Par-Pb

Parade (UK): The Fabric (Nautical NAUTCD004, CD, 2009)
Rock/Progressive/Psychedelic
Anne-Marie Helder (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Basically two members of Panic Room hooking up with a multi-instrumentalist, with three members of Mostly Autumn guesting here and there. You’d expect it to sound like a cross between those two bands, but because the multi-instrumentalist writes everything, it doesn’t. In fact, although this has far fewer conventional prog elements than either band, it’s ironically more genuinely progressive, with a very varied palette of material, a few folk, new wave and trip-hop elements, and some surprising moments. Particular highpoints of a very solid record include the gorgeous, rather psychedelic ‘High Life’ with its Eastern percussion, the heavier jamming rock of ‘The Dogs’, and the gentle, beautiful closer ‘Ending’. GRADE: C+.
See also Anne-Marie Helder, Karnataka, Luna Rossa, Mostly Autumn, Panic Room

Paradigma (Norway): Mare Veris (Head Not Found HNF 008, CD, 1995)
Metal
Cecilie Eidskrem (joint lead vocals, keyboards)
The band described their sound as ‘majestic doom’, which isn’t far off the mark, though this is perhaps more specifically majestic doomdeath, blending soprano female vocals with growls and clean male singing. However, their powerful sound isn’t matched by equally memorable compositions and some of the tempo changes are not handled particularly well. GRADE: C+.,

Paradise (West Germany): Paradise (Cain CL 5818, 1981)
Pop/Rock
Maria Osterwiek (joint lead vocals), Veronika Schultz (joint lead vocals)
The first couple of tracks have heavy guitar riffs and sound like a slicker twist on Cannock’s Waiting For The Night. Things quickly get worse, with the album veering from pseudo-funk to sub-Shakatak to mock-Elton John styles, all with naggingly catchy hooklines and the same ultra-polished production. GRADE: D+.

Paradise Square (UK): Never Thought I’d See The Day (No label DER 1078, with inserts, 1974)
Folk
Philippa Johns (occasional vocals), Rashida Qureshi (violin)
More a loose collective than a band, Paradise Square issued their album only as a demo, allegedly in a run of 50 copies. Oddly, the disc blends secular and Christian material, and musically offers downbeat, loner hippie folk in the style of many of the releases on the Holyground label (although some of the Christian tracks are more upbeat, and less effective). The two cuts fronted by female singer Philippa Johns (‘Bird In A Cage’ and ‘Spaces’) are far and away the best, and a whole album with her vocals could have been delightful. The band resurfaced two years later as Cair Paravel, under which guise they released an equally rare and valuable private LP. GRADE: C.

Paragon (Holland): Looking For You (Delta Music Corporation 283092, 1982)
Rock/Progressive
Esther van der Hoorn (joint lead vocals), Judith Mudde (joint lead vocals, percussion)
This pleasant, unassuming album offers melodic hard rock with symphonic and progressive edges. Whilst it’s never outstanding, there are some good riffs and melodies here and few obvious low points (maybe the barroom-flavoured ‘She’s Looking For You’ and the slightly vaudevillian ‘For My Love’). GRADE: C+.
See also Tamalone

Parallel Or 90 Degrees (UK): The Corner Of My Room (Cyclops CYCLUB 004, CD, 1998, recorded 1996)

