OHO – OKINAWA CD. Packed with mucho and fast moving music which is often crazed recitation and even screaming words that may or may not make one bit of sense to the listener. A 1970′s Baltimore MA prog band, this is a difficult listen at times, but you must give it more than one listen thru to really get the best from it. It’s rare, but there are even some really beautiful mellotron prog rock parts, although followed by the talking and the more zany concoction of jazz/rock/pop/classical in avant garde format. It’s a good bet that lovers of early to mid period Gong ( nod to Dave Allen ) will dig this. Some of it reminds me of the more comical early British rock recordings and pieces of Frank Zappa, Supersister, Samla Mammas Manna (in their zany outrageous mode ) and some direct Beatles acknowledgment. [Read more...]
Oho – Okinawa reviewed at Prognaut
Progression magazine gives OHO Okinawa reissue top marks!
Progressive Magazine gives OHO Okinawa reissue a 16/16, their highest rating!
Longtime readers certainly recall Baltimore’s OHO, subject of a feature way back in Issue No. 28. This six-panel digipak, complete with 20-page booklet (featuring original artwork from the private 1974 release), is the first proper digital representation of this masterwork of pre-RIO/art-punk cabaret freakadelia.
Sonically, this production obviously is superior to the boots lurking about, but not as “woofy” as the ’96 Little Wing LP reissue. My well-preserved original 1974 vinyl sounds surprisingly thick compared to this re-master, at least on a high-end system.
For all the well-deserved ink Okinawa garners for its compositional innovations, no one has mentioned the deadly chops of some of the players themselves. Drummer Larry Bright was a 17-year-young wunderkind when he joined OHO, and has gone on to work with Miles Davis, Kenny Wright, and a who’s who of fusion. He positively soars on every cut, and the Boris McFinnie horns superbly punctuate four tracks. Fans of Residents, Fugs, early Mothers, Pere Ubu, Henry Cow, and other artists who cock a snook at life and can play, cannot afford to be without this.
-John Patrick
Doommantia weighs in on the Jerusalem reissue!
Another review request and a new once a month feature for Doommantia Dot Com where we dig through the past and present to you a forgotten band from the 70′s or a band that still is a major underground Doom/Stoner Metal influence but SHOULD NEVER be forgotten. The first of these bands to be review is the 1972 self-titled Jerusalem album. Its a album that should be reviewed anyway because of its historical importance but also because it was re-released not too long ago by the good people at Rockadrome. Bands like Jerusalem, Night Sun, Leafhound, Warpig, Iron Claw and Sir Lord Baltimore are bands that were and still are ignored by all mainstream media but are very much adored by the underground Hard Rock scene. [Read more...]
Shindig! magazine digs into OHO – Okinawa!
The ever-excellent Rockadrome label changes step, releasing this 1974 private press prog/experimental LP from Baltimore fruit loops OHO.
This version restores all the material that was supposed to make the original single LP a double–clocking in at a whopping 73 minutes. There’s a huge variety of style and shapes on offer here, moving from spoken word theatricality to acidic guitar lines, which cut across consistently strong material. Despite the experimental nature of many of the songs, there are real tunes and hooks in abundance on many of the tracks.
Slauter Xstroyes – Winter Kill reviews
Slauter Xstroyes Winter Kill CD
“From the heavy droney keyboard intro, through the album’s intervening moments of galloping attack, doomy riffing, and acoustic bliss, to the closing anthem “Mother, Mother Fucker” these guys rule.” – Aquarius records (SF)
“After spending an hour trying to find the words to review this album, the only description that fully encompasses this masterpiece seems to be indescribable. “WinterKill” is a heavy-metal fan’s dream come true” – Forgotten Steel [Read more...]
Ashbury reviews
Ashbury Endless Sky CD
“Some people are just good at certain things, just rule at something. Tom Brady at playing quarterback in the NFL, for instance. Sidney Crosby in hockey,
as an example. Dennis Bergeron at coming up with amazing obscure hard rock. I mean, let’s face it, here’s a guy who (along with his late partner, Phil Baker) turned me onto: Winterhawk, Slauter Xstroyes, Full Moon, Sorcery, Manilla Road’s “Dreams Of Eschaton,” do I need to go on? Well, Dennis has done it again, this time hitting me right between the eyes with a little album that came out of Oklahoma in 1983.
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