Un-Ut

Un (Canada): La Belle Et La Bête (Paroles & Musique PEM011, with inner, 1982)
Pop
Christiane Robichaud (lead vocals)
This collaboration between former Contraction singer Christiane Robichaud and prolific session keyboardist Jean Roussel offers mildly symphonic pop that might be just about listenable if not for the tinny electronic drums and horrible trebly production. As it is, Robichaud’s ballad ‘Confidences’ and Roussel’s proggy instrumental ‘Danse Magique’ are the best of a pretty poor crop. GRADE: D+.
See also Contraction, Franck Dervieux

Un P’tit Fond De Rouge (France): Un P’tit Fond De Rouge (No label FR 500, 1978)
Folk/Avant-Garde
Isabelle (joint lead vocals, guitar, percussion, effects), Christine (percussion, flute)
Housed in a foldout poster sleeve, this extremely rare private pressing crosses dark acoustic folk with electronic experimentation to eerie effect. The backing sometimes resembles Brigitte Fontaine & Areski, whilst the use of spoken vocals and electronics recalls the more avant-garde recordings of Colette Magny, who was probably the band’s most significant influence. Comparisons could also be drawn with the Krautfolk movement and with Scandinavian outfits like Furekåben or Spilld Mjölk, though with interjections from chipmunk-like vocals and electronic screams this is far weirder and more unsettling than either of them. GRADE: B–.

Uncle Dog (UK): Old Hat (Signpost SG 4253, 1972)
Rock
Carol Grimes (joint lead vocals, percussion)
Between her exploratory, progressive album with Delivery and her straighter blues/rock set Warm Blood, Carol Grimes participated in this pleasant but inconsequential barroom rock LP. It’s pretty well done, but old hat indeed, even for 1972. GRADE: C.
See also Delivery, Carol Grimes, Sweet FA

Uncreated Light (Ukraine): Whom Should I Blame? (Mals MALS 322, CD, with minisleeve, inner, booklet and obi, 2009)
Metal
Helen Musienko (lead vocals)
This is archetypal gothic metal with soprano vocals, giving no obvious hints of its Ukrainian origins. As symphonic quasi-classical metal goes, it’s decent enough, but they’re not exactly Therion. GRADE: C+.

Under Milkwood (USA): Under Milkwood (Monarch/A&M 4226, unreleased test pressing, 1970)
Psychedelic/Folk/Rock
Clara Miles (lead vocals, percussion)
A&M had a fairly poor record when it came to hippie bands – most such signings were barely promoted, Spirits & Worm had their LP withdrawn shortly after release, and this one never made it beyond test pressing stage. Quite why is unclear, as it’s mostly very good, and superior to many major label LPs that did make it into the shops. Possibly A&M just found it too schizophrenic – opening with a frenetic heavy acid-rocker, it then offers a couple of rather British-sounding hippie folk numbers before incorporating jazzy, bluesy and progressive touches and more. On the closing cut Clara Miles’s voice is uncannily similar to Sandy Denny’s. GRADE: C+.

Underground Sunshine (USA): Let There Be Light (Intrepid IT 74003, 1969)
Rock
Jane Little (keyboards, backing vocals)
Mixing R&B with West Coast rock, this is quite patchy, including several dull and formulaic covers (‘Birthday’, ‘Bad Moon Rising’, ‘Don’t Let Me Down’). That said, the self-penned ‘All I Want Is You’ is swathed in great psychedelic guitar work and the two extended pieces ‘Gimme Some Lovin’’ and ‘Take Me, Break Me’ see the band cutting loose in no uncertain style, proving they can be extraordinary as well as rather ordinary. GRADE: C+.

Underground Zerø (UK): Never Reach The Stars (Flicknife SHARP 023, 1984)
Rock/Metal/Psychedelic/Progressive
Judi Griggs (principal vocals)
Totally inspired by Hawkwind, this is heavy, stripped-down space-rock with a science fiction concept and a raw new wave edge. Virtuosic and varied it is not, but it’s performed with obvious passion, and gives an interesting indication of how Hawkwind would sound with a female singer (a possibility realised a few years later when Bridget Wishart joined the band). GRADE: C+.
Underground Zerø (UK): Through The Looking Glass (Flicknife BLUNT 038, 1986)
Rock/Metal/Psychedelic/Progressive
Judi Griggs (lead vocals)
Oddly, the band’s second and final album features two new studio cuts on one side and three live recordings of Never Reach The Stars numbers on the other. This rather half-hearted approach is a pity, as the new songs are a solid step forward, making this the better of their two LPs. The Never Reach The Stars CD (Black Rose BR 187, USA, 2005) includes this entire album as a bonus, together with ‘Canes Venatici’, their contribution to the compilation A Pretty Smart Way To Catch A Lobster – Live At Alice In Wonderland (Flicknife SHARP 035, 1984). The latter song is by far the best thing they ever did. GRADE: C+.

