Turkey is a second album by Wild Turkey. Former Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick formed Wild Turkey after departing Tull in 1971. The initial line-up of the band featured Glenn Cornick (bass), Graham Williams (guitar), Alan Tweke Lewis (guitar), John Pugwash Weathers (drums) and Gary Pickford-Hopkins (vocals). Before recording their first album, Weathers and Williams departed the fold to be replaced by Jon Blackmore (guitar & vocals) and Jeff Jones (drums). The album Battle Hymn was released by Chrysalis Records in 1971 and was well received by fans and critics alike. By the time of the bands second album for Chrysalis Records, the line-up had changed again with Mick Dyche replacing Jon Blackmore on guitar and Steve Gurl joining on keyboards.

Sweet Baby James (1970). James Taylor's second album, Sweet Baby James, released in early 1970, is the album that secured his spot among the most important songwriters of the 70s. The sweet, bluesy acoustic guitar and vocals on this album are authentic and interesting - this is a record that has everything from a blues inspired jam, packed with a big band horn section ("Steamroller Blues"); to a gospel revival-like track ("Lo And Behold"); to a traditional nursery rhyme made into a folk ballad ("Oh, Susannah"). And, of course, the album featured "Fire and Rain," which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Country Road" was another Top 40 hit that struck a chord with music fans, especially because of its attractive mixture of folk, country, gospel, and blues elements, all of them carefully understated and distanced…

Between the cover art and the overall musical style, McLuhan is highly reminiscent of early underground British progressive rock bands - in particular, echoes of Warm Dust's style can be heard in the use of spoken word and brass instruments to craft a decidedly different texture from the rest of the pack. In fact, they were a US group, offering an intriguing style of progressive rock with fusion-derived flourishes. It's always melodic and nicely done. Definately of interest for fans of Zappa, Canterbury or just anyone who loves complex and rich eclectic yet melodic jazz-fusion with occasional bombastic organs.

Music of My Mind is widely hailed as Stevie Wonder's artistic rebirth, the beginning of his "classic period." The1972 release is a breathtaking exploration of soul, sound and the sonic possibilities of the recording studio, shaped as much by his roots in R&B as it is by his interest in electronic instrumentation. Compared to his earlier work, this music feels worlds away, the texture of the album was different from anything he had released. Performing almost entirely solo, Stevie ties overdubs of keyboards, drums, harmonica as well as his mastery of traditional song structure and his immense musical personality into well-woven audio tapestries. Standout tracks include "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)," "Happier Than The Morning Sun," "Keep On Running" and "I Love Every Little Thing About You." He makes a small job of transposing the passion of soul music into a synthesized world. At this point, people realized that Wonder was no longer suggesting brilliance. He had found it.

With 1971's Fragile having left Yes poised quivering on the brink of what friend and foe acknowledged was the peak of the band's achievement, Close to the Edge was never going to be an easy album to make. Drummer Bill Bruford was already shifting restlessly against Jon Anderson's increasingly mystic/mystifying lyricism, while contemporary reports of the recording sessions depicted bandmate Rick Wakeman, too, as little more than an observer to the vast tapestry that Anderson, Steve Howe, and Chris Squire were creating. For it was vast.

First Base was British hard rock group Babe Ruth's biggest success, both in terms of popular and critical acclaim. This LP defined an interesting junction between hard rock and progressive rock. The two driving forces behind this album were guitarist Alan Shackloc, who wrote most of the material, and vocalist Janita Haan, who came out as the perfect balance between Janis Joplin and Robert Plant. The album contained "The Mexican," the band's classic song which also includes a theme by western soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone ("Per Qualche Dollaro in Piu").

Kicking off with the wickedly salacious "Burlesque," Bandstand was the best of the late Family recordings. For a band that for the most part eschewed riffs and hooks, both are in plentiful supply here. More important, by the time of Bandstand's release, Family had reconciled the war between their art-rock and hard rock tendencies; that is to say, there is more of the latter and less of the former. So, the record doesn't have the internal stress of their earlier releases, but what it does have is Chapman shouting like he could take on the world and Whitney playing like he must have when he formed the Farinas in 1962. A corker from the word go.

