Progglådan Box D: Melodisk Rock

CD 402

Contact/Tomas Wiehe & Tomas Forssell/Trotsålderns Barn/Mobben

This one is a four way split.

Let's dive in...

Contact:

A popular progg outfit who's debut album was produced by Kim Fowley.

Other recordings from those sessions were adapted by Fowley

and released as his 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' L.P.

Not hugely inspiring but I like the sax.

Thomas Wiehe & Tomas Forssell (the spelling of their names varies):

Originally from Malmo, Wiehe moved to the UK at age 16 to study.

There he discovered The Beatles, Tommy Steele, Elvis and The Byrds.

His brother, Mikael, is also a notable musician

known for co-founding the influential progg band Hoola Bandoola Band

and for his extensive solo career.

Thomas and Mikael were both part of the band 'The Moccers; in the 1960s.

Tomas Forssell is a Swedish musician and actor from Stockholm.

He started the rock band Nynningen in Gothenburg in 1970.

This has a pastoral/folk feel which I quite enjoyed.

Trotsålderns Barn (The Children of the Defiant Age):

"The music style was rock and pop with political lyrics.

The influences were Wishbone Ash and Genesis."

Sounds more like a collaboration between Curved Air and The Hatfields.

Really good!

Mobben (The Mob)

Another notable band within the progg movement

who started as a pure blues band in Gävle in 1967.

In 1970 the members moved to Uppsala and became more politically oriented.

Later recordings involved musicians from other notable Swedish bands

including Samla Mammas Manna.

Well executed melodic rock but the song arrangements are a bit bland.

They should have let me play lead guitar all over it :)

The 2nd track is actually a Swedish language version of Free's 'Wishing Well'

the title of which translates to 'You are Tightening Your Door'.

They sound great on the last tune which revisits their blues roots.

regards

Titus

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The Lost Will of Dr. Rant (1951)

'The Lost Will of Dr. Rant' is an episode of the NBC supernatural series 'Lights Out'.

Other than this I know nothing about 'Lights Out'.

Adapted from M.R. James's story 'The Tractate Middoth', it stars a young Leslie Nielsen.

Always difficult to take Leslie's 'serious acting'...erm...seriously

but he was in some good stuff including the sci-fi classic 'Forbidden Planet'

before diving into the algae-ridden refecting pool of 'taking-everything-literally' comedy.

This is notable to M.R. James afficionados for being the first ever TV adaptation.

It's a bare bones telling of the plot-line with little or no attempt

to convey any of the atmosphere that made M.R. James a giant of the genre.

To be fair it's only short and I believe these programs were basically filmed live

with little or no time/money for re-takes pre editing.

I remastered the audio as it was far too quiet.

BTW I'm always open to requests/suggestions for old film or TV.

regards

Titus

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World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 7

Bonus material:

CGI special: Tactics & Strategy

Making the Series: interviews with the production team

Bloodthirsty readers fear not.

More War coming soon as we continue our retrospective

on the follies of the first half of the 20th century.

regards

Titus

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In Bed with MeDinner is an old favourite of mine.

Created by Bob Mills who pioneered a style of comedy

which became the template for people like Harry Hill.

The humour is 'pre-seeded' with the punch lines coming later.

Hard to describe but very funny at times.

You probably need to be British and over 50 to get all the cultural references.

I found an old DVD I made which has a few episodes.

They were ripped from a VHS tape.

Bob had musical guests but unfortunately the clips of the bands were edited out

because the VHS producers did not have the rights to the music.

Buzzcocks were featured on this episode.

The first three series opened with a parody of The Prisoner

while the fourth and final series was re-titled Still In Bed With MeDinner,

and the opening sequence changed to a parody of the classic Avengers TV show.

The audio was a bit poor so I gave it a remaster.

regards

Titus

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Rush

Stadthalle Offenbach
Offenbach am Main
Germany
May 28th 1979

Reposted from May 2020

Here's the three amigos thrashing away on their Hemispheres tour.

Well known soundboard that goes by many names.
Black Forest, Hemispheres in Frankfurt etc.
Doubt the good folks of Offenbach would appreciate being tagged as Frankfurt!
They first played in Germany in 1977 and they were Offenbach (sorry)
Mrs. Luxor is German and she says she had never heard of Rush before coming to the UK.
But Germans think Barclay James Harvest are as good as Led Zeppelin.
And Saga are the best thing since sliced sauerkraut.
I saw Rush on this tour about a month prior to this recording.

