Saturnus 2, from Hungary: ST 1980, Csigahazak 1982

 

With information here.  Kind of like the old classic fusion band Fermata in terms of smoothness, synth-driven instrumentals, or similar to Dimenzio from this blog.  However, there are some really outstanding moments in here, I'll draw your attention to the heartbreaking tenderness of In Memoriam:

I guess it reminds me of some of the really gentle, thoughtful Mahavishnu John McLaughlin tracks (eg, A Lotus on Irish Streams, from Inner Mounting.)  Probably it's him who came up with that idea of combining acoustic instruments (guitar and piano) plus flute or violin in a very tender trio type arrangement.  I should go back and relisten to all the seminal Mahavishnu releases, it's been years since I did that.

For a more fusioneering moment, Titan:

The second album is pretty much the same style with more ingenious musical thoughts, the Elektronikus track, brilliantly brings the synth into the fusion fold:

Really surprisingly enjoyable, given the level of under-the-radar neglect here.

String Connection, from Poland: Workaholic 1982; New Romantic Expectation 1983, Live 1984, Der Walzer vom Weltende 1986

 

String Connection:

Polish jazz combo led by violinist Krzesimir Dębski, founded at the beginning of the 80's and delivering first a jazz-rock music interspersed with folk intonations, later releases becoming closer to an elegant smooth jazz, lesser chops but still emphasis on fine melodic playing.

The Quasi String Waltz from their first release Workaholic really blew me away, as an advanced classical-influenced chamber jazz composition:

The combination of violins and electric piano throughout the music is quite enjoyable of course for us old fusion fans.

From the 1983 New Romantic album, Progresje Jesieni:

From the Live 1984, Para Martha:

Some of the albums have not been digitized yet, I note.  In any case the first LP was the best in my opinion, with the last one being not of the greatest interest, despite the wonderful title.

Gideon's Eight Reasons Why, Canada 1981

 

An unbelievable cover painting indeed, from the days when such things were common.  And a gatefold on top of that.  Whenever I spot one of those huge 'great vinyl covers' books at the local bookstore I have to shake my head in sadness, thinking of all the lost art these compilers have no idea exists out there.  But of course you never see 'great ultrarare, lost vinyl covers' published, just the usual crap like Sargeant Peppers and Disraeli Gears.

You can see here the band hailed from Oshawa, Ontario, and this is their only LP, self-released. As is so often the case however the discogs description as prog rock is mildly inappropriate, since the majority of the contents are regular hard rock at best.  There are perhaps 2 proggy tracks in there I believe which you can hear below.  For me this band is most similar to neglected and maligned Canadians Max Webster headed by guitarist Kim Mitchell, who did do quite a bit of prog back in their heyday.  And they really are underrated (as progsters) I feel.  Others report that Gideon is like Kansas with perhaps a bit of Rush influence, which would be expected given they're Canucks and Rush was and still is massive up North.  I don't feel it's quite as bombastic as Kansas, but the singer sounds a bit like Geddy Lee suggesting he was an influence.

The Mechanic, with its perhaps appropriate for today story of the robot friend:

The closer Awaken to You is worth hearing a million times a day just for the bizarre opening riff, very reminiscent of some of the crazy-riffed tracks from Max Webster, like In context of the moon:

Rosebud's Discoballs, A Tribute to Pink Floyd 1977, by request

 

Note the involvement, databased on this page, of Claude Engel, George Rodi, drummer Schultheis, and even our beloved Jannick Top, all the greats, for this 2-off disco band.  Only missing would be Ceccarelli.  Btw the second album is a tribute to New Orleans, from 1979, with dixieland numbers.  

Obviously in the case of this album, as the old expression had it, what you see is what you get. A very old expression the kids today would never get. Some of the renditions really fall flat in my opinion, like Money, on the other hand, Syd Barrett's wonderfully dissonant instrumental Interstellar Overdrive doesn't really sound bad with the disco beats:

And the other Barrett classic Arnold Layne is so totally interesting to hear, because it's so oddly transformed:

And surely you could say the same for Main Theme from More:

On a side note, people probably are familiar with the original Pink Floyd LP  headed by Syd called Piper at the Gates of Dawn, before he left the band / was made redundant by the other members, but do you guys know that Syd put out some pretty good solo works after that? You can read his story and discog briefly here.

Prazsky Vyber: 1978 Mini Jazz Klub, 1978 Zizen, 1987 Tatrman, 1989 Straka v Hrsti

 

Discogged:

Czech rock-jazz group, also known as “The Prague Selection”. Originally formed by Michael Kocáb in 1975 as a jazz combo, featuring the Prague Big Band (aka Pražský big band) rhythm section; the group name is also an ironic reference to a cheap Czech wine brand. Reformed in 1980 as a rock and new wave group. They were also regularly performing as a studio rhythm section, either anonymously or under various monikers (e.g. Elektrovox or even as members of TOČR). Between 1983–1986 prohibited from performing or recording due to communist censorship. Definitively disbanded in December 2005. Revived in 2006 by Kocáb with a Czech-Australian line-up as “Pražský Výběr II”. Reunited in the “classic” 1980s line-up in 2012, including both drummers.

Members 2012: Michael Kocáb (leader, keyboards, vocals), Michal Pavlíček (guitar, vocals), Vilém Čok (bass guitar, vocals), Jiří Hrubeš (drums), Klaudius Kryšpín (drums).

Former members until 1980: Jiří Niederle (saxophone), Ondřej Soukup (bass guitar), Jan Žižka (drums), Zdeněk Fišer (guitar), Vratislav Placheta (drums), Martin Koubek (guitar), Ladislav Malina (drums), Jiří Tomek (vocals, percussion), and numerous guest artists.

Michael Kocab has appeared here before, notably with singer Olmerova.

And you might recall Pavlicek from the brilliant Mini Jazz Klub here, and the Stromboli, and Minotaurus.

The 1978 Zizen (Thirst) fusion is a masterpiece though. Note that keyboardist Kratochvil, of April Orchestra and Jazz Q fame, is on here too.

The track called Cerpadlo has the unmistakable Kratochvil sound to it:

I decided to listen to the later, 1980s albums, but as mentioned these are mostly new wave, with minimal fusion.

From Straka, Bangabaseva:

From Tatrman, the title track: