The Spoils of War (Illinois late-60's protoprog similar to USA or Curved Air)

[soundsweird]

Saw this CD in a used bin at a local record store. It has tracks from 3 separate incarnations of the band, and the later stuff with female vocals reminds me a lot of The United States of America or even Curved Air. Many of the tracks also have weird and abrasive electronics, unusual for that time period. The recording quality is inconsistent, but the later stuff generally sounds good. I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity and originality of some of the later tracks. Here's a link to the All Music Guide's review: http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-sp...r-mw0000943689

[ashratom]

I agree - this is a great album. Very cutting edge, and your comparison to United States of America is spot on. I have both the Shadoks LP and CD. The material was culled from 2 EP's and a lot of unreleased material. The cover art is unique to the reissues. The originals are pasted below:

Spoils of War.jpg

[Progbear]

They remind me more of 50 Foot Hose. Some of the band members went to France and made very different music under the name Mormos.