Fi-Fir

Fiddler’s Dram (UK): To See The Play (Dingle’s DIN-304, 1978)
Folk
Cathy Lesurf (lead vocals, percussion)
Fiddler’s Dram later became the Oyster Band and Cathy Lesurf later became the celebrated vocalist for the Albion Band, but on this pleasant debut they sound uncannily like Spriguns Of Tolgus. Most of the material is traditional, but this includes the original acoustic version of the irritating (despite some poignant lyrics) ‘Day Trip To Bangor’, which later gave them a huge hit single. GRADE: C+.
Fiddler’s Dram (UK): Fiddler’s Dram (Dingle’s DID 711, 1980)
Folk/Rock
Cathy Lesurf (principal vocals)
Adding electric guitar, synthesisers and drums, the band’s second and final album under their original name saw them moving from folk to full-blooded folk/rock with a few Brechtian edges. Overall it’s a solid example of the genre, peaking on the stunning ‘The Bad Girl’; on the downside, ‘Fedora’ takes them into cabaret territory, whilst ‘Day Trip To Bangor’ puts in a second appearance, this time in its hit single version. GRADE: C+.
See also Albion Band, Cathy Lesurf, Oyster Ceilidh Band

Fiedel Michel (West Germany): Nr 4 (Autogram ALLP-199, with booklet, 1975)
Folk
Elke Herold (occasional vocals, violin, flute, dulcimer), Monika Hawel (guitar)
This long-running band had already released an album and two EPs, but these were their first recordings with female musicians. Betraying few hints of their origins (aside from the German language vocals) it’s similar to the better releases on labels like Folk Heritage, offering some lovely, haunting folk ballads and instrumentals, with all-traditional material. GRADE: C+.
Fiedel Michel (West Germany): Der Teutsche Michel (Autogram ALLP 224, with booklet, 1976)
Folk
Elke Herold (occasional vocals, violin, flute)
In the same vein as its predecessor, this features some deft playing and emotional singing, meaning that both the songs and instrumentals work very well. GRADE: C+.
Fiedel Michel (West Germany): Live (Stockfisch SF 5008, with insert, 1976)
Folk
Elke Herold, Monika Hawel
This is easily their best album to date, with some beautiful ballads and a much higher proportion of female vocals. In fact, with a little more complexity and a few rock elements, it could have been a minor classic. GRADE: C+.
Fiedel Michel (West Germany): Von Zeit Zu Zeit (Stockfisch SF 5016, with insert, 1978)
Folk
Elke Herold, Monika Hawel
Despite the continued presence of two female members, this reverts to mostly male vocals. That’s a pity: the singing is perfectly good, but this never comes close to equalling the better moments from the live LP. GRADE: C+.
Fiedel Michel (West Germany): Fiedel Michel (Nature 0060.278, with inner, 1980)
Folk
Monika Marie Domin (occasional vocals, dulcimer, flute)
By this time, Fiedel Michel had acquired a new female singer and most of the members had started operating in parallel in side-project Falckenstein. Featuring six instrumentals and four songs, it marks a slight change to their usual modus operandi, and showcases some fairly intricate music. However, as usual, there are no rock elements, and the whole thing is rather short on excitement. GRADE: C+.
Fiedel Michel (West Germany): Kennst Du Das Land… (Nature 0060.376, with inner, 1981)
Folk
Monika Marie Domin (occasional vocals, guitar, dulcimer)
Their last album is in a similar style to its predecessor, again with a fairly even mix of songs and instrumentals, but is better all round. The songs are in more of a singer/songwriter direction and suitably wistful, whilst the instrumentals vary between the beautiful and the lively, with the excellent ‘In Senden Der Löwe Los’ taking them close to folk/rock. As a footnote, this was recorded in Dublin, with members of the Dubliners helping out. GRADE: C+.
See also Falckenstein

Fielded (USA): The Lord Reigns, Let The People Tremble (Catholic Tapes, cassette, 2009)
Progressive/Avant-Garde
Lindsay Powell
As the album title and label name make clear, this project by Ga’an leader Lindsay Powell has a definite liturgical feel. Quite different from Ga’an, it’s a hard LP to describe: minimalist, electronic and rather eerie, with some out-of-tune choirs but also a certain melodic sensibility, almost like Ligeti through an indie-pop prism. It’s all very lo-fi too, with a rather inconsequential feel, but it’s certainly interesting.

