(Prism and Keep Guitarist) Akira Wada in 3 albums [1981 The Guitar, 1983 Out and about, 1985 Yellow Moon]

 

Discogged:

Japanese fusion guitarist. Born August 26, 1956 in Tokyo. Passed away March 28, 2021.

In Groups:

Akira Wada With Friends, ExhiVision, Keep, Prism (9), W.I.N.S, Duologue

Probably it would be fair to say the 2 bands, Keep (founded by our beloved Fukamachi) and the very prolific Prism, were a bit more progressive with their fusionary outpourings, than Wada's solo material.  People should check those out if they haven't already of course.

From the first album, which features the unbelievable oddity of having side one as regular instrumentals and side two identical songs with backing parts lacking the melodies for 'karaoke' purposes, Oneness Cry:

You can discern immediately we are dealing with the standard Japanese instr. fusion sound of that era we have heard so many times before.  In terms of commercialese, smooth, light fuzak, this is solidly middle of the dial between say 80s David Sanborn and Masahiko Satoh on the other more progressive end.  At least the energy is quite intense and all melodies are played by his wonderfully crisp and clean electric guitar.  (He plays a Fenderish guitar which, according to AI is "a signature model from P-PROJECT by Fernandes, custom made.")

The super-lovely You from the second album:

The third album is an odd mix, being electric guitar melodies on top of orchestral arrangements, all instrumental (apart from a relatively trite song for a certain Julia) as usual.  Surprisingly, it contains the best compositions in my opinion, and they sound like extensions of the last track You from the 2nd.

Last track on the 3rd, Cresendo [sic]: 

Note that after this one the next release came out in the 1990s so I didn't bother listening to it.

Luis Vecchio: 1971 Afro-Rock and 1978 Contactos

 

Information on this totally forgotten artist can be found here.

The first album, Afro-Rock from 1971, is purely generic library instrumentals.

If anyone has the missing two cassette-only works, please share them!

From the 1978 work, the opener 27 FQP is just stunning, exciting electric latin fusion, reminding me of the great Virgilio:

Classic French Zeuhl Band Vortex Compleat 1975-1979 [limited FLAC]

 

Not much you can say about this majestic classic.  If you love zeuhl of course these guys were at the top, like my old forgotten favourite Xalph.

From discogs:

Vortex is a progressive rock/fusion/Zeuhl band from Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, that was formed in 1973 under the name of Urantia. The band changed its name to Vortex in 1975 and split up in 1980. The band had a broad-ranging palette, including Zappa/Mothers influences, classical and cultural elements, at the darker instrumental end of Zeuhl.

Well certainly it's the classical incursions that appeal to me, mixed in with hard driving electric fusion.

C'est Cool, Raoul:

I love the title God is Good for you, John:

Rob Prester's Trillium [USA 1988], by request

 

The only album from Rob Prester, virtually no information databased there apart form the other musicians' identities.

Quite light fusion, as to be expected from the late year of release. It starts auspiciously enough with a Cyborg:

German Cry Freedom, 3rd album by request

 

Descriptor:

Originating from Fürth (Fuerth, Germany), and the beat band Soulflower, changing name to Cry Freedom in the early-1970's. By the time of their debut they had changed into an inventive fusion band.

These guys were really typical of the customary German late fusion style of the seventies with the synth plus sax plus elec. guitar pounding out melodies and quite a bit of commercial songwriting thrown in.  Despite the overall sound which is like famed Eiliff for ex. the progginess is quite lacking, no comparison actually, the best I could come up with from the first 1976 album Volcano is a track called Mambo Auf Burg Eckbertstein:

Then predictably, it gets worse, with the 1979 Sunny Day which deteriorates into commercialese jingle style music, we can't blame them, can we?  There are even reggaeish tracks as was usual in this period, a trend that became almost mandatory with its stupid simplicity but then petered out, quickly replaced by the stupid mandatory simplicity of new wave synths and digital drums.

What about their third from 1981, Nobody's Fool?  Well, there's some country, reggae, rockabilly (weirdly), yodeling (!), commercialese stuff, etc., so take it or leave it.