Underhill (Germany/Austria): Silent Siren (Ad Noiseam ADN156LP, LP plus CD, Germany, 2012)
Dance
Martina Hornbacher
The presence of Martina Hornbacher made me expect progressive metal, but this is actually trip-hop. Despite the occasional presence of a rapper, it’s pretty inoffensive by the standards of dance music, but whilst the music is well crafted it’s also utterly inconsequential, with the (very lengthy) album drifting by aimlessly without ever commanding attention. GRADE: C–.
See also Alas, Dreams Of Sanity, Korova, Therion

Undersmile (UK): A Sea Of Dead Snakes (Blindsight BSR011, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2010)
Metal
Taz Corona-Brown (joint lead vocals, guitar), Hel Sterne (joint lead vocals, guitar)
This sludgy doom metal impresses with its crushing heaviness from the first note and about halfway through appeared a reasonably certain candidate for a B–. However, whilst the band’s minimalism is a strength it’s also a weakness, and the more Undersmile you hear, the more obvious it is that their two guitarists cannot really sing in tune. GRADE: C+.
Caretaker & Undersmile (UK): Caretaker/Undersmile (Blindsight BSR018, CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2011)
Metal
Taz Corona-Brown (joint lead vocals, guitar), Hel Sterne (joint lead vocals, guitar)
This split album features two numbers apiece from Caretaker and Undersmile, which each band’s contribution running for approximately 11 and 25 minutes respectively. Caretaker offer solid though unremarkable metal, with one instrumental and one song, whilst Undersmile deliver their customary droning funereal doom. GRADE: C+.

Undersmile (UK): Narwhal (Future Noise Recordings FUNO11, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2012)
Metal
Taz Corona-Brown (joint lead vocals, guitar), Hel Sterne (joint lead vocals, guitar)
The sludgy doom here is very powerful, with the droning, sepulchral vocals again adding an unusual edge. If there’s a drawback, they’re not the most varied band, but this is certainly single-minded and impressively intense. GRADE: B–.
Undersmile & Coma Wall (UK): Wood And Wire (Bttfck Srprs! BFS000, CD, with digipak and poster booklet, 2013)
Metal/Folk/Rock
Taz Corona-Brown (joint lead vocals, guitar), Hel Sterne (joint lead vocals, guitar)
In case you’re wondering, this isn’t a split album: Coma Wall is Undersmile playing unplugged versions of their own material. I wouldn’t have thought their minimalist, droning doom excursions would have worked in such a setting, but they do: with a banjo adding some swampy licks, the four acoustic numbers have a desolate, desert-like feeling that works very well. Further, the band’s vocals appear to have improved immeasurably. The metal tracks are no slouch either, adding up to the band’s best release to date. GRADE: B–.
Undersmile (UK): Anhedonia (Bttfck Srprs! BFS000, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2015)
Metal
Taz Corona-Brown (joint lead vocals, guitar), Hel Sterne (joint lead vocals, guitar)
Quite different from their earlier work, this is sparse and spare and atmospheric, tending as much towards gothic and doom metal. Comparisons could be drawn to the similar Darkher or to a lesser extent early Third & The Mortal, and the results are intriguing and varied. GRADE: B–.

Unexpect (Canada): Utopia (No label, CD, 1999)
Metal/Avant-Garde/Progressive
Véronique Michaud (occasional vocals)
This excellent Canadian band’s obscure debut Is rooted in black metal, with fast-paced guitar/bass/drums riffing overlaid with a blizzard of complex multilayered vocals. There are also symphonic keyboard passages and quasi-choral classical sections recalling Therion, taking this way beyond black metal into some genuinely challenging and unpredictable zones. GRADE: B–.
Unexpect (Canada): We, Invaders (Galy GALY-014, CD EP, 2003)
Metal/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Roxanne Hegyesy (joint lead vocals)
Recorded between the band’s first and second LPs, this 25-minute mini-album showcases the exciting, chaotic, highly experimental direction the group would pursue on the stunning In A Flesh Aquarium. The closing ‘Chromatic Chimera’ (here performed mainly as a piano solo) was radically reworked as the opening cut on that album, whilst the other three songs are exclusive. GRADE: B.
Unexpect (Canada): In A Flesh Aquarium (The End TE068, CD, USA, 2006)
Metal/Avant-Garde/Progressive
Roxanne Hegyesy (joint lead vocals)
With their second album, Unexpect went off the deep end, creating a complex avant-garde work blending metal, prog, jazz, ambient, classical, tango and many more styles. At times, the playing is so manic and ferocious that it sounds like three different bands performing simultaneously, and the music often threatens to descend into outright chaos, with insane shifts of mood and tempo. Although some listeners will hear a formless, pretentious mess, I’d call this a daring triumph and a modern prog classic. GRADE: B.
Unexpect (Canada): Fables Of The Sleepless Empire (No label, CD, with digipak and poster booklet, 2011)
Metal/Avant-Garde/Progressive
Roxanne Hegyesy (joint lead vocals)
This doesn’t have the same element of surprise as In A Flesh Aquarium, but amazingly it’s equally good. This time round their classical and electronic influences are perhaps a touch more to the fore, but otherwise this repeats the last album’s ‘anything goes’ formula with considerable aplomb. GRADE: B.

Unfolding (USA): How To Blow Your Mind And Have A Freak-Out Party (Audio Fidelity AFSD 6184, with insert, 1967)
Psychedelic
Andrea Ross (joint lead vocals), Victoria Sackville (joint lead vocals)
This unexpectedly excellent exploitation album opens with a superb acid-rocker, peppered with unusual stereo effects. This is followed by two slightly gentler, but still very good, rock numbers and then an odd piece of acid-folk, setting mediaeval-esque singing against a backdrop of explosions and heavy breathing. The next cut has even more sound effects, incorporating strong elements of circus music and plenty of tape manipulation into a catchy pop/rock number. Side two is equally eccentric, with lots more studio trickery but more of a raga feel. The results are genuinely psychedelic in a way that many more celebrated albums are not. GRADE: B–.

UNi (Finland): Dreamland (Presence THECD1002, CD, 2013)

Progressive

Petra Lehtonen (principal vocals)

This odd, quirky, charming little album features nine poems (by Shakespeare, Lewis Carroll and others) set to dainty, folky progressive rock backing, complete with violin. There’s also one instrumental, around the four-minute mark, which may be the best thing on offer.

GRADE: C+.

Unicorn (Norway): BeHold & BeHeld (No label SLA - 03 - 01, CD, 2003)
Singer/Songwriter/Progressive
Tonje Ettesvoll (lead vocals, keyboards)
The liner notes include a dedication to Marillion, but thankfully this isn’t neoprogressive in any shape or form. Instead Tonje Ettesvoll’s richly melodic songs blend acoustic and electric instrumentation to tasteful effect, with the results being even more poignant due to the lyrics – she is a survivor of incest and child abuse and doesn’t shy away from confronting her demons. GRADE: C+.
Unicorn (Norway): You Are (No label, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2023)
Singer/Songwriter/Progressive
Tonje Ettesvoll (lead vocals, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet)
Unicorn’s much delayed second album is as melodic and atmospheric and richly symphonic as their debut. But it’s notable that the one moment they really stretch out and embrace full-blown prog – the closing ‘Bird’ – is by some considerable margin the highpoint. GRADE: C+.

United Bible Studies (Ireland/USA): The Jonah (Camera Obscura CAM084CD, CD, Australia, 2009)
Folk/Psychedelic
Alison O’ Donnell, Sharron Krauss
The line-up on this Irish weird-folk collective’s album is impressive: aside from Alison O’ Donnell, there’s American singer/songwriter Sharron Kraus and old stalwart Ivan Pawle from Dr Strangely Strange. How much any of them contribute is moot, as there are no detailed credits, but this is certainly an interesting mix of traditional, contemporary, psychedelic and industrial elements. GRADE: B–.
United Bible Studies & Jozef van Wissem (Ireland/Holland): Downland (Incuna Bullum INC012, with download card, 2012)
Folk/Psychedelic
Alison O’ Donnell, Áine O’ Dwyer
This collection of eerie folk songs and minimalist, weird instrumentals works well, and achieves a dreamlike and transient mood. That said, it’s all rather slight, with a playing time barely over half an hour. GRADE: B–.
United Bible Studies (Ireland/Finland): Beo Faoi Dubhlinn (Download, 2013, recorded 2008-2009)
Psychedelic/Jazz
Alison O’ Donnell
This compilation of segments from live performances shows the band focusing on free-jazz and psychedelic jamming rather than their customary folk sound. It’s a bit of a curate’s egg, but much of it is excellent. GRADE: B–.
United Bible Studies (Ireland/Finland): The Box Social (Reverb Worship RW 268, CDR, with insert, 2014, recorded 2009)
Psychedelic
Alison O’ Donnell
This live set, recorded in 2009 but unreleased for five years, is again psychedelic rather than folky, making it completely different from any of Alison O’ Donnell’s previous projects. Offering a vast psychedelic improvisation in the style of early Pink Floyd or side two of Amon Düül II’s Phallus Dei, this covers quite a range of territory. Typically for this sort of thing, there are some moments when nothing much happens, but for the most part this is impressively intense and extremely trippy. GRADE: B–.

United Bible Studies (Ireland): Doineann (No label, black or white CDR, with booklet, keyring, mirror, insert and box, 2014)
Folk/Psychedelic
Alison O’ Donnell (occasional vocals), Natalia Baylis (piano), Emer Brady (saxophone), Áine O’ Dwyer (harp)
The six tracks here offer a wide range of moods, from spacy improvisations to one actual song fronted by Alison O’ Donnell. It’s lovely, mildly eerie stuff, though it’s all rather gauzy and fleeting – but then again, that’s precisely the point. GRADE: B–.
United Bible Studies (Ireland/UK/USA/Denmark/France): Soregh, Murne And Fast (No label, download, 2015)
Folk/Psychedelic
Alison O’ Donnell, Natalia Baylis, Áine O’ Dwyer (harp), Gayle Brogan, Alison Cotton, Léonore Boulanger, Anna Cochrane
United Bible’s Studies’ Christmas album is wide-ranging indeed, but whilst delicate and haunting is rarely cheerful or jolly. Indeed, much of this is downright sinister, so it’s perhaps not the LP to play after A Motown Christmas. GRADE: B–.
United Bible Studies (Ireland/UK/USA): The Ale’s What Cures Ye (MIE Music MIE 030, with booklet and download card, UK, 2015)
Folk
Alison Cotton (occasional vocals, viola), Sharron Kraus (occasional vocals, whistle),Alison O’ Donell (bodhrán, backing vocals), Áine O’ Dwyer (piano, backing vocals)
The subtitle – ‘Traditional Songs From The British Isles’ – says it all: the ever-unpredictable United Bible Studies mostly go trad folk here (though I’m not sure how Water Into Wine Band’s ‘Waiting For Another Day’ qualifies as traditional). Some of this is straight finger-in-the-ear folk, most notably the closing title track, but most of it is delicate, haunting and slightly eerie, as one would expect from this constantly evolving collective. GRADE: B–.

United Bible Studies (Ireland): Rosary Bleeds (Golden Pavilion GP1030LP, magenta vinyl, with inner, Portugal, 2016)
Folk/Ambient/New Wave
Alison O’ Donnell (lead vocals)
After several collaborations with United Bible Studies on which she didn’t contribute much, here Alison O’ Donnell takes all the vocals. The backing is radically different too, consisting of primitive synthesisers, whispering drum machines and occasional new wave-ish guitars. This approach is certainly creative and the results are undeniably atmospheric, but atmosphere is about all this has going for it. GRADE: C+.

United Bible Studies (Ireland): Cave Hill Ascension (Pariah Child LP011, red vinyl, with insert and download card, UK, 2019)
Folk/Progressive/New Age
Alison O’ Donnell
With its long, dreamy soundscapes, this takes United Bible Studies close to new age, and it’s remarkably evocative, bringing to mind desolate verdant landscapes. On the downside, not much actually happens, but arguably that’s completely missing the point. GRADE: C+.

See also Éishtlinn, Flibbertigibbet, Mellow Candle, Alison O' Donnell

United Islands (Holland): I Love This Day (Audio Art AAR 62506, with booklet, 1986)
Folk/Rock/Progressive
Theresia de Rooij (joint lead vocals)
This obscure private pressing consists of soft and melodic folk/rock, with strong progressive edges on the longer tracks on the far superior second side. It may be too precious for some ears, and also betrays its era in the keyboard and drum sounds (as well as venturing into reggae/pop on ‘Love On The Stairs…’) but side two in particular contains some stunning cuts. Overall, the album sounds as though it should have Christian lyrics, but only one track makes a passing reference to the Lord, with the lyrics focusing on hippie concerns such as dreams and nature. This is a rare record today, and sells for good money, but they clearly had a considerable budget as it comes with both a full-colour gatefold sleeve and large format lyric booklet. Cass Descollenges of Great Djeli receives thanks in the credits, so may have been associated with the band in some way. GRADE: C+.

United States Of America (USA): The United States Of America (Columbia 9614, with brown paper outer, 1968)
Progressive
Dorothy Moskowitz (principal vocals)
This pioneering electronic rock album is usually compared to Fifty Foot Hose, but has a very different musical vibe, being simultaneously more avant-garde and more melodic. Unusual but catchy song structures combine with offbeat arrangements featuring no guitars (the lead parts being played on keyboards, electronics and electric violin instead) to create a unique and trippy atmosphere. Snatches of circus-style music enliven a couple of tracks, whilst parts of ‘Stranded In Time’ are very Beatles-like, before the brilliant extended closer ‘The American Way Of Love’ sees the band giving full rein to its sonic experiments. The Sundazed reissue includes no fewer than ten bonus tracks – among them an early run-through of the outstanding ‘You Can Never Come Down’, which would appear on leader Joe Byrd’s next album. GRADE: B.
See also Moskowitz & Fregulia, Steamin’ Freeman

Unitopia (Australia): The Garden (InsideOut SPV 79912 DCD, double CD, Germany, 2008)
Rock/Progressive
Shireen Khemlani (bass)
Given that this is a 100-minute double album, one would expect the band to have made some significant musical statement. They didn’t. Despite a few minor world music, metal and jazzy touches, this is basically at the most simplistic end of neoprog, offering a succession of polished, bland rock ballads betwixt seventies Pink Floyd and AOR. Even the long suites (one of 23 minutes and another of 16) merely consist of several such songs loosely stitched together. The band also cut several other albums with an all-male line-up, which I thankfully haven’t heard. GRADE: C.

Universal Totem Orchestra (Italy): Rituale Alieno (Black Widow BWRCD 022-2, CD, 1999)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Ana Torres Fraile (joint lead vocals)
Not to be confused with the American RIO band U Totem, this is an alter ego of Italian zeuhl outfit Runaway Totem. Why the dual identities, I have no idea, as this is zeuhl too: perhaps a touch spacier than their other incarnation, very expansive and sometimes strongly redolent of a modernised Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommadöh. With lots of baroque and neoclassical touches thrown in and even some quasi-industrial moments, it’s pretty varied too, exploring territory not hinted at by Runaway Totem – so maybe the variant name was justified after all. GRADE: B.

