Rollsplytt's Flappergranny, 1982 and Happy New Year 2021!

 

A one-off private pressing from this German band with all instrumental, lighter styled fusion including some funky, slight reggae elements, enjoyable in parts nonetheless, recommended by a commenter.  We've heard so much of this type of music before, based on the older fusion of the seventies but brought down to a more commercial, lighter level, despite the typical trappings of synthesizer and electric guitar.  

The track called Hand auf Herz, Mon Ami changes nicely from a slower emotional opening to uptempo crunchy electric guitar:

Roger Nichols in the ultrarare Santa Monica Centennial Stairway '75

 

I'm going post this just in case someone comes along this page and is curious to know what this is all about.  It's definitely super rare and cost me an arm and a leg and more to purchase.  I thought it just might be like some other brilliant overlooked funky fusion mid-70s albums since really there was nothing to go by online but it turns out that the first three sides are orchestral composed music in a variety of styles some of which are silly or downright annoying, while the last side which featured the great Roger Nichols is a rehash of the old songs he made with Paul Williams, great as those songs were, and exemplary of the decade.

It's databased here. The description:

Concert in honor of Santa Monica's One hundredth Birthday. Thursday, March 13 and Friday, March 14, 7:30 p.m. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium

The actual record is marred by the fact the beginnings of both sides a and b are horribly warped and can't be played for the first five minutes, though you might be convinced this isn't so bad as it sounds when you hear the music.

One of the tracks with Roger Nichols from side d:

Anyhow I post this in case someone else out there is curious about this rarity and would like to purchase it not knowing the contents.

Fez, 1978 by request

 

Info here. Avant-garde, free jazz.

Chikara Ueda and The Power Station in several albums 1978 to 1982

Smooth and funky fusion all instrumental along the lines of Yamashita but of course without the vocals he made a slew of albums in the late seventies to the early eighties period some of which might be too smooth for our tastes.

From Cara de Piedra, the track called Silhouette d'Amour :

Included are Flying Easy (1980) Sunlight Whisper (1981), Mr. (1981) [INC], Herdland (1981) and Cara de Piedra (1982):

Lizard's Bad Companions

 

Sadly a one-off from this wonderful group that made a kind of hard proto-prog like Tucky Buzzard, the description is quite complete on discogs:

Michael (Mick) Tulk had previously played guitar with British freak-beat band THE UNTAMED during the mid-1960s. Greg Hill, Dave Conners and Rob Souter had previously been members of the Sydney-based WHITE WINE, although none of them actually played on the band’s “Overflow” LP (Festival 1970). Mick Tulk and Dave Conners also appeared on GULLIVER SMITH’s “The Band's Alright But the Singer Is…” LP (Reprise 1973). Dave Conners also performed on the following LPs: JADE WARRIOR “Released” (Vertigo 1971) and GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR’s “Howlin’ Wind” (1976). Rob Souter was drummer for the DYNAMIC HEPNOTICS (1980-86). LIZARD split up in early 1973 after having laid down several tracks at EMI Studios (Sydney) during December 1972. These tracks eventually appeared on the band’s “Rosalyn” b/w “Cecil” single (released 7 June 1973), and “Bad Companions” LP (released July 1973). Initially, the album was slated to appear as “Starve the Lizards” (imagine that!), but this was replaced by the “Bad Companions” title, possibly in reference to Gulliver Smith’s band name at the time.

The stunning long track called Missing Pages gives you a great idea how enjoyable this can be: