To Highlight the 50th Anninversary of 1970
A Tribute To The Two Best “Unknown” Rock Bands Of 1970!
RUMPLESTILTSKIN and QUATERMASS
RUMPLESTILTSKIN, with nearly 10,000 views to date on this site by Rockers worldwide, has always ranked within the top three among 00’s thus far 569 meaty, beaty, big, and bouncy posts and pages.
This is extremely impressive when reviews of concerts, albums and events with the likes of The Stones, The Who, The Doors, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Hendrix even, trail behind.
QUATERMASS is an album so good it should be in every true rocker’s collection – it never gets old, it’s always refreshing – a heavy accomplishment on every level in Rock History – except for no recognition, appreciation, fame, or fortune.
EXPERIENCE “UNKNOWN ROCK BAND” HISTORY!
RUMPLESTILTSKIN – RUMPLESTILTSKIN – 1970 – Bell 6047
1970 was a historic and heavyweight year for Rock ‘n’ Roll; with many new releases by talented bands and releases by the icons who remain that way today.
But it took more than talent – for one reason or another there were a few select bands whose potential was evident, yet the Rock Gods did not shine upon them. This divine inaction deprived the band and Rockers the satisfaction of more of a good thing.
RUMPLESTILTSKIN were a world-class Rock group and the classic example of a band that very few even knew existed. Another band whose record company’s handling of them was apparently tragic. Whenever 00individual would be thumbing through the “R” bins of his vinyl collection – it got played.
As a Record Store Manager and a Record and Tape Rack Jobber 00individual admits that he had access to just about any recordings and when he saw the comic book cover he was certainly curious – and Shel Talmy’s name as producer sealed the deal.
Shel Talmy, the producer of The Who and The Kinks (during their early successful years) whose heavy influence with The Who created a historic recording, “My Generation,” has this to say: “I produced a band called “Rumpelstiltskin”, which was a put-together band of very good session guys, and we almost made it with that one. We had a whole concept. We were going to do a comic strip and all kinds of stuff. It was really a fun thing. And good songs, great music, ’cause these guys really could play. That went on Bell Records, [who] just totally screwed the whole thing up. It was really unfortunate. We made two albums that I was very pleased with; that I think should have made it.” 00individual. agrees.
Remember that Led Zeppelin were quality session players that made it big – Rumplestiltskin were on the right path with the wrong record company.
One listen to this absolute gem of a record and 00 was hooked! Every cut is really, really great – big chunks of guitar with monster hooks, bass-lines that shake the ground and slabs of hot, hot Hammond organ with a commanding unique soulful voice soaring and roaring through it all unscathed. Really solid unique soulful heavy meaty tracks! This album is seriously great!
Unfortunately, the internet “takes down” most all of their songs – which only makes RUMPLESTILTSKIN that much more mysterious.
Take the first track; “Make Me Make You” this track seriously rivals the best of the aforemetioned bands – classic hooks, transitions, and totally hip and cool passages – at a little past six minutes it sounds as though Keith Emerson dropped-in for a bit. This track alone demands repeat listenings – plus – this is the “Gateway Drug” song for the rest of the album, if you like it you’ll love the rest.
In any case get a hold of this great band and great album any way you can!
RUMPLESTILTSKIN
(Full Album)
Side One:
1 Make Me Make You
2 Poor Billy Brown
3 Knock in My Door
4 No One to Turn To
Side Two:
1 Mr. Joe (Witness for the Defence)
2 Pate de foie gras
3 Rumplestiltskin
4 Squadron Leader Johnson
Rumpelstiltskin
Alan Parker (The Axe Man) Guitar,
Herbie Flowers (The Master) Bass,
Clem Cattini (The Drum Lord) Drums,
Alan Hawkshaw (The Hammerin’ Hammond Honcho) keyboards
Peter Stirling (Sterling Silver Voice) – vocals
Due in part by the consistent high number of visits/views to the original Rumplestiltskin post, there is definitely a very high – and highly deserved – current (over the past four years) interest in this band. The vinyl album is available on auction sites. There is also a Limited Edition CD in the net ethers.
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EXPERIENCE “UNKNOWN ROCK BAND” HISTORY!
EXPERIENCE PSYCHEDELIC BLUES HARD ROCK METAL PROG HISTORY!
QUATERMASS
QUATERMASS – May 1970 Harvest
QUATERMASS – POWERFUL BEAUTIFUL HARD ROCK!
Drum, Bass, Organ – and Strings – the best composed, performed, engineered and produced LP of 1970 – and that’s not even a bold statement, it’s fact. Within a year that will forever stand out as an extreme high-point in Rock History with many solid eternal classics released, Quatermass was a true gift for those fortunate enough to have been totally enjoying this album then, and for the past fifty years.