Progressive
Sam Baine (guitar, keyboards)
Parallel Or 90 Degrees’ first album – recorded before Afterlifecycle but released shortly afterwards in a numbered edition of 501 copies – was recorded by the core duo of Andy Tillison and Sam Baine. The former dominates the proceedings: singing, writing, arranging and producing everything, and he does a decent enough job – this is pleasant if unexceptional song-based neoprogressive with high-tech arrangements. However, the most interesting cut is the 17-minute bonus track ‘A Gap In The Night’, recorded by an embryonic line-up of Tillison, Guy Manning and Hugh Banton. GRADE: C+.
Parallel Or 90 Degrees (UK): Afterlifecycle (Cyclops CYCL 060, CD, 1997)
Progressive
Sam Baine (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals)
Album number two sees them operating as a full band and is a much more mature record, with the material mainly arranged into two long suites. Their sound is muscular, dominated by chunky guitars and soaring Hammond organ, with the whole thing resembling a harder rocking twist on late seventies Pink Floyd. As that description implies, this is not a particularly original or surprising record, and it’s not hugely varied either, but it’s solid and listenable stuff. GRADE: C+.
Parallel Or 90 Degrees (UK): The Time Capsule (Cyclops CYCL 074, CD, 1999)
Progressive
Sam Baine (guitar, keyboards)
The centrepiece here is the 22-minute title suite, which once again is very Pink Floyd-like. Elsewhere the material is slightly different, with more of a singer/songwriter edge, and with most numbers alternating ballad-like verses with soaring electric choruses; the results are melodic and satisfying if understated and slightly anonymous. GRADE: C+.
Parallel Or 90 Degrees (UK): Unbranded (Cyclops CYCL 092, CD, 2000)
Progressive
Sam Baine (keyboards)
With four long songs followed by a 25-minute suite, Unbranded sees the band returning to its original Pink Floyd-cum-hard rock style. There are some nice spacy moments and some pleasant flute passages from guest Martin Orford, with the added bonus of some interesting and intelligent lyrics; as usual, everything is well crafted but a little lacking in excitement. GRADE: C+.
Parallel Or 90 Degrees (UK): More Exotic Ways To Day (Cyclops CYCL 114, CD, 2002)
Rock/Metal/Progressive
Sam Baine (keyboards)
The song titles here are brilliant – ‘Impaled On Railing’, ‘Enbalmed In Acid’, ‘The Heavy Metal Guillotine Approach’ and ‘The One That Sounds Like Tangerine Dream’. The music is a step up too, moving away from their usual Pink Floyd stylings towards a majestic indie and progressive metal hybrid recalling Anekdoten without the Mellotron or a much heavier Radiohead. A few moments of intensity work particularly well, but that’s the problem: there are too few of them, and the album would have been great rather than good with some long instrumental passages. The band subsequently evolved into the Tangent. GRADE: C+.
See also Tangent

Parallèle (Canada): Parallèle (RCA KKL 1-027 4, with inner, 1978)
Folk/Rock
Anne Minville (joint lead vocals, bass)
The cover and title make this sound like a low-budget compilation, but this is actually a studio album by a talented pair of singer/songwriters. The backing for their well-composed material is beautifully judged, with some of the acoustic numbers referencing traditional folk and some of the electric pieces having that typically Québecois breezy, dreamy sound. Overall, this is a charming and delightful little record. GRADE: C+.

Paranormal Family (Hungary): Jam In Copenhagen Vol. 2 (Psychedelic Source, download, 2019)

Psychedelic

Soma Ambrus (joint lead vocals), Zoé Ambrus (joint lead vocals), Kriszti Benus (drums)

Although listed as four separate tracks, this is actually a single 52-minute jam, with Kriszti Benus on drums (rather than keyboards) and two other family members providing the wordless vocals. Whilst the results are pretty freeform, they’re also pretty effective, and fans of guitar-based psych should find this a thoroughly satisfying (if not hugely memorable) trip. GRADE: B–.

See also Forrás Sessions, Lemurian Folk Songs, Pilot Voyager, Psychedelic Source, Red Gem Space Funk, Satorinaut, Sessions With Hisa Shiroma, Various 'Psychedelic Source Records – Finalizing 2020 Compilation'

Parcel Of Rogues & Villagers (UK): Parcel Of Folk (Deroy, with insert, 1974?)
Folk
Eileen Mawson, Sheila Smith
This is a collaborative album split between between two interconnected Lancashire folk bands. Villagers are wholly acapella, whilst Parcel Of Rogues play with sparse acoustic backing. Clearly, they were big fans of Steeleye Span, as the LP includes versions of ‘The Weaver And The Factory Maid’ and ‘Rave On’. It was obviously a low-budget project as the tapes are crudely edited, the labels are generic, the insert’s a home-made photocopy and there’s no sleeve; I’d be surprised if more than 25 were pressed. A copy with a hand-painted sleeve has sold for £499 on eBay, an incredible sum for such a basic and unambitious album. GRADE: C.

