Sunday, March 12, 2006

Aardvark - Aardvark (1970)

Stunning forgotten gem of UK rock from 1970,originally on Deram this album stands out by virtue of having no guitars except a bass. The keyboards are working overtime here, and with the inclusion of some trippy electronic effects, this is a highly exceptional reissue. Freak Emporium

A rare prog album on the failed Decca sub-label, Deram Nova, a label that featured acts that were pretty much all destined for obscurity. Even so, the music on the label was often great, as shown by the Universal 3-disc set 'Legend Of A Mind'. Aardvark made one album only, then totally vanished from the scene. However, it was a very good album with lots of heavy prog workouts that should appeal to all fans of early prog acts like The Nice, Spooky Tooth, Deep Purple, Quatermass and Egg. 'Copper Sunset' kicks off proceedings with an extremely heavy organ riff that causes the speakers to shake. This type of music should put a smile on the face of any prog fan; the whole band work well. 'Very Nice Of You To Call' is a slightly poppier tune that reminds one a little of a motif in Camel's masterpiece, 'Lady Fantasy'. 'Many Things To Do' is a great track, with some neat vocals and clever instrumental work, and a very nice, Brian Auger-ish organ solo at the end. 'Greencap' features some superb organ jamming, and the band achieve a very heavy sound that is reminiscent of the likes of The Nice at their best. 'I Can't Stop' is a neat tune with good keyboards and bass playing, with another mad jam session in the middle. 'The Outing- Yes' starts off with a jolly bit of psychedelic whimsy, but quickly enters the realms of organ driven cacophony that show a band willing to experiment. The Caravan esque tones of 'Once Upon A Hill' are very nice indeed, with vocals and organ perfect for the track. This can't prepare for the huge onslaught of the great 'Put That In Your Pipe And Smoke It'- a terrific organ driven rocker which reminds one of Egg at their heaviest.So all in all, a very strong album, and whilst not terribly innovative, is still hugely enjoyable in many respects. Well worth checking out. ProgArchives

Link

10 comments:

Lisa Sinder said...

unfortunately not, Giorgio!

More fun staff is coming!

Anonymous said...

Лиза, у вас тут действительно очень редкие пластинки. А каков битрейт выкладываемых альбомов?

Anonymous said...

thanks for your blog
i discover it on the groovyfab forum
aardvark is another good seventies group i don't know before
a very big thanks for all the bloggers (bryons, chris, ...)
and of course to you
dtfloyd

Lisa Sinder said...

dtfloyd thank you - for kind words! More staff will be put today!

2Anonymous: mostly 192VBR

Anonymous said...

Aardvark = killer stuff! Love that organgrinding!

Great blog also!

Thank you very much!
Grtz, Danny Belgium

alank said...

giorgio - check out the great site: 8daysinapril.blogspot.com --
scroll down to "previous" on the right side and look for the link that starts with "Wow, i installed..." and it will take you to a post with a link to a broselmachine recording.

not sure if this is the one you want but i knew i had seen that band's name before.

AND of course to ezhevika: Thankyou for these great posts ! they are wonderful !!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the Aardvark post. Many of the bands featured I've only read about, this is very exciting!
Deep River

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you!!! I had this one but lost it in a harddrive crash. I've been looking all over ever since Chrisgoesrock's blog deleted it. Finally it is back in my collection (and also on a cd this time) - a wonderful album:)
Cheers, Bjornee - norway

Anonymous said...

Sadly having problems opening this rars on MAC.
Too sad, because I love that album.
Any idea what's going wrong?

surprise guest said...

i've recently listened "Very nice to you to call" and i'm agree with you, "Lady Fantasy" from Camel sounds quite similar. Not sure if we can call it a simply inspiration or plagiary, but not casual.