GRADE: C+
Fielded (USA): Terrageist (Catholic Tapes CTLP-001, with insert, 2010)
Progressive/Avant-Garde
Lindsay Powell
Pressed on marbled vinyl in a run of 300 copies, the second Fielded album builds on the sounds of their debut. Blending influences from new wave, experimental pop, folk and the avant-garde, with a few hints of zeuhl, the end result is minimalist and quite stark electronic music with some lush vocal textures. GRADE: C+.
Fielded (USA): Fielded And Alex Barnett (Nihilist Nihil 73, with insert, 2011)
Pop/New Wave/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Lindsay Powell
This split LP (with the second side going to Alex Barnett, who offers rather good instrumental synthesiser music) features three songs. The new wave and pop influences underpinning Fielded’s style become far more obvious here, with the lengthy ‘Horse’ sounding like a low-budget Kate Bush at one point. Whilst well done, this is probably less interesting than the previous two releases. GRADE: C+.
Fielded (USA): Ninety Thirty Thirty (Captcha HSBP-2X-043, CD, with digipak, 2012)
Pop/New Wave/Jazz/Progressive/Avant-Garde
Lindsay Powell (lead vocals, bass)
This is possibly the best of the Fielded albums, offering a broad range of material encompassing wide-ranging influences; the end results recall both Laurie Anderson and Kate Bush, without closely resembling either of them. GRADE: C+.
See also Cake Bake Betty, Festival, Ga’an

Fields & Shipley (USA): Fields And Shipley (Tiger Lily TL 14056 DJ, 1976)
Rock
Ellen Shipley
Like the Gordon album on Vertigo, this is rare and collectable because of its label more than its music. That’s not to say it’s bad: Steve Fields and Ellen Shipley deliver a pleasant set of mid-seventies pop/rock with a bit of a singer/songwriter feel. There’s even quite a bit of Mellotron on the opening ‘Hello Darkness’ and an unexpected folk number to close with a slight mediaeval flavour. GRADE: C+.
See also Ellen Shipley

Fife Reivers (UK): The Fife Reivers (Columbia SCX 6371, 1969)
Folk
Maureen Laing (joint lead vocals, percussion)
The combination of the band name and album sleeve made me expect some kind of horribly kitsch MOR Scottish folk excursion, and after picking up a copy cheaply I didn’t play it for years. How wrong I was. Admittedly, some of the songs fronted by Maureen Laing do have a slight MOR edge, but for the most part this is a lovely, understated folk/rock LP consisting mainly of very well-written songs by her husband Jim. However, the band’s real claim to fame was that the third member, son Russell, was only twelve when he played the lead guitar, banjo and mandolin parts and handled the arrangements for much of the album. Even at that age, he was a masterful musician, and it’s surprising that he didn’t go on to become another Bert Jansch or John Renbourn. GRADE: C+.