Parchment (UK): Light Up The Fire (Pye NSPL 18388, with poster, 1972)
Folk/Rock
Sue McClellan (joint lead vocals, guitar)
This Christian folk/rock trio were perhaps a surprising signing for a major label, but they were much more talented than most of the competition and actually scored a minor hit single with the title track. That cut, along with ‘Zip Bam Boo!’, depicts the band at their jolly, singalong worst; skip those side-openers and you’re left with a fine album, alternating delicate acoustic folk and well-crafted mellow soft rock. The highpoints for most people will be the eerie, psychedelic ‘Son Of God’, with its electronically treated vocals, the Eastern-tinged ‘Love Is Come Again’ and the Magic Carpet-like ‘Roundabout’, any of which would fit perfectly on a top dollar acid-folk private pressing. GRADE: C+.
Parchment (UK): Hollywood Sunset (Pye NSPL 18409, 1973)
Pop/Folk
Sue McClellan (joint lead vocals, guitar)
Album number two is nowhere near as good as its predecessor, with the experimental edges being abandoned. The songs themselves are competent enough, if sometimes overly whimsical, but the heavy-handed arrangements, including strings on nearly every cut, move their sound close to the MOR pop of contemporaries like the New Seekers. Despite some fairly desperate attempts to be commercial, the album sold poorly and Parchment retreated to their natural habitat of specialist Christian labels. GRADE: C.
Parchment (UK): Shamblejam (Myrrh MYR 1028, with inner, 1975)
Folk/Rock
Sue McClellan (joint lead vocals, guitar)
The move away from Pye seemed to suit the band, as this has none of the overbearing orchestrations or desperate attempts to write a hit that characterised Hollywood Sunset. Although it never equals the finest moments on their debut, it’s their best album overall, with a procession of well-written and sensitively arranged songs, featuring some superb guitar work from Mo Witham. There’s also an excellent cover of Judee Sill’s ‘My Man On Love’ and an attractively nostalgic gatefold sleeve to complete the deal.. GRADE: C+.
Parchment (UK): Rehearsal For A Reunion (Pilgrim/Grapevine 106, with insert, 1977)
Folk/Rock
Sue McClellan (joint lead vocals, guitar)
The unwelcome orchestrations are back, though this isn’t as self-consciously commercial as Hollywood Sunset. The two vaudevillian singalongs (‘Glory Shone Around’ and ‘Jesus On The Mainline’) are predictably irritating, but the closing remake of ‘Light Up The Fire’ is better than the original, whilst all the rest is solid folk/rock. They’re still capable of writing lovely songs (notably ‘Talking To You’) but overall this is a step down from Shamblejam, though a perfectly listenable end to their career. GRADE: C+.
See also Fresh Air

Pareidolon (Canada): Aporía (No label, CD, 2017)
Progressive
Brittany Keller (joint lead vocals), Ashley Pearce (guitar), Anna Backus (keyboards)
With some crunchy riffs and a near-pop sensibility on a few cuts, this is a varied and enjoyable album of progressive rock. There’s nothing life-changing or particularly innovative here, but Pareidolon succeed in delivering the odd surprise, adding up to a promising debut, even if some of the lyrics are a touch trite. GRADE: C+.

Pareidolon (Canada): Lunar Sea EP (No label, download, 2019)
Progressive
Brittany Keller (joint lead vocals), Ashley Pearce (guitar, backing vocals)
The band’s second release couples an excellent 8½-minute cover of Camel’s ‘Lunar Sea’ with the five-minute original ‘Return To Earth’. This isn’t in quite the same league as the Camel instrumental, though it’s more than decent; it also maintains the album’s odd foible of mixing the vocals very low, even though the overall sound quality is excellent. GRADE: C+.