Universal Totem Orchestra (Italy): Mathematical Mother (Black Widow BWRCD 198-2, CD, 2016)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Ana Torres Fraile (lead vocals)
Much less exploratory than their earlier work, Mathematical Mother sounds like a homage to late seventies and early eighties Magma, blending the funkiness of Attahk, the mellow jazz and theatrical edges of the Rétrospective sets and the classical tinges underpinning Les Voix, with Ana Torres Fraile in superb voice. In some ways it’s a step down from their adventurous previous albums, but it’s frequently stunning in its own right and could ultimately have much wider appeal. GRADE: B–.

See also Runaway Totem

Unknown Artist (UK): The Beck Studios Acetate (Beck Studios, acetate, 1969)
Rock/Psychedelic
Nothing is known about the artists who cut this four-song, 19-minute 12" acetate; the sleeve notes on the reissue (Seelie Court SCLP004, 2020) speculate that the female singer (accurately described as a cross between Grace Slick and Julie Driscoll) may have been American expatriate Jean Turk and the guitarist may have been the late Tony Barford of Axe/Crystalline. The heavy acid guitar work certainly sounds like Barford, though this is nowhere near as dark and eerie as Axe, with a more conventional bluesy rock sound, though the vocals and guitar work often take it close to Jefferson Airplane in jamming mode. The result is a remarkable work and a very welcome reissue of a significant addition to the British psychedelic canon. GRADE: B–.

UnknownmiX (Switzerland): UnknownmiX (No label, cassette, 1983)
New Wave/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Magda Vogel (lead vocals)
This trio of a singer, synthesist and drummer (plus occasional guests on guitar and saxophone) created a decidedly odd debut album. The predominant style is weird, minimalist, lo-fi electropop without normal song structures, fronted by a vocalist who at various times resembles Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich and Nico. Some other reviewers have linked them to the RIO movement, but I don’t immediately hear it; to my ears, this is simply strange through and through. GRADE: C+.
UnknownmiX (Switzerland): UX (UX 004, with inner, 1984)
New Wave/Industrial/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Magda Vogel (lead vocals)
Recorded with the same line-up, their second album has vastly better sound quality and is altogether a more mature record. At times, this presages the type of music Amon Düül II would go on to make on Nada Moonshine #, though without the full band backing. Equally, the industrial elements in their sound are far more prominent, including some metal percussion. Once again, it’s strange, minimalist and something of an acquired taste, but it’s certainly interesting and creative. GRADE: C+.
UnknownmiX (Switzerland): Loops (Rec Rec 9, with inner, 1985)
New Wave/Industrial/Pop/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Magda Vogel (principal vocals)
Album number three has slightly more conventional song structures and a greater pop sensibility, although it’s still mostly quite weird. Electric guitars appear on a few songs though nobody is credited with playing them, most notably on ‘Kiss Forever’, which sounds like a playful indie-pop twist on early Siouxsie & The Banshees with a hint of Eurythmics. Elsewhere they incorporate elements of everything from blues to jazz, making for a very eclectic and often amusing LP. GRADE: C+.
UnknownmiX (Switzerland): miX 3 (Rec Rec 18, with inner, 1987)
New Wave/Industrial/Pop/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Magda Vogel (lead vocals)
What the 3 in the title signifies, I have no idea, as this was actually their fifth album (there was a 1986 cassette Live In Willisau that I’ve never encountered). Housed in a striking embossed silver foil sleeve, the album sees them moving away from the rock pastiches of the previous LP and returning to their earlier, more minimalist, electronic direction. This time round, Magda Vogel’s vocals and the impassioned lyrics call to mind Dagmar Krause. GRADE: C+.
UnknownmiX (Switzerland): Whaba! (Rec Rec RecDec 27, CD, 1989)
Pop
Magda Vogel (lead vocals)
With no less a luminary than Guru Guru’s Mani Neumeier on drums, this completes UnknownmiX’s transition from electronic avant-gardism to stylish synth-pop. Catchy, varied and slightly satirical, this sometimes indicates how a band like Slapp Happy might have sounded had they formed ten years later. GRADE: C+.
UnknownmiX (Switzerland): DominaDea (Rec Rec RecDec 46, CD, 1992)
Pop/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Magda Vogel (lead vocals), Juliana Müller (guitar, keyboards, accordion, sampler, backing vocals)
Recorded by Magda Vogel with two new collaborators, their final album is somewhat different yet again. Whilst Whaba!'s pop sheen is maintained, this restores the progressive and experimental elements of their sound, adding in influences from folk and classical music. The results are rather interesting and quite varied, sometimes hinting towards Swiss Chalet-era Cos. GRADE: C+.

Unreal City (Italy): La Crueltà Di Aprile (Mirror MRL 1006, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2013)
Progressive
Francesca Zanetta (guitar, lute)
Culminating in an eighteen-minute suite, this is a good recreation of the early seventies Italian prog sound: rich, lyrical, understated and moderately complex. None of the compositions is invididually outstanding, and it’s all too low-key to be a modern classic, but it’s beautifully done and extremely listenable. GRADE: B–.