Fifty Foot Hose (USA): Cauldron (Limelight 86062, with inner, 1969)
Psychedelic/Avant-Garde
Nancy Blossom (principal vocals)
Fifty Foot Hose are usually mentioned in the same breath as United States Of America and White Noise, as all three were pioneers of electronic rock music. In reality, however, all were quite different: White Noise were basically electronic engineers and composers experimenting with musical textures, United States was an early progressive rock band using primitive synthesisers as a lead instrument, and Fifty Foot Hose were at heart a conventional heavy psychedelic rock band who added electronic screams and howls onto their songs (which often seem to have nothing to do with the rest of the music). If this makes them sound straighter and less interesting than their contemporaries, the opposite is true in practice: for me, the weird and unsettling Cauldron is top of the heap for both acid-rock and sixties avant-gardism. Highpoints include the eerie ‘If Not This Time’, with its forlorn multi-layered vocals, a strange reworking of ‘God Bless The Child’, the ten-minute freakout ‘Fantasy’ and the closing title track, a piece of pure experimentation that presages the work of bands like Throbbing Gristle and Nurse With Wound. Whilst this album certainly isn’t for everyone, those with adventurous ears should agree it’s one of the best releases from late sixties America. GRADE: A.
50 Foot Hose (USA): ……Live And Unreleased (Captain Trip CTCD-052, CD, Japan, 1995)
Psychedelic/Avant-Garde
Elizabeth Perry (lead vocals)
This isn’t really a reunion effort, as it features band leader Cork Marcheschi alongside a new line-up of musicians, but it’s amazingly faithful to the group’s original intentions. Mixing Cauldron numbers with new material, the set is occasionally a bit ponderous but frequently astounding, even if Elizabeth Perry’s harsher vocal style is no match for Nancy Blossom’s eerier tones. However, this is very definitely worth hearing. GRADE: B.
Fifty Foot Hose (USA): Sing Like Scaffold (Weasel Disc WD-19456, CD, 1999)
Avant-Garde
Elizabeth Perry (principal vocals)
Fifty Foot Hose’s second studio album builds on the sound of Cauldron’s title track, rather than the acid-rock or jazzy material to be found elsewhere. Largely instrumental, the disc combines burbling electronics with elements of musique concrète and a few twisted songs to create a genuinely unsettling sound. In its own way, this is every bit as original and challenging as their first, which is little short of amazing. GRADE: B.

Pauline Filby (UK): Show Me A Rainbow (Herald LLR 567, 1969)
Singer/Songwriter/Folk
Pauline Filby (lead vocals)
Anyone expecting a precursor to Filby’s excellent progressive folk album with Narnia is going to get an unpleasant surprise: this is coffee-house singer/songwriter fare, sounding a few years earlier than its release date. Blending elements of folk, jazz and (occasionally) blues, the songs are well-enough composed and performed but it’s all a bit detached and lukewarm, and Filby’s ringing, earnest vocals all too often put me in mind of Judith Durham of The Seekers. On the plus side, the four songs recorded with Gordon Giltrap are in a different league. GRADE: C.
See also Narnia

Filigree (UK): Filigree (IBC Sound Recording Studios, acetate, 1973)

Folk

Christine Jeffrey, Patricia Spratt

This unreleased album is wide-ranging indeed, from an acapella ‘Yesterday’ to a beautiful version of ‘Banks Of The Lee’ that resembles Faraway Folk at their finest to an unusual (and very effective) garagy electric reading of ‘Meet On The Ledge’. However, whilst this is frequently quite lovely it’s not all good news: the band also have one foot in choral classical music (notably on ‘O Bone Jesu’) and another in the pure MOR and nostalgia camp (pun very much intended), as throwaway numbers like ‘Moonlight Medley’ and ‘Lida Rose’ indicate. An archive release, also self-titled (Bright Carvings BCLP012, with inserts, 2024) compiles the better tracks from the acetate with a few pieces from a live cassette. GRADE: B–.

See also Sunday Afternoons

Fille Qui Mousse (France): Trixie Stapelton 291 Se Taire Pour Une Femme Trop Belle (Futura, unreleased test pressing, 1972)
Psychedelic/Avant-Garde
Barbara Lowengreen (occasional vocals), Sylvie Peristeris (effects)
Bookended by relaxed Ash Ra Tempel-style spacy jams, this unreleased oddity (intended for the free jazz-oriented Futura label but aborted at the eleventh hour) mainly consists of pure experimentalism. From prepared piano to weird electronic effects to a poetry reading against a backdrop of dogs barking, the album wanders the fringes of the avant-garde, never really settling anywhere but always intriguing and holding the attention. As a footnote, track titles vary wildly across the plethora of reissues, as indeed do the numbers of tracks, but all appear to include identical contents. GRADE: B–.