Pareidolon (Canada): The Beginning: Live At Shambhala Hall (No label, download, 2024, recorded 2016)
Progressive/Rock/Metal
Brittany Keller (lead vocals, keyboards), Ashley Pierce (guitar), Anna Katerina (keyboards)
This four-track, 23-minute EP captures Pareidolon’s first gig from 2016 in excellent sound quality. The progressive hard rock here is both pleasant and accomplished, indicating that they hit the ground running and with many of their ideas fully formed. GRADE: C+.
Pareidolon (Canada): The Unattainable Shore (No label, CD, 2025
Progressive
Brittany Keller (principal vocals), Ashley Pierce (guitar, backing vocals), Anna Katerina (keyboards, backing vocals)
Pareidolon’s first full-length set lacks nothing in ambition: this is a concept album running for more than an hour, including a 24-minute track and bolstered by a demo version of the 10-minute ‘Emotional Tides’ (which is rawer and more energetic than anything on the album proper). This is sophisticated symphonic prog that’s extremely well crafted, mellifluous and accomplished; however like a lot of sophisticated symphonic prog, it doesn’t have melodies and riffs that quite match its chops. GRADE: C+.

Paris (USA): Paris (Wes Bad, 1984)
Rock
Trudy Boli (lead vocals, vibraphone)
Not to be confused with the Bob Welch-fronted outfit of the same name, this Paris offered AOR and light hard rock similar to Pat Benatar or contemporary Heart. Despite some catchy material, the songs don’t sound particularly commercial, and despite instrumentation including Taurus pedals, synthesisers and vibraphone this doesn’t have any progressive or fusion leanings. Trudy Boli was very much the band’s driving force, writing or co-writing seven of the nine songs. GRADE: C.

Parke (UK): Parke (Folk Heritage FHR018S, 1971)
Folk
Julie Jenkin
Among the rarest Folk Heritage releases, the first Parke album is also among the most enjoyable. It’s fairly traditional folk for the most part, but with very varied arrangements, including some unusual instrumentation and strong hints of Pentangle. GRADE: C+.
Parke (UK): Joy, Health, Love And Peace (Folk Heritage FHR028, 1972)
Folk
Julie Jenkin (joint lead vocals)
The back cover states that ‘with the addition of a new member and an influx of new material, Parke have progressed towards a tighter and more harmonic sound – their vocal performance has expanded significantly’. The material is indeed more eclectic, mostly swapping traditional for contemporary folk, and there’s even a self-penned song, but whilst this is pleasant enough it doesn’t equal the highpoints of their first. In classic Folk Heritage tradition, both the front and back photographs depict the band in a pub. GRADE: C+.

Parnass (West Germany): Keine Zukunft? (A-Band-Land ST 33, with insert, 1981)
Progressive/New Wave/Reggae
E Naidenow (lead vocals)
This obscure album often resembles Cos circa Swiss Chalet, offering a similar mix of progressive, white reggae and new wave influences. There’s also some complexity and experimentation here, especially on the much weirder and more creative side two, and an overarching concept regarding the Greek Muses. By crossing genres in this way, Parnass probably won’t impress either prog or new wave purists, but this is certainly an interesting piece of work. GRADE: B–.

Emmanuelle Parrenin, Phil Fromont & Claude Lefèbvre (France): Château Dans Les Nuages (Cezame CEZ 1016, 1976)
Folk/Psychedelic
Emmanuelle Parrenin (lead vocals, vielle, épinette des Vosges)
Like Parrenin’s earlier work, this is rooted in French traditional folk; unlike her earlier work, everything is self-penned, with the writing split between herself and husband Phil Fromont. Also unlike her earlier LPs, subtle psychedelic influences creep in here and there, most notably the tablas on the eerie ‘La Sirène’ and the electronically treated bagpipes on ‘Taffetas’. However, the highpoint is the utterly gorgeous ‘Ballade En Fôret’, on which they resemble a French answer to Folkal Point. GRADE: C+.
Emmanuelle Parrenin (France): Maison Rose (Ballon Noir BAL 13001, 1977)
Folk/Psychedelic
Emmanuelle Parrenin (lead vocals, percussion, dulcimer, vielle, épinette des Vosges)
Parrenin’s solo debut (which really is solo, with other musicians appearing on only two tracks) builds on the more psychedelic, ethereal edge of Château Dans Les Nuages and adds a few mildly experimental edges. Most of the material is self-penned, although there’s a gentle, beautiful cover of Jean-Claude Vannier’s ‘Plume Blanche, Plume Noire’. However, the best-known cut is the extraordinary seven-minute ‘Topaze’, which adds electronics and elements of musique concrète to remarkable effect. GRADE: B–.
Emmanuelle Parrenin (France): Maison Cube (Disques Bien BIEN#12, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and poster booklet, 2011)
Folk/Psychedelic
Emmanuelle Parrenin (lead vocals, harp, sanza, vielle, épinette des Vosges)
As the title suggests, Parrenin’s first return to recording since the seventies is intended as a thematic follow-up to Maison Rose. It’s an equally interesting record, taking tranquil self-penned folk songs as its base but adding electronics, world music elements, avant-garde diversions and even occasional touches of trip-hop to create an unusual, minimalist and constantly changing mood. The result is a genuinely remarkable return from the wilderness. GRADE: B–.