Unreal City (Italy): Il Paese Del Tramonto (AMS AMS 240 CD, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2015)
Progressive
Francesca Zanetta (guitar, Mellotron)
The closing suite this time round is even longer, at 21 minutes, but otherwise it’s business as usual. Once again it’s refreshing to hear an Italian band whose music is mellifluous and understated, utterly avoiding the bombast characterising many of the country’s neoprog outfits. A gifted vocalist who sings in Italian is another huge plus, and once again this can stand alongside the better Rock Progressivo Italiano albums from the seventies. GRADE: B–.

Unreal City (Italy): Frammenti Notturni (Ams AMS283CD, CD, with gatefold minisleeve and booklet, 2017)
Progressive
Camilla Pozzi (occasional vocals), Francesca Zanetta (guitar, Mellotron)
Once again, it’s all very understated and very much of a piece, but Unreal City capture the refined atmosphere of the best classic Italian prog with aplomb. GRADE: B–.

Unspoken Word (USA): Tuesday April 19th (Ascot AS 16028, 1968)
Folk/Psychedelic
Dede Puma (joint lead vocals)
Not typical period West Coast pop, as I had expected, but a really beautiful and rather minimalist psychedelic folk LP. Occasional use of strings and mournful solo horn sometimes make it resemble a stripped-down version of the Eclection album, and elsewhere it sounds British rather than American, with more of an early seventies than late sixties vibe. Altogether, this was a considerable – and extremely welcome – surprise. The four bonus tracks on the CD reissue (taken from pre-album singles) are really beautiful too. GRADE: C+.
Unspoken Word (USA): The Unspoken Word (Atco SD 33-335, 1970)
Rock
Dede Puma (joint lead vocals)
Bizarrely, the line-up is the same as on their debut, but the sound is totally different. This time round the band offers blues-tinged pop/rock that sounds like innumerable other acts from the era. The opening ‘Pillow’ is irresistibly catchy, and makes you think they’ve pulled off the transformation with aplomb, but the standard is not maintained, and the LP reaches its nadir on the ten-minute blues/rocker ‘Manager’. GRADE: C.

Unusual We (USA): The Unusual We (Pulsar AR 10608, 1969)
Pop
Lush harmony pop from a large vocal group, with orchestrated backing, sometimes with loungy jazz and mild funk edges. Fans of outfits like Free Design and the Fifth Dimension might like this a lot. GRADE: C.

Unwritten Pages (Holland/UK/Mexico): Pt. 1 – Noah (Progrock PPR533, double CD, USA, 2010)
Progressive/Metal
Ruth Maassen (joint lead vocals)
The loud, compressed production does the band few favours, but the music here is nowhere near as bombastic as you’d expect from a progressive metal rock opera. In fact, it has plenty of room to breathe and a fair level of variety, making for a decent set (even though I find the science fiction concept somewhat silly). GRADE: C+.

Urban Sax (France): Urban Sax (Cobra COB 37004, 1977)

Avant-Garde

Géraldine André (saxophone)

One might expect an album entirely recorded with saxophones (or so the cover says – I can hear what sound like voices, keyboards and percussion here) to be jazzy, but this is more in the vein of pure French experimentalism such as Musica Elettronica Viva’s The Sound Pool. Thankfully it’s nowhere near as cacophonous, offering two slowly unfolding hypnotic, sonorous pieces that gradually build and build in intensity. These kinds of albums are always the hardest to grade: this is bold, highly creative and extremely innovative, and makes for a fascinating change of pace when I’m in the mood for it, which suggests a B–. However, how often would I actually be in the mood for it? GRADE: C+.

Urban Sax (France): Urban Sax 2 (Cobra COB 37017, 1978)

Avant-Garde

Chantal Des Horts (joint lead vocals), Evelyne Hamon (joint lead vocals), Liliana Vaquero (joint lead vocals), Marie-Claire Haoussine (joint lead vocals), Julie Zimine (joint lead vocals), Catherine Mazauric (joint lead vocals), Anna Losskry (joint lead vocals), Géraldine André (saxophone), Françoise Dupety (saxophone), Danièle Dumas (saxophone)

With added cymbals and chanting, this follows the same format as its predecessor (and indeed the tracks are credited as ‘Urban Sax (part three)’ and ‘Urban Sax (part four)’. My comments thus remain unaltered: this is bold, creative and weird stuff that I admire but can’t imagine playing frequently. GRADE: C+.