Fin-Int (West Germany): Fin-Int (Colorit 1 C 062-41 009, 1973)
Folk
Eva Maria Wessels (principal vocals)
With mainly self-penned material, this German band’s sole album consists of pleasant contemporary folk with backing from dual acoustic guitars and electric bass. Sometimes relaxed and sometimes lively, it’s a varied enough set and benefits significantly from a major label recording budget, but lacks the X-factor to make it really special. In fact, the best number is an instrumental with the addition of flute and what sounds like viola. GRADE: C+.

Final Fantasy (Japan): Vocal Collections I – Pray (Squaresoft PSCN-5006, CD, with obi, 1994)
Folk/Progressive
Hiroko Nagai (lead vocals)
Somewhat different from Nagai’s previous projects, this was the soundtrack to a computer game turned multimedia franchise. The musical style is best described as symphonic folk with something of a stage musical feel; very much the kind of music one could imagine Annie Haslam performing. With lyrics in a mixture of Japanese, English, French and Portuguese, the disc serves as an excellent showcase for Nagai’s beautiful voice. GRADE: C+.
Final Fantasy (Japan): Vocal Collections II – Love Will Grow (Squaresoft PSCN-5041, CD, with obi, 1995)
Folk/Progressive
Ikuko Noguchi (joint lead vocals), Hiroko Nagai (joint lead vocals)
This is not dissimilar from its predecessor and again closely resembles Annie Haslam. However there’s a more nostalgic feel to several tracks (most notably ‘Have You Ever Seen Me?’) which puts me very much in mind of Julverne’s Emballade. GRADE: C+.
See also Mr Sirius, Pageant

Heather Findlay (UK): The Phoenix Suite (Black Sand CDBSAND1, CD, 2011)
Rock
Heather Findlay (lead vocals, percussion)
Despite the lofty title, hinting at both an artistic renaissance and an ambitious concept album, Findlay’s solo debut is merely a 24-minute EP comprising five bluesy hard rock songs. With a slight alternative edge, the material is pretty good, but it’s hard to see why she felt the need to leave Mostly Autumn in order to issue this. A limited edition of 100 copies came with a cut-up section of Findlay’s original painting of the cover artwork. GRADE: C+.
Heather Findlay & Chris Johnson (UK): Live At The Café 68 (No label NAUTCD005, CD, 2012)
Folk
Heather Findlay (principal vocals, percussion)
Mixing new and familiar material, this sees Findlay performing live to an invited audience as half of an acoustic folk duo. It’s a pleasant and suitably intimate set, with the between-songs banter being as enjoyable as the music, but like its predecessor is ultimately pretty inconsequential. Attendees at the gig had access to a download with additional tracks. GRADE: C+.

Heather Findlay Band (UK): Songs From The Old Kitchen (Black Sand CDBSAND2, CD, 2012)

Folk/Rock

Heather Findlay (lead vocals, percussion), Angela Goldthorpe (harmonium, flute, clarinet)

This album features mainly acoustic re-recordings of old material, indicating that Findlay had learned much from her old band about making a few songs go a long way. It’s a lovely set with fine musicianship, but one wonders when she plans to issue a full album of new songs as a soloist. GRADE: C+.

Heather Findlay Band (UK): I Am Snow (Black Sand CDBSAND4, CD, with digipak, 2016)
Folk/Rock
Heather Findlay (lead vocals, guitar, percussion, recorder, whistle), Sarah Dean (keyboards, harp, recorder, backing vocals), Angela Goldthorpe (piano, flute, recorder, whistle, backing vocals)
This arrived in the post with an album from Anneke van Giersbergen, making me consider the parallels between the two artists. Both were major creative forces behind bands that had produced some fine music, yet since going solo neither had delivered anything of any significance. Here Findlay breaks the mould: with its crystalline acoustic guitars, harp, hand percussion and woodwind this is genuinely lovely stuff, blowing away the rather vague and dull album she made with Mantra Vega. Admittedly, not everything here is new – there are re-recordings of old Mostly Autumn songs plus an excellent cover of Sandy Denny’s ‘Winter Winds’ – but the album’s sheer quality is hard to deny. GRADE: B–.

