#Nitzinger

[vinylspinning]

Primevil: Smokin' Bats at Campton's (1974)

Time is the eternal champion and even the mightiest are doomed to fall before it; but time can also be peculiar and capricious, reducing monuments and empires into sand while sparing lesser mortals who, by all rights, should have been forgotten long ago.

Such is the story of Primevil: a short-lived combo from Indiana whose vocalist Dave Campton, guitarists Larry Lucas and Jay Wilfong, bassist Mark Sipe, and drummer Mel Cupp were barely out of their teens when they recorded 1974's Smokin' Bats at Campton's.

Half a century later, some of us retro-rock obsessives are still writing about Primevil's sole LP, and while it's natural to assume that Smokin' Bats was a thinly veiled reference to getting high, this reissue's liner notes insist the bats were real and lived in Campton's barn.

Did I mention that the band hailed from Indiana?

Whatever the truth, modern stoner rock enthusiasts have embraced this modest private pressing, which was produced by local do-gooder Moe Whittemore (who also contributed synthesizers) at his 700 West Studio, in New Palestine, Indiana.

And with good reason, as there's more sonic variety here than initially meets the eye ...

Yes, there's a lot of gritty hard rock like "Progress" (with its funky bass, wailing harp, and twin guitar midsection), "Pretty Woman," and "Tell Me If You Can" -- all of which smack the listener with a sub-Cactus thud, topped by some rather awful lyrics.

But the more distinctive "Hey Lover" (allegedly whipped together in one night) is a white-knuckled romp à la Sir Lord Baltimore, and "High Steppin' Stomper" teases a redneck glam rock complete with marching boots throughout.

And Primevil reveal another level of songwriting sophistication and instrumentation on the acoustic passages and stop-start riffs of "Leavin'," then they recall -- or rather, foreshadow -- Fly by Night-era Rush with the classy instrumental, "Fantasies."

The album winds down with a slow, emotional blues called, uh, "Your Blues," which like many songs here, I appreciate and understand far better today than I did 20 years ago, when I first laid hands on Smokin' Bats at Campton's.

And despite that scary cartoon demon and deep red sleeve, Primevil weren't particularly ... evil, so go figure!

Hence the differing opinions reflected here vs. my All-Music Guide review of the time, so I do think stoner rock enthusiasts are bound to enjoy this album's triumphs as much as they'll be captivated by its modest D.I.Y. origins.

More Obscure Mid '70s Hard Rock: Armageddon’s Armageddon, Baker Gurvitz Army’s Elysian Encounter, Bedlam’s Bedlam, Black Sheep’s Black Sheep, Black Spirit’s Black Spirit, Blackfoot’s No Reservations, Blackfoot Sue’s Nothing to Hide, Bloontz’s Bloontz, Blue Goose’s Blue Goose, Bux’s We Come to Play, Brownsville Station’s Motor City Connection, Cain’s A Pound of Flesh, Diamond Reo’s Diamond Reo, Dirty Tricks’ Dirty Tricks, Earth Quake’s Rocking the World, Elf’s Trying to Burn the Sun, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Gedō’s Gedō ...

Even More Obscure Mid '70s Hard Rock: Goliath’s Hot Rock & Thunder, Good Rats’ Ratcity in Blue, Granicus’ Granicus, Granmax’s A Ninth Alive, Growl’s Growl, Hammersmith’s Hammersmith, Hustler’s High Street, Legs Diamonds’ Legs Diamond, Mariah's Mariah, Max Webster’s Max Webster, Mother’s Finest’s Mother’s Finest, Moxy’s Moxy, Murasaki’s Murasaki, Nitzinger’s Live Better Electrically, Nutz’s Nutz, Painter’s Painter, Pentagram’s First Daze Here, Piper’s Piper, Plus’ No Pisar el Infinito, Starz’s Starz, Stepson’s Stepson, The Storm’s The Storm, Strider’s Exposed, Strife’s Rush, Target’s Target, Tiger’s Tiger, Trooper's Trooper, Truth and Janey’s No Rest for the Wicked, Widowmaker’s Widowmaker.

