May 23, 2013

RhoDeo 1320 Goldy Rhox 109


Hello, today the 109th post of GoldyRhox, classic rock pop.  Today's focus is on a Dutch rock band which was founded by classically trained organist/flautist Thijs van Leer in 1969, and is most famous for the instrumental pieces "Hocus Pocus" and "Sylvia". In 1973 Akkerman was chosen 'Best Guitarist in The World' by the readers of the UK magazine, Melody Maker. His standing was such that he teamed up with manufacturer Framus to produce one of the first 'signature' guitar models. The band broke-up in 1978, but reformed in 2002 (without Akkerman) and has been recording and touring since. They have found also renewed fame due to the use of "Hocus Pocus"  as the theme for the Nike 2010 World Cup commercial, Write The Future. Between touring they managed another 3 albums, latest is X released last year.

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Most of the albums i 'll post made many millions for the music industry and a lot of what i intend to post still gets repackaged and remastered decades later, squeezing the last drop of profit out of bands that for the most part have ceased to exist long ago, although sometimes they get lured out of the mothballs to do a big bucks gig or tour. Now i'm not as naive to post this kinda music for all to see and have deleted, these will be a black box posts, i'm sorry for those on limited bandwidth but for most of you a gamble will get you a quality rip don't like it, deleting is just 2 clicks...That said i will try to accommodate somewhat and produce some cryptic info on the artist and or album.

Today's mystery album is the second studio album by today's artists released Oct '71, it became the first LP in the US to strike gold, it boosted the band into at least semi-fame outside of continental Europe, the album blasts off with their hit single, "Hocus Pocus." Built around a killer guitar hook by Jan Akkerman and a series of solo turns by the band, this instrumental replaced "Wipeout" as a staple of FM radio. The bizarrely hilarious vocal and accordion solos by Thijs van Leer -- one of which absurdly concludes with rousing stadium cheers -- have to be heard to be believed. After this over-the-top performance, the other tracks seem comparatively constrained: the gentle "Le Clochard" features some gorgeous classical guitar over Mellotron strings. The album concludes with "Eruption,"a 23-minute adaptation of Jacopo Peri's opera Euridice which tells the story of Orpheus and Euridice. It while mimicking the multi-suite nomenclature of Yes and King Crimson, is essentially a side-long jam session. Stop-time Emersonian organ solos alternate with languid sections of jazzy guitar redolent of Santana, while still other sections are flat-out electric blues-rock stomps. It's impressive playing, though it comes off as a bit meandering after the tightly structured solos that began the album. Here in a 2001 quality Japanese remaster.


Goldy Rhox 109   (flac 267mb)

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Goldy Rhox 109   (ogg 100mb)

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