Pierre Henry & Urban Sax (France): Paradise Lost (Philips 6313 293, 1982)
Avant-Garde
Annie Chambon (joint lead vocals), Evelyne Hamon (joint lead vocals), Catherine Mazauric (joint lead vocals), Manuele Miailhe (joint lead vocals), Géraldine André (saxophone), Sabine Breuillot (saxophone), Sabine Jounneau (saxophone), Hélène Nougaret (saxophone)
The addition of Pierre Henry’s electronics isn’t the only change here – with four discrete tracks per side, this is a significant alteration to Urban Sax’s modus operandi. The music is different too, being much more lively, with staccato saxophones punctuated by electronic burbles and warbles. Once again, it’s interesting and creative stuff – and once again I definitely have to be in the mood for it. GRADE: C+.
Urban Sax (France): Fraction Sur Le Temps (Celluloid CEL 6788, 1985)
Avant-Garde/Classical
Catherine Mazauric (joint lead vocals), Valéry Btesh (joint lead vocals), Diane Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Deborah Kagan (joint lead vocals), Marie-Laure de Beausacq (joint lead vocals), Joëlle Papineau (joint lead vocals), Dominique Hamen (joint lead vocals), Beatriz Sterne de Fonteneu (joint lead vocals), Joëlle Saladin (joint lead vocals), Maryvonne Ssosse (joint lead vocals), Martine Desoille (joint lead vocals), Elisabeth Zimine (joint lead vocals), Elisabeth Miailhe (joint lead vocals), Liliane Vaquero (joint lead vocals), Véronique Kone (joint lead vocals), Galeta Streiter (joint lead vocals),Ann Ballester (keyboards), Mireille Bauer (percussion), Sabine Jouanneau (saxophone), Hélène Nougaret (saxophone), Marlène Aufray (saxophone), Patricia Guigui (saxophone), Sophie Zaznini (violin)
Returning to the format of their first two albums, Urban Sax take a quantum leap here. With a choir, keyboards, strings and a battery of percussionists bringing their music to life, this is their magnum opus: a startling and unsettling epic bridging jazz and modern classical music, with nods towards everyone from Magma to Ligeti. Although credited in six parts, this is a single suite of music that constantly unfolds, ebbs and mutates, going through numerous fascinating diversions, showcasing more variety than their three previous works put together. As a footnote, the list of musicians is equally impressive, including Valéry Btesh from Tangerine, Ann Ballester of Édition Spéciale and Gong’s Mireille Bauer. GRADE: B.
Urban Sax (France): Spiral (EPM Musique FDC 1125, CD, 1991)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Cora Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Diane Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Laetitia Frenod (joint lead vocals), Julie Gay (joint lead vocals), Cécile Mestre (joint lead vocals), Armelle Orieux (joint lead vocals), Amanda Rabin (joint lead vocals), Marie-Béatrice Rosset (joint lead vocals), Toussy Thalassa (joint lead vocals), Barbara Weber (joint lead vocals), Susan Allen (saxophone), Guenola François (saxophone), Coralie Druelle (saxophone), Evelyne Guyon-Canedo (saxophone), Marion Monnet (saxophone)
Seemingly compiling extracts from a larger work (we get parts five to 12, but not one to four, despite the whole thing clocking in only 47 minutes), this is the logical follow-up to Fraction Sur Le Temps. Without the strings, the feel of the music is perhaps slightly jazzier than the band’s earlier work, but Urban Sax once again display a remarkable range of influences including a fair dash of Ligeti. The only questions that remain are why we didn’t get the complete work and whether this would have worked better as a continuous suite. Actually, the latter isn’t really a question, as I’m convinced it would, but there’s still enough good (and challenging) stuff here to merit a B. GRADE: B.
Urban Sax (France): Live In Tokyo – Mirage De Son (No label, VHS, with insert, VHS, 1991)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Cora Dupuis (joint lead vocals), Laetitia Frenod (joint lead vocals), Jenny Godula (joint lead vocals), Domonique Martinelli (joint lead vocals), Armelle Orieux (joint lead vocals), Edwige Chandelier (joint lead vocals), Toussy Thalassa (joint lead vocals), Barbara Weber (joint lead vocals), Anita Roussel (vibraphone). Susan Allen (saxophone), Coralie Druelle (saxophone), Evelyne Guyon-Canedo (saxophone), Marion Monnet (saxophone), Sarah Isacco (saxophone), Karine Weider (saxophone), Carole Sauvanet (saxophone)
Anyone expecting a conventional concert video – or even a conventional concert – is in for a surprise, as Urban Sax’s staging is as radical as their music. With an army of saxophonists wearing masks, musicians in weird costumes and dancers, interspersed with effects and offstage footage, this is a surreal experience more akin to modern ballet than any notion of rock. All I could ask is that it had been filmed in high definition and reissued on DVD; as it is, it still works surprisingly well in lovely fuzzy VHS. GRADE: B–.
Urban Sax (France): To The Chosen Few (Cezame SAM 002, with book, 1993)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Diane Dupuis, Susan Allen, Annie Sabas, Sarah Isacco, Damienne Perrachon, Karine Weider, Claire Dixmiez, Coralie Druelle, Evelyne Guyon-Canedo, Marion Monnet, Hélène Nougaret, Cora Dupuis, Laetitia Frenod, Anne Warin, Julie Gay, Cécile Maestre, Armelle Orieux, Amanda Rabin, Marie-Béatrice Rosset, Catherine Jallet, Isabelle Delecourt, Jeannette Kuhn, Brigitte Renaud, Christine Dugas, Toussy Thalassa, Barbara Weber, Tatiana Rossi, Nasusicaa Pasaris, Pascale Battus, Anita Rossel, Yolande Padillat, Mireille Pic, Emmanuelle Rayon
Packaged with a huge A4 book about the band, this consists mainly of re-recordings of material from earlier in their career. Thus, whilst this again contains some superb music, it feels like the band is treading water – and it also feels somewhat fragmentary. GRADE: B–.
Urban Sax (France): À Jakarta (Cézame Argile AWA 95002, CD, with minisleeve and book, 1995)
Avant-Garde/Jazz/Classical
Jeanette Kuhn (joint lead vocals), Christine Dugas (joint lead vocals), Tiphaine Fauchois (joint lead vocals), Hélène Vitorge (joint lead vocals), Sabine Carty (joint lead vocals), Nathalie Fagour (joint lead vocals), Flore Boixel (joint lead vocals), Annelise Troadec (joint lead vocals), Véronique Miath (joint lead vocals), Coralie Druelle (saxophone), Karine Weider (saxophone), Sarah Isacco (saxophone)
Issued as the accompaniment to a book of photos, this 18-minute EP commemorates the band performing a new work ‘Paduan Suara’ in Indonesia. With lots of familiar Urban Sax motifs plus clanging tuned percussion drawing on traditional Indonesian music, it’s a fascinating small-scale work and a fascinating addition to their discography, even if I find the intermittent (and enthusiastic) audience noise slightly distracting. GRADE: B–.