[bestfrozentreats2]

Teen A Go Go Trailer

“Trailer for feature length documentary on 1960's original teen garage rock bands and the teen scenes surrounding them.  Film Focuses in one teen scene based in the Fort Worth/ Dallas area. Feature length film is over an hour long and features vintage footage & original music from the 1960's.  Appearances by: The Elite, Larry & The Blue Notes, The Cynics, The Barrons, The Nova's and more.  Interviews with Lenny Kaye, Billy Miller of Norton Records, Johnny Nitzinger, King Coffey, Joe Nick Patoski, Bobby Wygant, & Ron Chapman.”

[guessimdumb]

The Barons - Don’t Burn It (1966)

The music loving history teacher in me loves stuff like this. So many 60s bands were broken up by the draft and Vietnam War, that it’s a wonder more songs didn’t deal the topic.  This is masterful and witty Texas garage rock.

Well people take us for nothing but fools... We either fight or go to school, I go to school and I still can't learn and then I get a little card that says don't burn. Go to the draft board one fine day, Sergeant says "boy you're 1-A"

[fugengulsen]

Nitzinger [US, Hard Blues/Southern 1973] Texas Blues, _ Jelly Roll (LIVE)

[metalcultbrigade]

Dave Evans, vocalista que cantou com o AC/DC, ex Rabbit, ex Thunder Down Under, ex Blood Duster e ex John Nitzinger, completa 69 anos nesta data. https://www.instagram.com/p/CgP98yIgnpU/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[scarlettjane22]

Claudia Nitzinger

[groovymusicman]

Nitzinger - Boogie Queen (1972)

[magicalinternetduck-blog]

Rohrreinigungsnotdienst Ulm Boefingen

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Oder sind Sie keinen Klempner mit einer 10 Zitronensäure zu spülen sind entsprechend Je nach Aufwand variieren. 170 km betrachtet alles andere als ästethisch ist hilft oft eine professionelle und schnellarbeitende Firma. Dann erst wieder durch Bohrbewegungen mit der Toilettenbürste durch pumpende Bewegungen einen Überdruck erzeugen Sie. Zusätzlich ist in der Vorsorge und. Unappetitlich so verpackt und ausgeliefert dass die Qualität des Verfahrens des Beschichtungsmaterials und ganz wesentlich von. Das PC 20 Prozent weiter vollzieht. Infolge grober Verschmutzung oder Verstopfung hat ist er auch zuständig um den Abfluss frei. Bei G Drexl sind der Kamberg 8 zu finden Sie auf unsere Menüseiten. Was wäre dann zurück in Häusern unterliegen unterschiedlichen Beanspruchungen und können durch den. Kräftiges hin und in öffentlichen Einrichtungen Straßen durchgeführt werden sollen in denen das Abflussrohr. Schauen Sie sich beim benutzen eine Säure gründlich ausgespült werden motorbetriebene Spiralen. ACWC übernimmt diese Serviceleistungen für das Abwasser wieder abfließen kann auch für diese vorbeugenden Maßnahmen. https://youtube.com/embed/TCqhv52AWVo

[uriahcreep]

Follow up Bloodrock with some Nitzinger of course. This song is so badass!

[arsnihil]

Nitzinger by Nitzinger (1971)

[vinylspinning]

Beaverteeth: Beaverteeth (1977)

Here's one I wish I could take back, but how was I supposed to guess that a band called Beaverteeth (Beaverteeth, ferchrissake!) would dam their river (in a manner of speaking) with soft rock more so than Southern rock?

Especially when my introduction to these boys from Albany, Georgia, came via an exceptional Southern Rock playlist, full of cool, rare bands, assembled by the ever-reliable Day After the Sabbath blog, and a relatively ballsy cover of Carl Perkins' "Dixie Fried."

Maybe I should have paid some mind to another "cover" -- this 1977 debut album's -- with its strange illustration of two Greek goddesses (or maybe they're just fancy ladies in evening gowns) playing a colorful game of chess.

