, Water, Earth & Air, I think any Jane fan will love the rich textures of Age of Madness. This is just another or those really great albums that has been consistently high-priced and difficult to find since its release. Will apeal to guitar fans everywhere, Zeppelin, Purple and more…

The London-based power trio only managed to shoot out one LP in their time of existence – the optimistically titled Volume One - but the legend they left behind with that sole effort wields more weight than most bands’ multi-album catalogs. Pairing prog, proto hard rock and meaningful lyrics with the very soul of metallic drivin' acid blues, Incredible Hog released its debut album, "Volume 1", in mid '73. Despite the buzz surrounding their debut and critical acclaim, commercial success proved out of reach. Apparently, "Volume 1" was too ahead of its time to catch on with a larger audience. This, along with record label apathy, forced the band to fold before the year was over.

Formed in Oshawa, Ontario by guitarist Bob Bryden amid the ruins of psych-rock outfit Reign Ghost, whose two Allied Records releases fetch hefty sums in collectors' circles, Christmas initially recorded this music as record industry bait for one of those budget throwaway top-hits collections. Allegedly issued without the band's knowledge, Christmas has a laconic, post-acid feel to it, with the spectre of the Grateful Dead - especially the stoner noodling on their classic 'Dark Star' - everywhere on the record. Side one is the more disciplined of the two sides, giving itself to more standard song structures of varying quality ranging from somnambulant to soothing. Bryden's crisp guitar work starts to emerge on the final track, 'Oasis', a carefree instrumental that sets the stage for side two and its sprawling side-long jam, the almost interminable and ridiculously named 'Jungle Fabulous'. Not for the restless, this one.

Another solid album by this Santana clone band. For Chango's second album, Honey Is Sweeter Than Blood apparently lead singer Pepe Gomez changed all the members except one, changed label to Mercury and went to soul-rock. The album is a little harder and less Latin than their first one. The perfect voice, the guitars screams and the singer agrees with his shrieks as he´s getting murdered. If you love old Santana, only harder with a voice, you´ve never heard before, don't hesitate.

Hunger was originally from Portland, OR, but moved to Los Angeles in the late '60s and began to attract some attention by being an opening act for such top bands as The Doors and The Strawberry Alarm Clock. In 1968 the band released its only album, Strictly From Hunger!, which became sought after by psychedelic collectors and established the band firmly in the California psychedelic hard rock scene. The album that was originally released for the Public label in 1969, was the second incarnation of the same album that originally featured the guitar work of Ed King, who would later play with the Strawberry Alarm Clock and Lynyard Skynyrd. This CD set contains both versions of that album with the first arrangement being titled "The Lost Album" as originally released on Bill Holm's All American Records label. The material on the album was heavy psychedelic rock, with influences from The Doors and Jefferson Airplane.

One of the most unconventional albums ever recorded, this avant-garde psychedelic suite contains elements of folk, jazz, rock and electronica, but has a sound and atmosphere all of its own. Recorded in 1970, but barely released (despite the enthusiastic support of John Peel), original copies now sell for astronomical sums. This is its long-awaited CD debut, and comes complete with comprehensive liner notes and rare photographs. Guest performers also include Rik Kenton (later Roxy Music) and Geoff Leigh (later Gong, Kevin Ayers, Henry Cow).

Fire - Could You Understand Me CD reissue of savage 1973 heavy psychedelic hard rock with brutal distorted caveman guitars all over the place. These guys were probably big fans of Led Zeppelin, Steppenwolf, Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer! Maximum (kinda rhymes with "Eruptum") fuzz and flailing drums hammered into shape by three hairy gents from Yugoslavia displaced to The Netherlands, first issued on the private Killroy label in 1973. Legend, rumor and speculation surrounds many of the recording details - were they itinerant mineworkers hoping to blow off some steam, or maybe they just couldn't find a decent recording studio in their homeland? And what twisted tale does the cover art depict, so inflammatory the LP was supposedly banned upon original release? There is no mystery, however, about the trio's raw power or surprising command of the English language, prepare to bleed!

One of the least-heard but most beguiling albums to emerge from the British progressive rock era, the sole, self-titled album by East London band Grannie was recorded at a demo studio in late 1971 and then issued on vinyl in a total pressing of just 99 copies. Feverishly sought-after by genre aficionados since its belated discovery in the early 1990s, Grannie now gains its first-ever official reissue. With quotes from drummer John Clark and keyboardist John Stevenson that tell the story of both band and album for the first time, this is the definitive release of one of the most valuable jewels of the early 1970s British progressive rock scene.

Axis is as eclectic an album as you'll find from the early 70s. In some ways, it mirrors Aphrodite's Child's classic "666" album, with its mix of song oriented pop psych and long complex instrumental journeys. Axis begins as a straight up hard rock album and moves over to Canterbury jazz rock and then onto free jazz. The keyboards on Axis are splendid featuring anything from fuzz overloaded organ to jazzy electric piano to layers upon layers of mellotron. The album features two bona fide monster tracks: "Materializing the Unlimited" and "The Planet Vavoura".

Guitarist Ralph Denyer was the front man for this short lived Welsh quintet. Denyer's initial brush with success had previously come as a member of Blonde On Blonde. Walking on the edge of Progressive Rock, Aquila remains an underrated relic from the good and old Seventies. The band develops an intelligent sound blend, supported by Phil Childs (bass guitar), George Lee (wind instruments)and Martin Woodward (keyboards). This triumvirat breaks the rules on "The Aquila Suite", a complex marathon that knocks down some "third-class" bands those days. Echoes of Diabolus (especially) and the debut albums of Gravy Train and Raw Material come to mind. Fine organ solos with nice contrast provided by acoustic guitar. Great!

From Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada comes Dionysos who were the very first Quebecois rock band from 69. They disbanded in 74 only to regroup in 76 to record an eponymous album unofficially called ''Changé d' Adresse''. Most of the early albums' roughness is gone and replace by a jazzier and poppier sound yet still progressive in places, making the album a bit more accessible. In 1978 bandleader Paul-André Thibert records a ''solo'' album entitled ''Musique De Mes Amis Dionysos'' enlisting most of the band's members resulting in a fairly similar work to his band's preceding record. Thus logically ending up in their discography.

The German based band Emergency was founded in 1970 by Czech musician Hanus Berka, who already had a career as an arranger and sideman in the States among others with Jan Hammer and Miroslav Vitous. The multicultural band consisted of Berka (sax & keyboards) fellow Czechs Jiro Matousek (keyboards), Otto Bezloja (bass) and Dusko Goykovic (trumpet), German drummer Udo Lindenberg and Englishman Barrie Newby on guitar. The band recorded two jazz-rock records with brass arrangements for CBS. 'Emergency' (1971) and in 1972 'Entrance' with a changed line-up.