Heather Findlay Trio (UK): Aces And Eights – A Night In The Saloon Bar (Black Sand DVDBSAND1, DVD, with digipak and booklet, 2018)
Folk
Heather Findlay (principal vocals, guitar, recorder, whistle), Sarah Dean (shaker, harp, recorder, backing vocals)
This isn’t quite Heather Findlay unplugged: her collaborator Martin Ledger plays electric guitar throughout. However, without a rhythm section, and performed without stage effects or dramatic lighting, it’s an intimate and fairly static performance. As such, it’s not the most thrilling performance visually, but at its best – ‘I Am Snow’ and three Mostly Autumn warhorses (‘Bitterness Burnt’, ‘Caught In A Fold’ and ‘Evergeen’) – the music is stunning and sometimes reminds me of Pererin. The other eleven songs aren’t in the same league, however. GRADE: C+.
Heather Findlay (UK): Wild White Horses (Black Sand CDBSAND006, CD, with digipak and booklet, 2019)
Singer/Songwriter/Folk/Country/Rock
Heather Findlay (principal vocals)
The big surprise with I Am Snow was that it was Findlay’s first really good release since leaving Mostly Autumn; the big surprise on hearing the first two songs here is that she’s gone country/rock, sounding like Stevie Nicks backed by the Heartbreakers. The rest is more varied, ranging from delicate folk to singer/songwriter stuff, though again with a more transatlantic flavour, and it’s all very well done. But the big question is: does this rank alongside I Am Snow or the better work by her former band? The simple answer is no. GRADE: C+.

Heather Findlay (UK): Live White Horses (Black Sand CDBSAND007, double CD, with gatefold minisleeve, 2020)
Rock
Heather Findlay (principal vocals, guitar, percussion, whistle)
Her cover of ‘Gold Dust Woman’ emphasises Stevie Nicks’s influence on her most recent album, which – as the title suggests – dominates this live set. However, whilst Findlay has achieved a powerful, swampy Nicks-like sound, her material isn’t in the same league: ‘Gold Dust Woman’ and a powerful ‘Caught Out In A Fold’ are the highpoints to a degree that can only be described as exponential. Nonetheless, this is a fine performance by any standard, and the second disc of oddities (bootleg-standard recordings of other gigs, acoustic versions and so on) provides a nice bonus. GRADE: C+.

Heather Findlay (UK): Wildflower (Black Sand, download, 2025)
Singer/Songwriter
Heather Findlay (principal vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming, woodwind)
Aside from an appearance by Troy Donockley on one song, Findlay sings, plays, arranges and produces everything herself, so in any ways it’s her most personal album. Her delicate songs, with her voice adding a plaintive country tinge and her acoustic guitar a sparse but warm backdrop, are lovely and at times so heartfelt that one almost feels like one is eavesdropping. GRADE: C+.
See also Mostly Autumn, Odin Dragonfly

Fine Art (USA): Fine Art (Good 101578, 1978)
Rock/Metal/New Wave/Psychedelic
Kay Maxwell (joint lead vocals), Terri Paul (joint lead vocals)
Betwixt hard rock, new wave and acid-rock, this unusual band’s sole album at times reminds of everyone from Obelisk to Black Sabbath to Siouxsie & The Banshees. Most songs are notable for their growling fuzz guitar riffs, piercing leads and eloquent bass playing, and the band was unusually fronted by two female singers, one of whom reminds me of Anna Meek from Catapilla. Whilst there’s little or no variety here, it’s fascinating stuff, and far too interesting to be dismissed (as it often is) as mere ‘punk’. GRADE: B–.

Finisterre (Italy): In Limine (Mellow MMP 291, CD, 1996)
Progressive
Francesca Biagini (flute, backing vocals)
Individually, the elements of this symphonic prog album work quite well: some bombastic rock passages, a piano solo, a classical bit with strings and clarinet, some folky moments reminding me of Ithaca. But thrown together with jarring (rather than thrilling) shifts of mood and tempo and bolstered by a thin and unflattering production, it adds up to a great deal less than the sum of its parts. GRADE: C+.