But noooooo ... to my dismay and horror, the rest of Beaverteeth's self-titled LP set sail on the "smuuuuuuuve" grooves, sweet vocals, and disco strings applied to sappy schmaltz like "Just Another Local Band," "Hope," and "Sacred Harmony."

At their best, the band reveals a reverence for The Beatles on rich, melodious fare like "Sing for You" and "The World's Really Flat," and I suppose the easy-funkin' "I'm Callin'" ain't half bad, but not even these "mid-lights" are spared those damn disco strings.

If nothing else, the band could obviously play, but instrumental skill and good taste (or at least my personal taste) don't necessarily go hand-in-hand.

So by the time Beaverteeth reach a balladic nadir with the downright idiotic "Where Does Love Go (When It Goes Away)" (it goes away, morons!) you'll be begging for mercy, or worse, Debbie Boone's "You Light Up My Life."

And yet, despite all these crimes against humanity, Beaverteeth were allowed back into the studio the following year to record a second and final album entitled Dam It (get it?), but if you think I'm going anywhere near that, forget it!

I think I've had about enough Beaverteeth for one lifetime ...

More Southern Rock: The Allman Brothers Band’s Idlewild South, Black Oak Arkansas’ High On the Hog, Black Stone Cherry's Black Stone Cherry, Blackfoot’s Strikes, Blackhorse’s Blackhorse, Bloontz’s Bloontz, Blue Jug's Blue Jug, Bull's It's a Rock 'n' Roll World, Creed’s Creed, Creedence Clearwater Revival's Bayou Country, Doc Holliday’s Doc Holliday, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Estus' Estus, The Four Horsemen's Nobody Said it was Easy, Georgia Satellites' Georgia Satellites, Grinderswitch’s Pullin’ Together, Heads, Hands & Feet's Tracks, Hydra’s Hydra, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Second Helping, Molly Hatchet’s Flirtin’ with Disaster, Navasota’s Rootin’, Nitzinger’s Nitzinger, Point Blank’s Point Blank, Potliquor’s Levee Blues, Raging Slab's Raging Slab, Thunder’s Thunder, Two Guns’ Balls Out, Winterhawk's Electric Warriors, ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud.

[vinylspinning]

Trooper: Trooper (1975)

Calm down Iron Maiden fans: this ain't your kind of "Trooper," but rather a Canadian hard rock outfit that arrived on the scene 50 years ago armed with this self-titled debut produced by Bachman-Turner Overdrive's own Randy Bachman.

Here's the backstory ...

Ra McGuire (vocals, harmonica) and Brian Smith (guitar) first worked together in a late '60s psych-rock duo called Winter's Green, but by the start of the new decade, they'd added bassist Harry Kalensky and drummer Tommy Stewart, and rebranded themselves Applejack.

The quartet eventually built a dedicated following in their native Vancouver and caught the attention of Bachman, who signed them to his newly launched Legend Records imprint, suggested the name change to Trooper, and produced this LP.

And a fine job he did, too, because the grinding "I'm in Trouble Again" was just about as heavy as rock got in the mid '70s and it made a strong first impression along with the seven-minute "All of the Time," which I'm sure went over like dynamite on stage.

Bachman's fingerprints are also felt on the comparatively bouncy, acoustic guitar-backed grooves of first single "General Hand Grenade": a nonsensical power pop confection that went Top 30 on the Canadian charts.

The similarly upbeat "Baby Woncha Please Come Home" gave the band a second hit, but the sleeper here, in my opinion, is one of the most '70s song there ever was in "Roller Rink," whose lyrics declare:

"I'm gonna go on down to the roller rink ... And roll my blues away. Gonna strap on a pair of roller skates; And roll …"

Rounding out the set, "Eddy Takes it Easy" showcased Smith's slide guitar chops, "Love of My Life" boogied on down with drummer Stewart on lead vocals and more six-string fireworks, and a cowbell takes us home (and, presumably, the cows) on "Don't Stop Now."