Emmanuelle Parrenin (France): Pérélandra (Souffle Continue FFL025, green vinyl, 2017, recorded 1978-1982)
Folk/Avant-Garde
Emmanuelle Parrenin (lead vocals, spinet, percussion, dulcimer, vielle)
This collection of unreleased recordings from the late seventies and early eighties (with Gong’s Didier Malherbe appearing on several cuts) focuses on the most experimental end of Parrenin’s repertoire. Largely instrumental, it mixes haunting world music jams with drones and electroacoustic treatments, resulting in an album that fringes new age and hints towards Popol Vuh, whilst remaining intriguing and unsettling. GRADE: C+.
Emmanuelle Parrenin, Eat Gas & Etienne Jaunet (France): Volturnus/Balaguère (Besides BRLP06, 2017)
Folk/Psychedelic
Emannuelle Parrenin (lead vocals, harp, hurdy-gurdy)
Featuring two side-long improvisations of 13 and 17 minutes, this intriguing album melds folk, new age, avant-garde, psychedelic and progressive influences in differing combinations. The results are dreamlike, epic, tripped-out and frequently quite bizarre, often hinting towards Krautrock rather than the French folk tradition. GRADE: C+.

Christiane Bopp, Jean-Marc Fossat & Emmanuelle Parrenin (France): Nature Still (Fou FR-CD 40, with gatefold minisleeve, 2018)
Avant-Garde
Emmanuelle Parrenin (joint lead vocals, vielle), Christiane Bopp (joint lead vocals, trombone)
Emmanuelle Parrenin has certainly had a remarkably diverse musical career: here she eschews folk (even of the most experimental kind) for pure avant-gardism. Fringing free-jazz, this offers a series of lengthy, minimalistic improvisations for synthesiser, trombone and vielle, with diversions into Ligeti-like vocal sections, and could divide opinion sharply. To these ears, it’s well above-average for what it is, bolstered by an excellent recording, but it’s inevitably quite ponderous in parts and is never going to figure among my favourites. GRADE: C+.

Parrenin/Weinrich (France & Germany): Jours De Grève (Versatile VERLP41, some autographed, France, 2021)
Folk/World Music/Avant-Garde
Emmanuelle Parrenin
Ever unpredictable, Emmanuelle Parrenin here blends her singing and traditional instruments with the electronica of Detlef Weinrich on eight varied tracks. Drawing on jazz, world music and more, the music here is restless, exploratory and atmospheric, with some fascinating moments. But intriguingly odd as this is, it’s once again never going to figure among my favourite Parrenin albums. GRADE: C+.
See also Chants À Répondre Et À Danser, Confrèrie Des Fous, Phil & Emmanuelle Fromont, Galant Noyé, Gentiane, Yvon Guilcher