See also Höstsonaten

Thomas Fink Trio & Beate Krause (West Germany): A Waltz For Bill (Workshop 081, 1985)
Jazz
Beate Krause (lead vocals)
One could never accuse Beate Krause’s short musical CV of being predictable: first Carol Of Harvest, then mainstream rock outfit Joker, and finally this trad jazz effort. This is pretty good for what it is, but there’s nothing here that Carol Of Harvest fans need to hear. GRADE: C+.
See also Carol Of Harvest, Joker

Finn MacCuill (UK): Sink Ye Swim Ye (REL 460, 1978)
Folk
Madelaine Taylor (joint lead vocals, guitar, percussion)
This atmospheric Scottish folk album reminds me more than a little of Spriguns Of Tolgus, though it’s more acoustic, using electric bass on most cuts and some heavy electric guitar chords on the opening ‘Birnie Bouzle’. The result is a delicate and intricate LP with a haunting and desolate feel. As a footnote, whilst this is frequently described as a private pressing, it is nothing of the kind: REL was the record label of Radio Edinburgh. GRADE: C+.

Finnegan’s Wake (Tasmania/UK): Van Dieman’s Land (Candle CFPS-091, Australia, 1978?)
Folk
Caroline Bushby (joint lead vocals, percussion, melodeon, whistle)
As the band name and album title suggest, this release attempts to unify Irish and Tasmanian folk music. With acoustic and sometimes electric backing, it’s similar to British bands like Finn MacCuill and Spriguns Of Tolgus, and is of a high standard throughout. For most listeners, the highpoint will be ‘Bedlam Boys’, which adds some heavy fuzz guitar for a psychedelic folk/rock feel missing elsewhere. Another standout is the eerie, haunting ‘Winter’s Coming’, making one regret that it’s the only original composition. As a footnote, the band consisted of two English expatriates and two native Tasmanians; the album is now extremely rare. GRADE: C+.

Finneus Gauge (USA): More Once More (Cyclops CYCL 055, CD, UK, 1997)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Laura Martin (lead vocals)
This jazzy prog album offers some virtuosic, complex music with fine riffs and hooks to boot. It easily stands among the upper echelon of American progressive albums from the nineties. GRADE: B–.
Finneus Gauge (USA): One Inch Of The Fall (Cyclops CYCL 077, CD, UK, 1999)
Jazz/Rock/Progressive
Laura Martin (lead vocals)
This is perhaps a tiny notch below their first, though still a fine album. Once again, it’s clear what an odd songwriting style they have, with dissonant hooks popping up at the most unexpected moments. The album was simultaneously released in Canada (Train TR79603): the standard edition omitted the three live tracks (all from More Once More) included as bonuses on the Cyclops issue but a limited double disc version added four completely different live numbers (which were also released as a CDR sold during the band's 1999 tour).

GRADE: B–.

Fire Mountain Militia (USA): Edge Of The Night (Thunder Lizard, 1981)
Country
Sharon George (occasional vocals, bass)
The better songs here are solid country-rock, with nice stripped-down electric and acoustic arrangements. The worse are overly whimsical maudlin country-and-western, though again with nice stripped-down electric and acoustic arrangements. GRADE: C.