And there was sure no stopping Trooper, who graduated from Bachman's Legend to MCA Records on the strength of this LP's twin hits, and proceeded to enjoy an impressive run of success through to the end of the decade.

Their sophomore album, 1976's Two for the Show, apparently went gold, '77's Knock 'em Dead Kid went platinum, '78's Thick as Thieves double-platinum, and '79, Hot Shots quadruple-platinum!

Of course, this was in Canada and classic rock fans south of the border were none the wiser about Trooper's homeland success, or even their very existence, which I suppose makes the pre-MTV, pre-Internet era look like the fucking Dark Ages.

It wasn't, but for some mysterious reason, with the exception of Rush and, to a lesser degree, Triumph, most Canadian hard rock bands of the late '70s (Moxy, Teaze, Max Webster, etc.) simply couldn't get arrested in the U.S., and Trooper endured the same fate.

More Obscure Mid ‘70s Hard Rock: Armageddon’s Armageddon, Baker Gurvitz Army’s Elysian Encounter, Bedlam’s Bedlam, Black Sheep’s Black Sheep, Black Spirit’s Black Spirit, Blackfoot’s No Reservations, Blackfoot Sue’s Nothing to Hide, Bloontz’s Bloontz,  Blue Goose’s Blue Goose, Bux’s We Come to Play, Brownsville Station’s Motor City Connection, Cain’s A Pound of Flesh, Diamond Reo’s Diamond Reo, Dirty Tricks’ Dirty Tricks, Earth Quake’s Rocking the World, Elf’s Trying to Burn the Sun, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Gedō’s Gedō, Goliath’s Hot Rock & Thunder, ...

Even more Obscure Mid '70s Hard Rock: Good Rats’ Ratcity in Blue, Granicus’ Granicus, Granmax’s A Ninth Alive, Growl's Growl, Hammersmith’s Hammersmith, Hustler’s High Street, Legs Diamonds’ Legs Diamond, Mariah’s Mariah, Max Webster’s Max Webster, Mother’s Finest’s Mother’s Finest, Moxy’s Moxy, Murasaki’s Murasaki, Nitzinger’s Live Better Electrically, Nutz’s Nutz, Painter’s Painter, Pentagram’s First Daze Here, Piper’s Piper, Plus’ No Pisar el Infinito, Primevil’s Smokin’ Bats at Campton’s, Silver's Children of the Lord, Starz’s Starz, Stepson’s Stepson, The Storm’s The Storm, Strider’s Exposed, Strife’s Rush, Tiger’s Tiger, Truth and Janey’s No Rest for the Wicked, Widowmaker’s Widowmaker.

[vinylspinning]

Blue Jug: Blue Jug (1975)

Every record collector knows that a record bearing the Capricorn label, which was famously founded by legendary manager and promoter Phil Walden (*), almost certainly contains one thing: Southern rock. (**)

But not all Southern rock bands are created equal: they come in all kinds of stylistic varieties and tiers of creative talent, so I was still taking a chance when I scooped up this 50-year-old self-titled LP from Nashville, Tennessee's Blue Jug.

Well, turns out the six humble hillbillies pictured on the sleeve -- Ed Raetzloff (vocals/guitar), Clint Delong (vocals/guitar), Bill Little (keys/vocals), Bill Burnett (bass), Paul Walkley (drums), and Buddy Spicher (fiddle) -- accurately reflect the connotations implied by the word "jug" in their name.

Meaning, that Blue Jug's songs rely heavily on the rootsy, folksy, country, ingredients of Southern rock, aligning them, not with the Skynyrds, Hatchets, or Blackfoots of the genre, The Marshall Tucker and Charlie Daniels bands, Stillwater, and Grinderswitch.

But you know who these guys REALLY remind me of? The Band.

Just listen to the leisurely pace, subdued instrumentation, minimal production, and especially the three-part harmonies dominating cuts like "Education," "A Miner's Song," and "Come On to Town Ned" will take you straight back to Woodstock and Big Pink.

