A whole bunch of used proto-prog! Recommendations?

[rickawakeman]

At our great little brick & mortar "used disc" store here in town ("Turn It Up!" in Northampton MA) someone just unloaded a bunch of primarily English proto-prog, many re-releases on Esoteric. This genre is really not my thing but would be curious which of these titles folks would recommend (8-10 buck a pop):

Walrus-s/t
High Tide- (second)
Help Yourself- Two-on-one (1st, 3rd?)
Still Life ('71)
Rare Bird-Epic Forest (Dutch?)
Jade Warrior- Last Autumn's Dream

Thanks!

Rick

[ItalProgRules]

Wow, that's expensive for used, especially these days with CDs dying off.

The Jade Warrior is good. Opeth's Mikael Akerfeldt loves the Still Life so much he named an album after it. I've never heard it but I want it.

I just found a mint KEYSTUDIO used for 3 bucks...it's OOP and I've never wanted to spring for both KEYS sets just to get the studio trax, so I'm pretty happy with snagging that one, for 3 bucks!

[Scrotum Scissor]

At our great little brick & mortar "used disc" store here in town ("Turn It Up!" in Northampton MA) someone just unloaded a bunch of primarily English proto-prog, many re-releases on Esoteric. This genre is really not my thing but would be curious which of these titles folks would recommend (8-10 buck a pop):

Walrus-s/t
High Tide- (second)
Help Yourself- Two-on-one (1st, 3rd?)
Still Life ('71)
Rare Bird-Epic Forest (Dutch?)
Jade Warrior- Last Autumn's Dream

Walrus: pedestrian brass-rock, like Keef Hartley or If but lamer. Not worth it, IMO.
High Tide: rightfully legendary heavy progressive with acid rock vibes to the core. Think early Hawkwind merged with The Doors and early VdGG (not kidding!).
Help Yourself: part of the "rural prog" thing (Man, Global Village Trucking Co., Cochise, Quiver, Gypsy, Quicksand etc.), meaning half way between adventurous post-psychedelia and folky pub-rock. Unfortunately, their best albums are the 2nd. and 4th. - i.e. that other double CD available! But there's some good on this one too.
Still Life: quite alright Hammond-heavy prog with longish tunes and some neat arrangements. Even the odd soul influence here. I'd grab it.
Rare Bird: British (again Hammond-heavy) group who had one classic monster album (As Your Mind Flies By). This one is nowhere as great, but worth a listen.
Jade Warrior: this is their third release and it's OK, but very different from the unique grandness of the later, Island-label era instrumental concept works of theirs.

[mogrooves]

High Tide - (second)
Still Life ('71)
Rare Bird - Epic Forest (Dutch?)
Jade Warrior - Last Autumn's Dream

I like these, particularly the High Tide. The Rare Bird should include what was originally a 4-song EP, probably as "bonus" tracks.

[JeffCarney]

Wow, that's expensive for used

8-10 bucks? Those are very reasonably priced for those titles. Not "expensive" at all.

[strawberrybrick]

^ Agreed, that's what those CDs would go for here in Chicago

[nosebone]

The Jade Warrior is my favorite from that list, although I haven't heard Help Yourself.

Not the leaders in all things proto-prog, but YMMV.

[Pr33t]

I think the High Tide is by far the best of the bunch.

Jade Warrior: this is their third release and it's OK, but very different from the unique grandness of the later, Island-label era instrumental concept works of theirs.

Agreed. It's a solid album, but not one I'd run to grab.

[mellotron storm]

I'd be jumping all over that High Tide cd, not sure if i'd bother with the rest but that's just my opinion.

[Sheerah]

Thanks!

Rick

Hi!

[Levgan]

High Tide- (second)

Doomy stuff with heavy guitars, violin and slightly Morrison-like singing. Quite good and unique, I'd give it a try.

Help Yourself- Two-on-one (1st, 3rd?)

Man-related IIRC, but not nearly as good. Pass.

Still Life ('71)

Lauded by many people, I always found this very Heep-ish.

Rare Bird-Epic Forest (Dutch?)

Nope, a British band in its second iteration - less prog (and less Hammond) than the first two classic albums, but very good melodic rock with plenty of memorable tunes. Recommended.

Jade Warrior- Last Autumn's Dream

I'm one of the few who prefer Vertigo-era Jade Warrior to their Island-era albums - they just have more psych (and more bite) to them. But in fact this particular one is not my favorite, IMO it pales in comparison to Released, for example.

So, all in all, I'd definitely get High Tide and Rare Bird and probably Jade Warrior if it's not too expensive.

[Johnboy]

Here's Howd I'd Rank em:

Rare Bird-Epic Forest ---Killer band and this is their vastly underrated LP... IMHO (just as good as "as your mind" but very different due to the addition of guitar as opposed to the organ led first 2 lps... which are brilliant as well)

Still Life ----Excellent organ led early prog

High Tide ---Heaveist band of the lot brilliant!

Jade Warrior ---Last Autumn's Dream my 2nd fav of their vertigo era I like Released better

Help Yourself- Two-on-one ---I really dig this band...excellent rural/slightly countryish with some prog moves here and there... if you like later period Family or post psych era Greatful Dead

Walrus-s/t ---weakest of the lot, but still a decent listen


John

[JKL2000]

On one hand, these seem expensive. But on the other hand, they're cheap.

[rickawakeman]

I think I'm gonna grab the High Tide and Still Life discs. Thanks for your recommendations!