This reissue British artist Mike Cooper's two excellent albums, originally released in 1970 and 1971, respectively; his departure from folk-blues is evident on these two documents. His diversity is one of the most striking traits of his work, considering that Cooper has worked in free improvisation, avant-garde, Hawaiian guitar music, and – much later in the '90s – even drum'n'bass-inflected electronica. As a British folk-blues artist of the '60s, obvious comparisons to Bert Jansch and John Renbourn abound. Like many of his contemporaries of that movement, he progressed to a folk-rock singer/songwriter mode by 1971 and gave listeners Places I Know, which is rooted in the tradition of Tim Buckley, Jackson Browne, and Randy Newman's sophistication with the form.

Grover Washington, Jr.'s sophomore date for Creed Taylor's Kud imprint was released in late 1972. Like its predecessor Inner City Blues, this session was produced by the label boss himself and was arranged and conducted by Bob James. Assembled for the date were large horn and string sections. The former contained stalwart talents like Detroit's Pepper Adams on baritone saxophone, and trumpeters Marvin Stamm and Ernie Royal. Other players on the session included what would become the heart of the CTI session crew: guitarists Cornell Dupree and Eric Gale, bassists Ron Carter and Gordon Edwards (who only appears on the opening cut), drummer Idris Muhammad (though Billy Cobham is also here), and percussionists like Airto Moreira and Ralph MacDonald…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a remastered and expanded edition of the classic album Live in Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra by Procol Harum.
Recorded on 18th November 1971 at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Canada, the album captured a truly magical performance by Gary Brooker (vocals, piano), B.J. Wilson (drums), Chris Copping (organ and harpsichord), Alan Cartwright (bass) and Dave Ball (guitar), the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the Da Camera Singers. Classic Procol Harum material such as ‘Conquistador’, ‘Whaling Stories’, ‘A Salty Dog’ and the epic ‘In Held ‘Twas in I’ were beautifully arranged by Gary Brooker and the resulting album was one of Procol’s most successful and spawned a hit single in ‘Conquistador’…

Saucy blues-rockers Juicy Lucy formed in 1969 from the ashes of cult-favorite garage band the Misunderstood, reuniting vocalist Ray Owen, steel guitarist Glenn "Ross" Campbell, and keyboardist Chris Mercer; with the additions of guitarist Neil Hubbard, bassist Keith Ellis, and drummer Pete Dobson, the group immediately notched a U.K. Top 20 hit with their reading of the Bo Diddley perennial "Who Do You Love," with their self-titled debut LP falling just shy of the Top 40. Ex-Zoot Money singer Paul Williams, guitarist Mick Moody, and drummer Rod Coombes replaced Owen (who exited for a solo career), Hubbard, and Dobson for 1970's Lie Back and Enjoy It, with bassist Jim Leverton assuming Ellis' duties for the follow-up, 1971's Get a Whiff a This.

After his days in Yes and a very brief stay in Bloodwyn Pig, Peter Banks started Flash together with lead vocalist Colin Carter, soon to be joined by bassist Ray Bennett and drummer Mike Hough. Former Yes-colleague Tony Kaye agreed to play keyboards on this one, more as a special guest than as a proper member. So, the final result turned out to be pretty similar to "The Yes Album", regarding the melodic sensibility and the sense of excitement portrayed in the performances, but with a major presence of jazz swing and a general tendency toward working on a more concise number of musical themes. These elements make the listener aware of the caliber of Bank's input for the forging of the Yes sound: something that should be more acknowledge than it usually is…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce a new remastered edition of the classic 1972 album A Tear And A Smile by Tir Na nÓg Full Description This legendary Progressive Folk duo featured the talents of Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Condell. Formed in Dublin in 1969, the duo travelled to London to make a name for themselves on the UK folk circuit, earning a contract with Chrysalis Records in 1970. Securing a support slot with Jethro Tull, Tir Na nÓg came to the attention of a rock audience. The duo became a fixture on the concert circuit, opening for acts such as The Who, Elton John and Procol Harum and were also championed by John Peel. A Tear And A Smile was released to acclaim in 1972 and featured a host of original, haunting and emotive music…

Gil Scott-Heron's third album is split down the middle, the first side being a purely musical experience with a full band (including flutist Hubert Laws and drummer Pretty Purdie), the second functioning more as a live rap session with collaborator Brian Jackson on flute and a few friends on percussion. For side one, although he's overly tentative on the ballad "The Middle of Your Day," Scott-Heron excels on the title track and the third song, "The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues," one of his best, best-known performances. The second side is more of an impromptu performance, with Scott-Heron often explaining his tracks by way of introduction ("No Knock" referred to a new police policy whereby knocking was no longer required before entering a house, "And Then He Wrote Meditations" being Scott-Heron's tribute to John Coltrane)…