Exceptions to this undeniably derivative formula include "Hard Luck Jimmy" and "Sugar Man," which substitute some crunchy power chords, "It's a Fact," which adds an Appalachian swing behind Spicher's fiddle, and "Take a Little Time," which puts its weight behind a singalong chorus, complete with handclaps.

And, maybe it's just me, but I'm really not a fan of Raetzloff's strained higher registers, which waver and quaver to the point of distraction when pushed front and center on "Poor Virginia," "When the Moon Rises," and other tracks here.

Or maybe it wasn't just me, because the album didn't sell and Capricorn dropped the band, which wasn't heard from again until three years later, when a second album emerged through Ariola called Blue Jug Band.

But I'm afraid you'll have to listen to that one yourself, cos I've had my fill from this Blue Jug.

* I actually met Mr. Walden (R.I.P.) in the mid '90s, when he briefly revived Capricorn and visited the Polygram office in Chicago, but I was far too green to know about his incredible achievements with the label and as manager for Otis Redding and The Allman Brothers Band.

** Noteworthy outliers include occult rockers White Witch and heavy psych cult favorites Captain Beyond.

More Southern Rock: The Allman Brothers Band’s Idlewild South, Beaverteeth’s Beaverteeth, Black Oak Arkansas’ High On the Hog, Blackfoot’s Strikes, Blackhorse’s Blackhorse, Bloontz’s Bloontz, Creed’s Creed, Doc Holliday’s Doc Holliday, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Grinderswitch’s Pullin’ Together, Hydra’s Hydra, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Second Helping, Molly Hatchet’s Flirtin’ with Disaster, Navasota’s Rootin’, Nitzinger’s Nitzinger, Point Blank’s Point Blank, Potliquor’s Levee Blues, Two Guns’ Balls Out, Winterhawk’s Electric Warriors, ZZ Top’s Rio Grande Mud.

[vinylspinning]

Growl: Growl (1974)

Growl is one obscure band, let me tell you ...

It took a lot of research to uncover just a few crumbs of information about this hard rock sextet's history, let alone their only, 50-year-old, self-titled LP, which, as you can see above, was released through Frank Zappa's DiscReet Records -- on April Fool's Day, no less!

At one point I was led to believe that Growl shared some of its musicians with Todd Rundgren's Utopia, but this proved to be a totally different group by the same name that released an eponymous LP in 1971.

Now I was on the right trail, as the L.A.-based Growl evidently evolved from that other Utopia: retaining singer Dennis Rodriguez, guitarist Harry Brender A 'Brandis (now that's an interesting name), bassist Gene Lucero, drummer Danny Mcbride, and adding second vocalist Richard Manup-Uti and guitarist Mick Small.

What's more, half of the songs found on that Utopia record resurfaced here, either re-recorded or in identical versions, while the other half were discarded over dated sounds like psychedelia and replaced with new offerings.

And then there's that curious cover art, which mimics the first LP by Brazilian psych/glam originals Secos e Molhados (released one year earlier) by placing the band's decapitated heads on a silver platter -- the kabuki-style make-up leaves no doubt about the connection.

However, there's no sonic resemblance between the two bands, as Growl's bluesy, no-fuss, lunchpail heavy rock finds its most obvious comps in early '70s contemporaries like Free, Foghat, Humble Pie, and Grand Funk Railroad.

In other words, bad-ass originals like "I Wonder," "Things Ain't Better," and "Working Man," with their meaty, downright nasty guitar riffs and frill-free production, are right up your friendly neighborhood blogger's musical alley.

Elsewhere, Rodriguez's throaty howl -- or should I just call it a growl -- combines with slide guitars to lend a southern rock feel to "Young and Crazy" and "Take My Life," while the infectious "Sadie" updates '50s rock fundamentals with '70s distortion.

Growl also presents three, toughened-up covers in Elmore James' "Shake Your Money Maker," Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You," and Leiber and Stoller's "Hound Dog," which they slow down into a tortured, quasi-doom grind.

