“This is a very limited bonus CD to Magenta's 2020 release 'Masters Of Illusion' called 'The Lost Reel', featuring 74 minutes of alternative mixes from the new album plus remixes from the band's back catalogue.”

I hope that there will be more from the Magic Band (now consisting of John French, Mark Boston, Denny Walley and Gary Lucas), but for now, this album of well recorded live rehearsals of 17 classic tracks by the band - some now recast as instrumentals and some featuring John's very appropriate vocals - will more than suffice!

"Magic Bus have pretty strongly established their style in the two albums preceding new release Phillip the Egg, and they don't really deviate from it here - again, it's an intoxicated bland of Canterbury-esque whimsy (drawing largely on the warm humour of Caravan and the mystical interests of Gong) with West Coast hippy sensibilities, as well as tight jamming in the instrumental sections reminiscent of the overlap between Ozric Tentacles and You-era Gong. If that sounds like the sort of thing you'd....

“On their second album, Magic Bus continue their style of psychedelic-oriented, Canterbury-influenced music, once again producing material reminiscent of the angle that Land of Grey and Pink-era Caravan or Khan produced in the early 1970s. This time around, a bit more West Coast hippy folk rock influence is brought into the mix, with the album opener Sunflower in particular being rooted in that style, which makes this a bit more a mixed bag of an album. This isn't quite the amazing eye-opener that...

"Despite the fact that the band has been effectively on ice since the mid nineties there remains a strong and highly motivated fan base that appreciates the Magic Mushroom Band. This live recording dates from 1989 when the band was breaking out of the...

Kim Stenberg - guitars, vocals
Eirikur Hauksson - lead vocals
Erling Henanger - keyboards, backing vocals
Eirik Hanssen - vocals
Lars Petter Holstad - bass, backing vocals
Jan T. Johannessen - drums

“Magic Pie’s Fragments of the 5th Element is outstanding. It showcases outstanding musicianship. There are hooks galore. It is not a concept album, and yet there is something of a lyrical theme. This is one of my favorite releases of 2019.”-Sonic Perspectives

“Where has this set been? It should have come around 1982 in the wake of Delmark's "Alex Club/Ann Arbor set. This is certainly, at the least, the equal of any other live Magic Sam issue.
First, to save us all time, if you liked the Ann Arbor set, you may as well buy this one now. It is the same band, slightly better sound quality, and a similar (but expanded) set list. In addition, I feel that the performance here is even better!
There are three great BB King covers, including "I've Got Papers"...

Eva Muntada: piano, synthesizers, organ, mellotron & vocals
Xavi Sandoval: bass & guitars
Marc Tena: drums & vocals
Maya Fernández: flute

Very enjoyable folky / freaky / proggy / psych music from Barcelona, with much more than a passing nod to their Canterbury-ish namesakes, most notably If I Could and first album-era Caravan!
This has a very nice, soft, fuzzy, very late night vibe, even at its most rocking.

"Music, more than all the arts, has the ability to move us to

Vocals and instruments by Joost Maglev
with:
Mark Bogert (5)
David Clarkson – drums (6)
Valensia Clarkson – instruments, backing vocals (6)
Ben Craven – guitars (3, 7)
Marie Doesburg – vocals (1, 9)
Annie Haslam – vocals (4)
Sebas Honing – guitars (4, 7)
Arjen Anthony Lucassen – guitars (4)
Stefan Maas – drums (2, 3, 4, 5. 7, 8)
Joop de Rooij – piano (8)
Faried Verheul – guitars (2, 8)

“A Dutch multi-instrumentalist / composer

One of the greatest, most idiosyncratic & original bands ever. This is their amazing recording in fine sound from Top Gear, featuring the classic 1974 line-up, including MONSTER bassist Jannick Top in rare, over the top form.
The definitive versions of Kohntarkhosz and Wurdah Itah. Essential.
Be prepared for some intense listening, as these all feature amazing playing & a truly twisted vision.

The official story is that like Kohntarkhosz Anteria, Emenhntehtt Re (note: I've left many umlats off of the title) was a major, long-form work. It was part of a trilogy along with Kohntarkhosz and K.A. and was written circa in the early/mid 1970s, but never recorded. Unlike K.A., a very good portion all of the parts have appeared on various albums over the years. So, it's hard for a non Kobaian to know if the official story is true or if the story is just a way to make a new, major statement without....

Since re-emerging in the late 90s, Magma have put on countless simply great performances and 2 stunning albums. But both of those albums (Kontarkosz Anteria (K.A.) and Emenhntehtt Re (E.R.)) were both recordings of 'big pieces' written during the band's 1970s heyday, but unrecorded until now. So, for me at least, the big question has been, "What happens when they run out of old, unrecorded things to record? Can C.V. come up with new material worthy of the band he's assembled?" Happily, the answer is yes...