Parthenon (Venezuela): Mare Tenebris (Luna Negra CDLN-30, CD, Mexico, 2005)
Progressive
Marta Segura (lead vocals)
Parthenon was founded in the late seventies by keyboardist Robert Santamaría, but broke up in 1981, with Santamaría going on to found the far superior Amarok. In 2004, Parthenon reformed to cut this one-off album, bolstered by some previously unreleased male vocal bonus tracks from 1980 and 1981. Although mostly instrumental, Mare Tenebris appears to be a concept album, with rather pretentious lyrics about philosophy and the environment. Its busy, dramatic, keyboard-led progressive sound isn’t at all to my taste and is far removed from Santamaría and Segura’s work with Amarok. The disc was quite unusually packaged, with an undersized tray card and booklet. GRADE: C.
See also Amarok, Dafnia

Parzivals Eye (Germany/UK): Fragments (Red Farm 47110815-22, CD, Germany, 2009)
Rock/Progressive
Christina Murphy (joint lead vocals)
Led by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Chris Postl, this German band offers pleasant melodic rock and neoprogressive. Postl is a more consistent composer than Murphy’s usual collaborator Rob Reed, so whilst this is pretty unadventurous stuff it contains some undeniably good tunes, making for an enjoyable listen. GRADE: C+.

Parzivals Eye (Germany/UK): Defragments (Gentle Art Of Music GAOM 037, CD, with digipak and poster booklet, Germany, 2015)
Rock/Progressive
Christina Murphy (joint lead vocals)
Their second album confirms my impression that this is my favourite of Christina Murphy’s projects (though she does very little here, merely fronting the two cover versions). The band’s brand of melodic seventies guitar rock and neoprogressive is as far from the cutting edge as it’s possible to get, but unlike Magenta they produce some decent hooks – and they’re not pretentious. GRADE: C+.
See also Christina, Magenta, Trippa

Passover (Italy): Passover (Ma.Ra.Cash AML001, CD, 2007)
Progressive
Ellen Garfield (joint lead vocals)
Covering a variety of Yiddish songs in a symphonic progressive style might not sound a great idea on paper. But this Italian band does it superbly, and the result is one of the better albums of 2007. GRADE: B–.
Passover (Italy): Sacrifice (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC 020, CD, 2010)
Progressive
Ellen Garfield (lead vocals)
The first half is self-penned and tells the story of Abraham – this is somewhat one-paced, comprising stately synthesiser-led prog that's pleasant and atmospheric but never particularly exciting. The second half is covers of Jewish material, and mostly comprises piano-led ballads. These tracks are somewhat better and more memorable, but overall this is significantly weaker than their debut. GRADE: C+.

Passover (Italy): What Do You Want? (Ma.Ra.Cash MRC100, CD, 2019)
Progressive
Maddalena Murano (lead vocals), Eva Pascal (backing vocals), Chiara Gelmini (backing vocals)
After nearly a decade of silence, Passover returned with an unexpected new album – or at least leader Davide Casali did, with an entirely new set of collaborators. Unsurprisingly, this is slightly different from the earlier incarnation, though the Jewish element once again provides both the theme (a lyrical concept about a Holocaust train) and the instrumental colouring. The result is a nice, stately prog LP: too relaxed and uncommercial to descend into neoprog but a little lacking in the vitality and sense of adventure that would have made it equal their first. GRADE: C+.

Patchwork (USA): Patchwork (RCA LSP 4711, 1972)
Country/Rock
Kitty Appling (joint lead vocals)
The sleevenotes describe their album as ‘a musical array of country/rock, ballads and country baroque tunes’. If that makes you expect music so laid-back it’s nearly narcoleptic, you’re correct; whilst never breaking any boundaries and rarely catching the ear, this is pleasingly mellow stuff that should satisfy anyone liking Crosby, Stills & Nash et al. GRADE: C+.

Patchy Fogg (UK): Today’s Weather (Acorn CF254, 1975)
Folk
Sue Wilson (joint lead vocals), Bett McNiff (joint lead vocals)
This was released on the same label as Oberon, but is more comparable to bands like Galley or Gallery. A delicate version of ‘Scarborough Fair’ is especially enjoyable, but there are a number of well-judged, sensitive versions of traditional folk tunes. On the downside, their cover of Parchment’s ‘Light Up The Fire’ is pointless, and one of two or three tracks displaying a Christian lyrical influence and cabaret tendencies in the music. These songs significantly break the flow of an otherwise reasonably accomplished album. GRADE: C+.