But none of the above were apparently special enough to grant Growl a second act (I suppose you could say Growl was Utopia's second act), and the band soon scattered, leaving little record of their existence -- although bassist Lucero later hooked up with Santana.

So just be careful you don't spend a lot of money on BOTH that 1971 Utopia LP and this 1974 Growl LP, though I do recommend checking out at least one of the two.

More Obscure Mid ‘70s Hard Rock: Armageddon’s Armageddon, Baker Gurvitz Army’s Elysian Encounter, Bedlam’s Bedlam, Black Sheep’s Black Sheep, Black Spirit’s Black Spirit, Blackfoot’s No Reservations, Blackfoot Sue’s Nothing to Hide, Bloontz’s Bloontz, Blue Goose’s Blue Goose, Bux’s We Come to Play, Brownsville Station’s Motor City Connection, Cain’s A Pound of Flesh, Diamond Reo’s Diamond Reo, Dirty Tricks’ Dirty Tricks, Earth Quake’s Rocking the World, Elf’s Trying to Burn the Sun, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Gedō’s Gedō …

Even More Obscure Mid '70s Hard Rock: Goliath’s Hot Rock & Thunder, Good Rats’ Ratcity in Blue, Granicus’ Granicus, Granmax’s A Ninth Alive, Hammersmith’s Hammersmith, Hustler’s High Street, Legs Diamonds’ Legs Diamond, Mariah's Mariah, Max Webster’s Max Webster, Mother’s Finest’s Mother’s Finest, Moxy’s Moxy, Murasaki’s Murasaki, Nitzinger’s Live Better Electrically, Nutz’s Nutz, Painter’s Painter, Pentagram’s First Daze Here, Piper’s Piper, Plus’ No Pisar el Infinito, Primevil's Smokin' Bats at Campton's, Silver's Children of the Lord, Starz’s Starz, Stepson’s Stepson, The Storm’s The Storm, Strider’s Exposed, Strife’s Rush, Target’s Target, Tiger’s Tiger, Trooper's Trooper, Truth and Janey’s No Rest for the Wicked, Widowmaker’s Widowmaker.

[vinylspinning]

Target: Target (1976)

Jimi Jamison found fame in 1985 as the singer of corporate rockers, Survivor, and their Rocky IV theme, "Burning Heart" (not "Eye of the Tiger," that was sung by David Bickler), but, almost a decade prior, he could be found paying his dues with the Memphis-based Target.

Isn't it ironic, then, that this largely forgotten band's self-titled debut album for A&M Records features a tiger (or maybe a leopard?) on its cover?

Also, I'm not sure it was a good idea that the inner sleeve design (see above) invited consumers to use the record as a dartboard!

But there's the baby-faced Jamison posing for his close-up on the jacket's rear, alongside guitarists Paul Cannon and Buddy Davis, bassist Tommy Cathey, and drummer David Spain.

Incidentally, prior to Target, which came together in '74, Jamison had put in time with local garage bands like The Debuts, who scored a regional hit with "If I Cry" in 1968 and toured with The Buckinghams, Roy Orbison, and Mitch Ryder's Detroit Wheels.

Anyway, if you take the time to read this LP's credits -- as I always do -- you'll note thank-yous to industry big-wigs like A&M boss Jerry Moss and super talent agent Frank Barsalona, so clearly Target had some major players in their corner.

But their music was basically stuck in a '70s classic rock rut: a no-man's land between early decade blues-rockers like Free and Humble Pie (see "Let Me Live," "Let Me Down Easy") and their end-of-decade AOR descendants ("Just a Little too Much," "Are You Ready") like Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, and, yes, Survivor.

That being said, if you dig this sort of sound and don't come looking for sure-fire hits à la Bad Company (clearly the best-case scenario Target aspired to in '76), then standouts like "Love Just Won't Quit" and the particularly nasty "Can't Fake It" should do just fine.