Magma added three more female voices to the mix, and the singing is extra great on here. Additionally the over-all recorded sound seems a bit better over-all from the last few releses. The playing is also very strong, although my heart will always belong to Bubu...

“2020/2021.
More than 18 months without being able to play a gig. This space of time, this imposed "pause", was used to prepare a new album, a group album, working in a way we had not realized for a long time.
Following the..

If my Kobaian doesn't fail me, the 45' Kohntarkhosz Anteria was written circa 1972/1973, but never officially recorded, although a tiny piece of it appears on Inedits, and other little bits were grabbed and used in various other works (most notably the...

Klaus Blasquiz-vocals, percussion
Claude Osmos-guitar
Michel Graillier-keyboards
Gerard Bikialo-keyboards
Jannick Top-bass
Christian Vander-drums

There are certain bands and certain tours in music that assume rightly legendary status.
The European tour of April 1964 by Charles Mingus comes to mind as one for me, as does – in an entirely different way – the European tour in the early spring of 1974 by this edition of Magma.
There are several live recorded sets...

One of the greatest, most idiosyncratic & original bands ever. This is a previously unheard version of MDK, recorded about 9 months before the released version, & with some unique differences too! Be prepared for some intense listening, as these all feature amazing playing & a truly twisted vision.

"From the very first short version recorded in the summer of 1971 on the compilation album “PUISSANCE 13 + 2” to the spring 1973 version on the eponymous album, “MEKANIK DESTRUKTIW KOMMANDOH” slowly...

Siegfried Scholz - drums, vocal
Detlef Gherke - piano, organ, synth, vocal

"Magma were a rock duo from Gelsenkirchen. They were playing only on organ and drums like Hardin & York or Hansson & Karlsson.
Their only LP, which turned up very late with collectors, was released in 1975 (Elrec 1026). On this CD you can find five bonus tracks, all of them never released before. The four first ones had been performed live, the last one was recorded at the studio.
Magma, having a lot of gigs

This great album, which was recorded in April, 1974, has an interesting history. When originally released, this was released as a 'solo' album by Christian Vander, but for all intents & purposes, it was (and is) the fourth Magma album, having been released between M.D.K. and Kohntarkhoz.
The album is also interesting because it is a Magma album stripped down to the barest essentials of electric and acoustic pianos (all played by Christian), bass by Janick Top, choir (Vander, Klaus Blasquiz and Stella

Some of you with long memories and/or big record collections from the days of imports with JEM stickers on them, will recognize this name from his two releases on the Egg label ("The Most Progressive European Music Experience") from 1978 and 1980.
This is his 1st release from 1959, and is obviously, quite different, but is still interesting and avant music.

"Originally released in 1959, Musique Tachiste is the first in a series of rare records by French experimentalist Michel Magne. One of...

I went looking for a good review of this very little noticed Italian jazz-rock album that was released in 2008 and I found almost nothing. What I did find was this: " If you like Perigeo "Chromatic Tunes" is the CD for you. A perfect mix between rock...

Swedish progressive hard rock from guitar, bass, drums, vocals. You can hear elements of November, Cream, West, Bruce and Laing, etc. here.

“'INHALING GREEN' [2020] Comes Remastered From The Original Tapes With 2 Bonus Tracks And Packaged With Re-Vamped Art In A Mini LP Gatefold Card Sleeve!
Having Served His Musical Apprenticeship In The 70's With The Symphonic Rockers The ENID, Nick Magnus Became Steve Hackett's Keyboard Player During The Guitarist's Rise To Fame As A Solo Artist, Following His Departure From GENESIS. Since The Mid 90's Nick Has Released A String Of Superbly Crafted Solo Albums, One Of Which Is 'Inhaling Green'....

Alex Maguire - piano / Hammond organ
Martin Pyne - vibraphone / drums / percussion / electronics
Mark Hewins - guitars / electronics

“MPH is a trio featuring three of the most creative musical minds on the improv scene today.
Their music draws from a huge range of genres to create bewitching and astonishingly original sound pictures, shot through with vitality, tenderness and humour.
Taxonomies is the trio’s debut album, taking inspiration from a quirky perspective on th

Stephanie Griffin, viola
Oscar Noriega, clarinet, saxophone
Carl Maguire, piano
John Hebert, bass
Dan Weiss, drums

"Sided Silver Solid is keyboardist/composer Carl Maguire's Firehouse 12 debut and the second release.