Pattern (UK): Pattern (Pattern 001, 1975?)
Folk
Sarah Beard (joint lead vocals), Jane Nickolls (joint lead vocals), Jenny Beard (joint lead vocals, guitar), Sara Nickolls (joint lead vocals, guitar)
Only a handful of copies have resurfaced of this album, which was cut by an all-female quartet and comes in a striking brown-and-cream sleeve. Judging by the vocals, the members were probably aged around fifteen or sixteen at the time of the recording, and the disc may well have been a school project. Musically it’s very similar to Reality From Dream and Spinning Jenny, with the material made up of traditional songs and folk club covers. Some tracks additionally have a religious slant. GRADE: C+.

Brenda Patterson (USA): Keep On Keepin’ On (Epic BN 26501, 1970)
Blues/Rock
Brenda Patterson (lead vocals)
Backed by Redbone, Patterson turns in a solid album of R&B and soulful rock fronted by her powerful, unusual voice. None of the material is self-penned. GRADE: C.
Brenda Patterson (USA): Brenda Patterson (Playboy PB-109, 1973)
Blues/Rock
Brenda Patterson (lead vocals, percussion)
This is probably her best album: slow, spare and bluesy, and with the singer in fine voice (in fact, she often resembles a gruffer Maggie Bell). The list of backing musicians is pretty impressive too, including some of the West Coast’s finest (Ry Cooder, Wayne Perkins, Chris Ethridge, John Barbata, Clarence McDonald, Wilton Felder, Carol Kaye, John Kahn et al). Once again, nothing is self-penned, although Patterson did arrange and produce her cover of The Bee Gees’ ‘Bury Me Down By The River’. GRADE: C+.
Brenda Patterson (USA): Like Good Wine (DiscReet DS 2211, 1974)
Pop/MOR
Softer and more commercial than her earlier work, this alternates soulful pop and orchestrated ballads in a style similar to Elkie Brooks’s late seventies and early eighties recordings. However, despite somewhat resembling her vocally, Patterson has little of Brooks’s flair for making diverse material her own, so this is a pretty nondescript record. GRADE: C–.
See also Alabama State Troopers, Coon Elder Band Featuring Brenda Patterson

Pattersons (Ireland): Again! (CBS M 63532, UK, 1969)
Folk/Pop
Christine Patterson, Dorothy Patterson
Like the later I Can Fly, this is mostly a charming folk/pop set with lush, pleasant versions of ‘Scarborough Fair’, ‘Come By The Hills’ and ‘Montego Bay’. I could have done without a couple of loungier, countrified numbers, however. GRADE: C.
Pattersons (Ireland): I Can Fly (CBS 64064, UK, 1970?)
Folk/Pop
Christine Patterson
On paper, this doesn’t sound too appealing, offering rather MOR orchestrated renditions of standards like ‘Durham Town’, ‘Both Sides Now’, ‘59th Street Bridge Song’ and ‘The Sound Of Silence’. But it’s beautifully done, with a charming baroque edge and remarkable joie de vivre, creating a delightful Swingin’ London folk/pop LP and a period piece par excellence. That said, for the first half of side two they up the lounge and novelty quotient, and ‘What Would You Do?’ in particular is downright annoying. GRADE: C.

Tuema Pattie (UK): Irish Airs (Oak RG 1717, 1971)
Classical/Folk
More light opera than folk, Irish Airs sees Pattie performing a variety of Irish songs in a light classical style with piano backing. This has sold for big money, but only because of the cachet of the label. GRADE: E.

Anne Lee Patton (USA): Plays The Harp And Sings (No label 1001, 1966?
Classical/Lounge/’Incredibly Strange Music’
Anne Lee Patton (lead vocals, harp)
This private pressing has attracted some interest from ‘real people’ collectors and is a relatively pricy item. They’re presumably attracted by the front cover, which depicts Ms Patton – a lady of Indian descent in very late middle age – looking slightly demented, as the music, mixing solo harp with formal vocals (though about half is instrumental) is only marginally odd. Nonetheless, it’s a pleasant and unusual set, particularly in view of the evocative sleeve. My own copy comes with a programme for one of her performances, at which this must have been purchased. GRADE: C+.