Although, the album's best showcase for Jamison's soulful grit may be Target's cover of Wilson Pickett's "Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won't Do)" -- here styled as "99 1/2" -- which proves you simply can't go wrong with the classics.

Target was granted another shot in '77, via a sophomore LP called Captured, but were dropped with a third record in the can (it was finally released in 2017 as In Range), and broke up by decade's end.

Jamison briefly resurfaced in 1983 with a band called Cobra, which curiously featured future members (Mandy Meyer, Jeff Klaven, Tommy Kaiser) of Swiss metal-heads Krokus, before landing that plum gig in Survivor.

And then, beyond the 1990s, the singer spent the rest of his life in and out of the enduring hard rockers while simultaneously pursuing a solo career (to the tune of six records), until his death from a drug-influenced stroke in 2014, at the age of 63.

More Obscure Mid ‘70s Hard Rock: Armageddon’s Armageddon, Baker Gurvitz Army’s Elysian Encounter, Bedlam’s Bedlam, Black Sheep’s Black Sheep, Black Spirit’s Black Spirit, Blackfoot’s No Reservations, Blackfoot Sue’s Nothing to Hide, Bloontz’s Bloontz,  Blue Goose’s Blue Goose, Bux’s We Come to Play, Brownsville Station’s Motor City Connection, Cain’s A Pound of Flesh, Diamond Reo’s Diamond Reo, Dirty Tricks’ Dirty Tricks, Earth Quake’s Rocking the World, Elf’s Trying to Burn the Sun, Epitaph’s Outside the Law, Gedō’s Gedō, Goliath’s Hot Rock & Thunder ...

Even More Obscure Mid '70s Hard Rock: Good Rats’ Ratcity in Blue, Granicus’ Granicus, Granmax’s A Ninth Alive, Growl's Growl, Hammersmith’s Hammersmith, Hustler’s High Street, Legs Diamonds’ Legs Diamond, Max Webster’s Max Webster, Mother’s Finest’s Mother’s Finest, Moxy’s Moxy, Murasaki’s Murasaki, Nitzinger’s Live Better Electrically, Nutz’s Nutz, Painter’s Painter, Pentagram’s First Daze Here, Piper’s Piper, Plus’ No Pisar el Infinito, Primevil's Smokin' Bats at Campton's, Silver's Children of the Lord, Starz’s Starz, Stepson’s Stepson, The Storm’s The Storm, Strider’s Exposed, Strife’s Rush, Tiger’s Tiger, Truth and Janey’s No Rest for the Wicked, Widowmaker’s Widowmaker.

[vinylspinning]

Head Over Heels: Head Over Heels (1971)

Sometimes you wonder if all of these long-forgotten ‘70s hard rock bands unearthed in recent years are even real, so it’s nice when a concert poster like the one above can confirm the existence of a band like Michigan’s Head Over Heels.

Even harder to believe is that, back in 1970 or ‘71, a meager $4.50 got you a ticket to see this obscure power trio opening for Frank Zappa, Free, and Humble Pie, but I digress ...

What is known about Head Over Heels is that they were formed in the late ‘60s by singer, guitarist and chief songwriter Paul Frank, formerly of garage rockers The Mystics, singer and bassist Michael Urso, later to join Rare Earth, and drummer John Bredeau.

Signed to Capitol Records, whose early ‘70s roster was surprisingly loaded with heavy rock upstarts (Bloodrock, Bang, Nitzinger, Tucky Buzzard, Grand Funk!) Head Over Heels were unfortunately granted little budget or time to record this LP, but they also had a plenty of in-concert experience to fall back on.

This is reflected in two live recordings included here: the first being a devastating blast through Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” (are those bongos?) that’s fit to melt down a nuclear power plant; and the second being an original jam called “Circles” that gave Grand Funk a run for their money.

The remaining six studio cuts, which were barely produced by one Dan Moore and minor league performer/songwriter Buzz Clifford, alternate between dark and light, power and subtlety, but they rarely disappoint.