00 considers this one of the Best Albums of All Time – and decidedly so.
QUATERMASS were easily one of the underlying seminal forces of Metal / Prog / Blues / Rock and are by far the Best Unknown Band EVER that somehow slipped through the entire Rock History canon. And they are also easily one of my personal favorite bands and albums – seriously this LP still gives me the chills – it’s that good!!
Each song on the album is 100% strong, no filler, solid super hard Rock with an incredible use of a real string orchestra. You won’t believe it!
This is the definitive synthesis of Rock and Classical Orchestration; violins, cellos, violas; they counter-point and blend seamlessly into a beyond-belief sonic orgasmic Rock Fest.
And since I’m a champion of the Hammond organ, I was thrilled and still am at Pete Robinson’s highly-creative “lead guitar” use – it’s phenomenal!
Johnny Gustafson is one of the great unsung vocalists of all time and his bass lines are epic and the epitome of Rock-bottom heavy metal thunderous rhythm.
Mick Underwood’s drumming is masterful – he’s got his jazz riffs and rock down and knows his classical beats intuitively.
I’ve listened to this LP so many times that I can almost recite the whole thing in my head. I’m serious – this album is epic!
. . . and how about that album cover – very impressive ’70’s iconic imagery.
Legend has it that Deep Purple’s break-up and Ritchie Blackmore’s departure is due to his insistence and Deep Purple’s resistance to record:
QUATERMASS – ENTROPY / BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY – eventually he did with Blackmore’s Rainbow.
QUATERMASS- POST WAR SATURDAY ECHO – psychedelic soul blues perfection is so, so good, it’s too good, late night blues that erupts into full-blown massive hard rock and back again. And the lyrics – still precisely on the mark now as then – life issues you can’t escape.
QUATERMASS -GOOD LORD KNOWS – continues with soulful life issues and builds to the insane monster that is:
QUATERMASS – UP ON THE GROUND – again all three elements: Bass, Drums, Organ, join into a huge Chunk of Rock – and it doesn’t let up, this monster is followed by:
QUATERMASS- GEMINI – probably the only “average” song on the LP which would be the best song on any other band’s album – now what does that say? That’s right these guy’s were the absolute shit! Plus this is a total Deep Purple “In Rock” song!
And speaking of Deep Purple; this Quatermass LP totally fell into the cracks as it came out just before Deep Purple’s “In Rock” which as we know became an Etched-In-Rock classic that put Deep Purple at the top of all Hard Rock bands at the time . And without any promotion by their label Harvest, Quatermass was virtually unknown by the whole Rock Community. Deep Purple need to thank Harvest for if Quatermass were promoted this would have been in every Rocker’s LP collection and cut into Deep Purple’s profits and popularity!
Which brings us to:
QUATERMASS – MAKE UP YOUR MIND – a true excursion into Prog Rock, but Hard Prog Rock, no sissy stuff, a hard line take on the emerging genre – a tight precision jam with a heavy blues dirge undercurrent that puts Black Sabbath to shame.
And finally the majestic orchestral masterpiece:
QUATERMASS – LAUGHING TACKLE / ENTROPY – Hard Rock and Sublime Strings – includes 16 violins, 6 violas, 6 cellos, and 3 double bass, arranged by Robinson, with a drum solo by Underwood – flat out awesome!
This is/was as about as close as you can get to a perfect album on all counts, the song-writing and lyrics are deep and meaningful, the vocals match the mood of every lyric and emotion, the bass-lines are some of the strongest memorable riffs in Rock, the drums are perfect and seamlessly connect each transition, the Hammond organ’s use as a lead guitar and the ability to achieve that effect is beyond belief and near magical, the engineering and string arrangements (Paul Buckmaster) are gorgeous and deftly woven into the songs, and the songs – all of them – are the kind that you can listen to over and over again and still get the pleasure and chills that come with those rare moments when a band of musicians come together for a Perfect Storm of Rock – and in this case leave this one indelible, historic, classic, iconic album that will forever stand as one of the Pinnacles of Rock!
And in all its glorious entirety:
QUATERMASS – FULL COMPLETE ALBUM!
The definition of PSYCHEDELIC BLUES HARD ROCK METAL PROG HISTORY!
… and maybe it was because Quatermass was just a bit ahead of their time with their perfect combination of rock, prog, blues and metal, that they weren’t recognized for their genius.
Success and appreciation is all about timing and they had it all – just a little too early on the scene.
“Timing Is Everything”, and if you think about it; throughout history and the history of your own life, that’s about the only true fact in this world.
00INDIVIDUAL 