Liliana Urbańska (Poland): Liliana Urbańska (Pronit SXL / XL 1068, 1974)
Soul/Jazz/Rock
Liliana Urbańska (lead vocals, flute, lute)
The Grupa Organowa Krzysztofa Sadowskiego member’s solo set (backed by the parent band and almost entirely composed by Sadowski) is a pleasant soft jazz and soul set. Not a million miles away from Julie Driscoll’s work with Brian Auger, this contains enough rock elements to have broad appeal, and is pretty varied too, offering a pleasant selection of moods. GRADE: C+.
See also Grupa Organowa Krzysztofa Sadowskiego

Urfaust (Czech Republic/UK): Faust And Margaret (Faust FR 05-2331, CD, UK, 1995)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Mirka Krivánková (joint lead vocals)
Fronted by Mirka Krivánková, a veteran of the eighties Czech jazz scene, this Anglo-Czech band offers fascinating and very varied experimental jazz/rock. It’s remarkably diverse, from hints of the Vertigo early seventies sound to Krautrock sensibilities, Urszula Dudziak-like glossolalia and even what sounds like a duet between a heavy riffing electric guitar and a rusty hinge. If the album has a failing, it’s that every track is in a different style, occasionally making it sound like a collection of weirdnesses; prog fans may also find the jazz quotient a little high. However, everything works well and the result is a brilliant album that delivers constant surprises and is certain to delight fans of early seventies Gong et al. GRADE: B.
Urfaust & Gary Lucas (Czech Republic/UK/USA): Pražská Strašidla (Faust FR 06-2331, CD, Czech Republic, 1996)
Blues/Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Dominika (occasional vocals), Mirka Krivánková (occasional vocals), Helena (occasional vocals)
The presence of Captain Beefheart collaborator Gary Lucas is no accident: this concept album about the ghosts of Prague is completely different from its predecessor. Offering far more conventional bluesy and jazzy rock with a swampy flavour, it sees the band abandoning the wild excesses of their debut, resulting in a mellower and more homogenous, but far less intriguing, record. GRADE: B–.
See also Mirka Krivánková, Jirí Stivín & Co Jazz System, Various, ‘Jazz Praha – Live’, Various ‘Jazzrocková Dílna’

US Apple Corps (USA): US Apple Corps (SSS International 12, some on blue vinyl, with poster, 1970)
Rock
Powerful gospel rock with strong emphasis on the ‘rock’. The band has definite hard rock leanings and lots of Southern-sounding lead guitar, whilst a black female singer and gospel choir really belt it out upfront. This is a great album, but also a very short one, at around 25 minutes. The poster included is nothing more than a giant foldout lyric insert with nothing on the reverse. Promo copies came on blue vinyl, but these aren’t much rarer than the black vinyl version. GRADE: B–.
US Apple Corps (USA): Let The Music Take Your Mind (Plantation PLP-504, 1976)
Rock
Issued six years after their first, but most likely recorded some time in the early seventies, their second and final album is in a similar style. It’s subtler, though, with greater emphasis on composition and mostly male vocals. There are some fine songs here, especially the near-seven-minute ‘Dead’, which closes side one. A really superb psychedelic sleeve completes the deal. GRADE: B–.

Utopia (West Germany/USA): Utopia (United Artists UAS 29483, West Germany, 1973)
Progressive
Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz (occasional vocals)
Recorded around the same time as Amon Düül II’s Wolf City and partly comprising outtakes from that album, Utopia showcased the core trio of Lothar Meid (Amon Düül II’s bassist), Olaf Kübler (the band’s producer) and Jimmy Jackson (an American keyboardist who worked with them on Tanz Der Lemminge and Wolf City). Several other members of the band guest, including Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz, who sings lead on the opening ‘What You Gonna Do?’. Unsurprisingly, this often sounds like a more commercial twist on contemporary Amon Düü II, with stronger jazz edges; whilst an enjoyable album, it’s certainly no match for Wolf City itself. GRADE: B–.
See also Amon Düül II, Maschine Nr. 9, Popol Vuh