Paul & Georgia (USA): The Paul And Georgia Album (No label, CD, 2004, recorded 1968-1976)
Folk/Rock
Georgia Pulos (joint lead vocals)
Paul Ferrara and Georgia Pulos were associates of Jim Morrison (who used their excellent song ‘Bald Mountain’ in his film ‘HWY’) and had one of their songs considered for use by Janis Joplin, but never issued an album in their musical lifetime. This worthwhile archive release features 16 recordings from between 1968 and 1976, all in excellent sound quality. Mostly they’re acoustic hippie-folk with occasional country tinges and an outdoors vibe, but some cuts have full band backing; the opening ‘Hopi’ (one of two numbers on which they’re backed by the Doors) is probably the best thing on offer. GRADE: C+.

Ian Paulin & Glebe Hotel (Tasmania): Invitation (Candle CFPS 063, 1975)
Folk/Rock
Sarah Bucannon (backing vocals), Bronwyn (backing vocals), Joy (backing vocals)
Although a large number of musicians are credited and pictured in the inner gatefold, this is very much Ian Paulin’s album, as he wrote and sang everything. Musically, it’s introspective singer/songwriter far with nice mixed acoustic and electric backing, some well-judged rock moments and a few psychedelic and progressive touches typical of the era. However, the full-blown spacy prog of ‘Dreams’ takes the album into quite different territory, and this is by far the best cut. GRADE: C+.
Ian Paulin & The Glebe Hotel Band (Tasmania): All (Candle CFPS 070, 1975)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Kaye Wilkinson (percussion, backing vocals)
For their second and final album, Glebe Hotel were a more defined four-piece backing band, offering a tauter and more rocking sound. The slight progressive edges of the first LP are also much more emphasised here, with four songs exceeding seven minutes, making for a more substantial listen. GRADE: C+.

PAWN (Germany): The Gift Of Awareness (No label, CD, with digipak and booklets, 2014)
Progressive/Metal
Lisa-Marie Rothe (joint lead vocals)
Richly melodic, with symphonic textures contrasting with crunchy riffing, this album’s sumptuous sound belies the fact that it was created by a multi-instrumentalist and a drummer plus guests. With tracks of up to 26 minutes, there’s also a fair level of ambition, though a few neoprogressive elements remain, causing the album to fall short of a B– factoring in the lack of truly memorable songs or genuinely startling moments. GRADE: C+.

Pazzo Fanfano Di Musica (Japan): Pazzo Fanfano Di Musica (King/Crime 292E-2081, CD, with poster booklet, 1989)
Progressive
Megumi Tokuhisa (lead vocals), Kyoko Sugimoto (keyboards)
This supergroup project involved musicians from a number of eighties Japanese prog bands, including Megumi Tokuhisa from Teru’s Symphonia and Kazuhiro Miyatake of Mr Sirius. Musically, it’s a tribute to seventies Italian neoclassical prog, as the title and artwork suggest, and offers refined and delicate chamber music with a few RIO-like moments of rock, owing a heavy debt to Opus Avantra. The result is an excellent album that ironically outclasses just about everything else its participants ever did. GRADE: B–.
See also Teru’s Symphonia, Megumi Tokuhisa

PB II (Holland): Rocket – The Dreams Of Wubbo Ockels (Heartselling PBII 604954, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2017)
Rock/Progressive
Nathalie Mees (occasional vocals)

Wubbo Ockels was the first Dutchman in space, so this album has a fascinating backstory, and the artwork is excellent. However, if that concept makes you expect some kind of thrilling space-rock, think again: this is at the straightest end of song-based neoprogressive, with a procession of mid-paced songs featuring zero experimentation. To give credit where due, it’s all very nicely crafted, but it’s a great pity that the late Mr Ockels and his unique story were not commemorated by an album a great deal more inspiring than this. GRADE: C+.