Support was from the wonderful Max Webster

who were promoting their Million Vacations album at the time.
Which is a better album than anything Rush ever did IMO.
There were free Max Webster promotional flexi-discs left on each seat.

Might still have one somewhere.
I remember Kim Mitchel in his long stripy socks.
I still have the ticket...£3.50...which a quick google told me
is equivalent to £17.50 in today's money.
About the price of two beers at the venue bar now. If you're lucky!
regards
Titus

Disc 1

01 - Intro
02 - Anthem
03 - A Passage To Bangkok
04 - By-Tor & the Snow Dog
05 - Xanadu
06 - Something For Nothing
07 - The Trees
08 - Cygnus X-1
09 - Hemispheres
10 - Closer To The Heart

Disc 2

01 - A Farewell To Kings
02 - La Villa Strangiato
03 - 2112
04 - Working Man
05 - Bastille Day
06 - In The Mood
07 - Drum Solo

link

The Holy Trinity is the foundational Christian belief that there is one God

who exists in three distinct, co-eternal persons:

God the Father, God the Son (a.k.a. Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.

Prior to that there must have been a Holy Duo.

God the Father added God the Son to the board of directors.

Jesus would always vote with Dad leaving The Holy Spirit somewhat side-lined.

It was a miracle...the first nepo baby.

I googled 'Jesus nepo baby' after writing this post.

Here's what I found :)

regards

Titus

Jack Bruce (with Joe Bonamassa)

Royal Festival Hall

London, UK

June 4th 2011

Remastered audience recording.

The performance served as a tribute to Gary Moore.

Gary was scheduled to play but, sadly,  he pased away in February 2011.

regards

Titus

Disc 1

The Big Blues Band

01 Every Day I Have the Blues

02 Roll and Tumble Blues

03 Doobre

Jack Bruce replaces Nick Cohen

04 Send for Me

05 Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune

06 First Time I Met the Blues

07 Neighbor, Neighbor

08 This Anger's a Liar

09 Born Under a Bad Sign

Disc 2

01 We're Going Wrong

Joe Bonamassa joins in

02 Midnight Blues

03 Theme for an Imaginary Western

04 White Room

05 Politician

06 Sunshine of Your Love

07 Spoonful

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Thunderbolt and lightning, very, very frightening me.

France vs Iraq was delayed at half-time for two hours due to a storm.

Fifa has no power to make its own rules, it must adhere to the advice of local authorities.

In the United States (home of the brave),

recommendations of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are used.

The NOAA says that if any lightning strike is detected within eight miles of a stadium

the game has to be stopped.

How would that work out distance-wise in the UK?

If you are in Manchester at Old Trafford or the Etihad,

you can just about get away with lightning in Rochdale.

A game could continue at Stamford Bridge if there was an electrical storm

at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - but it would be too close

if lightning was at Emirates Stadium.

There might be an issue if there are electrical storms around the final group games,

which are supposed to be played simultaneously.

If one game is halted, will Fifa have to stop the other one, too?

My solution? Just play through the bloody storm softies!

Austria goalkeeper Florian Wiegele is the tallest player at the 2026 World Cup.

His height is 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)

If they adopt my suggestion put a small wager on him to be hit by lightning first.

regards

Titus

regards

Titus

A Warning to the Curious BBC1 (1972)

Based on the ghost story of the same name by M. R. James

First aired on BBC1 on December 24th 1972.

It stars Peter Vaughan who is probably best known

for playing Wolfie's girlfriend's Dad in Citizen Smith

and 'Grouty' in Ronnie Barker's prison sitcom 'Porridge'.

A familiar face on UK TV back in the day.

He is ably supported by Clive Swift, another much loved supporting actor

who played Hyacinth Bucket's long-suffering husband in 'Keeping Up Appearances'.

Great to see these guys get the leading roles for once.

regards

Titus

link

Congratulations to my beloved Egypt.

Their victory over NZ has ensured they will progress to the next round.

regards

Titus

Porcupine Tree

Cinerama

Tel Aviv, Israel

November 15th 2000

Remastered FM.

Medium plus quality with DJ chat between tracks.

Some weird compression especially noticeable on the vocals at times.

Israeli suppression?

regards

Titus

01 intro

02 Even Less

03 Slave Called Shiver

O4 Waiting

05 Up the Downstair

06 Shesmovedon

07 Pure Narcotic

08 Tinto Brass

09 Feel So Low *

10 Russia on Ice *

11 Signify

* with Aviv Geffin

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World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 6

Victory and Despair - End of World War 1

This is the final episode

although there is some bonus material which I will post soon.

