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.

Uno Naissoo's 1978 Malestusi Kodust, by request [FLAC limited]

 

Some gorgeous chamber fusion from Eastern Europe.  Info on the LP here, on the composer here:

Uno Naissoo (1928–1980) is a significant Estonian composer used to write symphonic, jazz and pop music. The father of Tõnu Naissoo.

Despite the above, very little has been compiled in the discography, presumably it's lost within the borders of his home country similar to the case of Rafiq Babyev who was from Azerbaijian.

From the 1978 work, I love the Kontrastid composition:

I found an interesting later work, Dedication, from 1995, in which the son plays (on keyboards) the music of the father from 20 years back, the Meditation from that one:

Robert Blennerhed's Seven from 1994

 

Robert Blennerhed's page with very little information.

Guitar-driven fusion here with a lot of potency, consider the opener called Royal Road:

Another one called God must really be busy these days:

I love the serpentine complexity of that riffing.