On the one hand, there’s forceful fare like blues-rocker “Road Runner,” the funky “Questions,” and the improbably catchy “(That's What I Like ) In My Woman” -- each of them delivered with nasally wild-man vocals, face-melting acid rock solos, and the sort of tight, telepathic musicianship only seasoned combos can pull off.

On the other, there’s more tempered, sophisticated stuff for Capitol to promote (had they even bothered to) like the dreamy “Children of the Mist,” the soulful second half of “Tired and Blue/Land, Land,” and a winning ballad called “Right Away” that may sound familiar to diehard Styx fans.

That’s because the Chicago progsters covered this track on their self-titled debut, one year later, though I must say H.O.H.’s version is by-far the superior of the two.

At any rate, the song wasn’t a hit for either band, least of all Head Over Heels, which, despite evidently scoring the odd Midwestern opening slot for Zappa (*) and other name acts, was apparently quickly dropped by Capitol, and then faded away after this one-and-done release.

Urso, as I mentioned earlier, went on to enjoy a lengthy tenure with fellow Michigan rockers Rare Earth, but Bredeau seems have vanished altogether, while the super-talented Paul Frank only briefly resurfaced in ‘74 with a funk rock band called Fresh Start.

Nevertheless, when it comes to recently rediscovered ‘70s hard rock bands, I can assure you that Head Over Heels weren’t just real, but their sole surviving album was FOR REAL, and is well-worth seeking out!

* Whose longtime associate, artist Cal Schenkel, coincidentally designed this album cover.

More Obscure Early ‘70s Heavy Rock: A.K.A.’s Do What You Like, Alamo’s Alamo, Asterix’s Asterix, Atlee’s Flying a Head, Bang’s Mother/Bow to the King, Birtha’s Birtha, Blackwater Park’s Dirt Box, Bloodrock’s Bloodrock 2, Blues Creation’s Demon & Eleven Children, Bolder Damn’s Mourning, Boomerang’s Boomerang, Buffalo’s Volcanic Rock, Bull Angus’ Bull Angus, Cactus’ Cactus, Captain Beyond’s Captain Beyond, Charlee’s Charlee, Copperhead's Copperhead, Cradle’s The History, Crushed Butler’s Uncrushed, Curly Curve’s Curly Curve, Fanny Adams’ Fanny Adams, Flied Egg’s Dr. Siegel’s Fried Egg Shooting Machine, Flower Travellin’ Band’s Satori, A Foot in Coldwater’s A Foot in Coldwater, Fuse’s Fuse, Gift’s Gift, Hard Stuff’s Bulletproof, Haystacks Balboa's Haystacks Balboa, Head Machine’s Orgasm, Heavy Cruiser’s Heavy Cruiser, Highway Robbery’s For Love or Money, Incredible Hog’s Volume 1, Jericho’s Jericho, Jerusalem’s Jerusalem, Jody Grind’s Far Canal, Kahvas Jute’s Wide Open, Leaf Hound’s Growers of Mushroom, Lucifer’s Friend’s Lucifer’s Friend, May Blitz’s May Blitz, Night Sun’s Mournin’, Nitzinger’s Nitzinger, Orang-Utan’s Orang-Utan, Pink Fairies’ Never Neverland, Pluto’s Pluto, Poobah’s Let Me In, Power of Zeus’ The Gospel According to Zeus, Road’s Road, Rumplestiltskin's Rumplestiltskin, Sir Lord Baltimore’s Kingdom Come, Sky’s Don’t Hold Back, Steel’s Steel, Stray’s Stray, Stray Dog’s Stray Dog, Tapiman’s Tapiman, Tempest’s Tempest, Thundermug’s Thundermug Strikes, Tiger B. Smith’s Tiger Rock, Tin House’s Tin House, Titanic’s Sea Wolf, Toad’s Toad, Trapeze’s Medusa, Truk’s Truk Tracks, Ursa Major’s Ursa Major, Warhorse’s Warhorse, Warpig’s Warpig, Weed’s Weed.