The WWI armistice was the agreement between the Allies and Germany

that halted fighting on the Western Front.

Signed at 5:00 a.m. in the Compiègne Forest in France,

it took effect at exactly 11:00 a.m. on November 11th 1918.

This marked the end of the war's major hostilities.

Kaiser Bill abdicated and buggered off to the Netherlands:

Any level-headed observer, at the time, could see that the terms of the armistice

would merely sow the seeds of future conflict.

regards

Titus

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Cardiacs

Jibberish - A Live Collection

Reposted from April 2025

My compilation of wonderful live Cardiacs recordings culled from a range of sources.

Including one from just two days before Tim's heart attack.

All have had some remastering.

regards

Titus

Disc 1

Radio 2XS Barn Session - December 11th 2004

01 The Breakfast Line

02 Big Ship

03 The Duck and Roger the Horse

04 Fast Robert

Marc Riley's Rocket Science - October 15th 2005

05 intro

06 Hope Day

07 chat

08 As Cold as Can Be in an English Sea

09 talk

10 Will Bleed Amen

11 talk

12 Stoneage Dinosaurs/outro

Disc 2

Marc Riley's Brain Surgery - June 23rd 2008

01 Silvery

02 talk

03 Jibber and Twitch

04 talk

05 Gen/outro

BBC 'Inside Tracks' (aired June 13th 1999)

06 Signs

07 Firey Gun Hand

London Astoria - November 12th 2004

08 The Everso Closely Guarded Line

The Garage, London - October 18th 2003

09 Dirty Boy

Salisbury Arts Centre - June 30th 1990

10 Is This the Life?

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Go Go Socceroos!

Show those Yanks what the descendants of British criminals are made of.

post-match verdict: Another comfortable win for the USA.

regards

Titus

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 5

Mayhem on the Eastern Front - Combat on the Eastern Front

Tanks were first used in combat on September 15th 1916,

during the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (part of the wider Battle of the Somme)

The word "tank" was a code name used by the British during development

to keep the weapon secret under the guise of water tanks.

The British Army deployed 49 Mark I tanks.

While the tanks had a devastating psychological effect on German morale

and proved they could cross trenches, they were incredibly slow

and suffered from heavy mechanical unreliability.

Of the vehicles sent to the front, many broke down

Only 32 made it to the starting line,

and just nine managed to engage the enemy lines.

If I'd have see them fist I would have immediately surrendered.

Same applies had I been around to see Hannibal winding his way down from the Alps.

regards

Titus

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...for Jobe

In the spirit of fair play:

regards

Titus

The "hydration breaks" at the World Cup are proving unpopular.

I propose we set up a pitch-side bar (with a beer garden for smokers)

and they can all have a chat over a pint.

regards

Titus

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 4

Killers of the Sea - Conflict on the seas

German U-boats were the scourge of the ocean:

Technology is key to warfare.

I believe we are seeing that now with the increasing use of drones.

The age of the multi-million dollar missile may well be over.

Cavalry had once been an innovation and most countries were still using it in 1914.

An estimated 8 million horses, donkeys and mules were killed during WWI.

The age of the Warhorse was over.

regards

Titus

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Cartoon by Gary Larson

regards

Titus

World War 1 in colour (2003)

Part 3

Blood in the Air - Conflict in the Air.

My admiration for the veterans interviewed for this series brings me to tears.

Amazing that planes were used in WWI.

The Wright Bros. had made their first tentative flight in December 1903.

regards

Titus

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Looking forward to England's opening foray into the World Cup.

Croatia are (on paper) the most difficult opponent in the group

and I'm bracing myself for disappointment while hoping for the best.

post match verdict: England played ok in the 2nd half

and deserved the win overall.

regards

Titus

Jukka Tolonen

Popstudio Live

Helsinki, Finland

September 22nd 1975

Remastered FM.

regards

Titus

01 Tiger

02 band intros/Windermere Avenue

03 Hysterica

04 Django 

bonus:

Finlandia-talo

Helsinki, Finland

September 14th 1976

05 Rambling/Air Rock

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Phantasm (1979)

A cult classic and much loved favourite of mine.

The 'tuning fork' motif really hits the musical spot.

I once watched it at a late-night cinema re-run after consuming some...erm...mushroom soup.

First time I really understood the plot!

The wonderfully named Angus Scrimm steals the show

with his portrayal of the exquisitely intimidating Tall Man.

"You play a good game, boy, but the game is finished. Now you die."

Optional multi-subs are included.

Other languages available on request.

regards

Titus

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