Fireball Ministry (USA): Où Est La Rock? (Bong Load BL 42, CD, 1999)
Metal
Emily J Burton
No prizes for guessing from the label name that this is stoner rock: in this case, good-natured, mid-paced stuff with some great melodies and riffs. There’s not much variety on offer, and they clearly weren’t trying to make great art, but as unpretentious guitar rock with a Southern flavour goes, this is a very good LP. GRADE: C+.
Fireball Ministry (USA): FMEP (Small Stone SS-023, CD, 2001)
Metal
Emily J Burton (guitar)
Although billed as an EP, this is of album length, featuring three original songs (all of which would reappear on The Second Great Awakening) plus five cover versions. For no obvious reason, the last three cuts are described as ‘bonus tracks’, although I’m not aware of a pressing without them. On the back cover, they describe themselves as ‘the first church of rock ’n’ roll’; whilst this is too unambitious and simplistic to be divinely inspired, it’s fantastic heavy rock that will answer any stoner fan’s prayers. GRADE: B–.
Fireball Ministry (USA): The Second Great Awakening (Nuclear Blast 37361 11822, sunshine yellow CD, with slipcase, Germany, 2003)
Metal
Emily J Burton (guitar), Janis Tanaka (bass, backing vocals)
For their second album proper, the band added Janis Tanaka (formerly of L7 and later of Hammers Of Misfortune) to the line-up (though most tracks were actually recorded before she joined). Fulfilling the promise shown by FMEP, this is an absolutely great album of sludgy Southern metal, often sounding like a heavier, meaner ZZ Top. GRADE: B–.
Fireball Ministry (USA): Their Rock Is Not Our Rock (Century Media 77474-2, CD, 2005)
Metal
Emily J Burton (guitar, backing vocals)
This is perhaps a notch down from their last couple of releases, as it doesn’t have quite the same easy swagger (and nor does it break much new ground). Nonetheless, it’s frequently very good and occasionally sees the band testing the limits of their style (with one cut having some faint progressive edges). GRADE: C+.
Fireball Ministry (USA): Fireball Ministry (Restricted Releases RES-004CD, CD, 2010)
Metal
Emily J Burton (guitar, backing vocals)
The band’s final album is slightly more varied and accomplished than its predecessor, containing some fine riffs and grooves. Listening to this disc, it finally struck me who James A Rota II’s laconic, drawling vocals recall – it’s Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac. GRADE: C+.

Fireball Ministry (USA): Remember The Story (Cleopatra CLO 0666, CD, 2017)
Metal
Emily J Burton (guitar, backing vocals)
This doesn’t add much to the impression left by previous albums – Fireball Ministry are not the kind of band for whom artistic development is crucial. Nonetheless, there are mild experiments here, with an effective instrumental and the dramatic semi-acoustic closer ‘I Don’t Believe A Word’. There are also plenty of crushing riffs and sludgy hard rock grooves, making for another fine album. GRADE: C+.
See also Hammers Of Misfortune

Firebird (UK): The Game (Rola R009, 1981)
Country/Folk/Rock
Rose Morris (principal vocals, keyboards)
Since multi-instrumentalist Phil Beer (later of the Albion Band) was in the line-up, I expected this to be folk. Side two largely is, but side one is mostly country/rock, which isn’t one of my preferred genres. A few cuts are closer to mainstream rock, but the folkiest material is the best on offer; the finest track of all is ‘Put It All Off Till Tomorrow’, on which Rose Morris sounds uncannily like Cathy Lesurf. GRADE: C.

Firkin The Fox (UK): Behind Bars (Woodworm WR 005, 1984)
Folk/Rock
Nicci Berry (principal vocals, keyboards, bodhrán)
This obscure album was issued on Fairport Convention’s vanity label, and Dave Pegg contributes bass to the closing cover of ‘White Dress’. Unsurprisingly, the band sounds heavily influenced by Fairport, although the music is generally more acoustic, more traditional and more Celtic. With mostly self-penned material, this is a very pleasant set. GRADE: C+.

First Change (West Germany): Fairy Dance (Z ZR 2003, 1981)
Progressive
Sabine Reitz (joint lead vocals)
This very rare album offers low-budget folky progressive rock with some strongly psychedelic guitar work in parts. The album mixes shorter and longer cuts, with most of the second side given over to an elegant keyboard-dominated suite, and is musically accomplished and impressive without breaking any new ground. GRADE: B–.

First International Sex Opera Band (Holland): Anita (Sexclusief SQ-20.010, with insert, 1969?)
Avant-Garde/Psychedelic
Kathy Njam Njam (joint lead vocals), Ann Essex (joint lead vocals)
This truly bizarre album was apparently sold only in Dutch sex shops, but don’t imagine it to be softcore loungy erotica. The music is experimental, and seemingly improvised, psychedelia with free jazz edges, offering two side-long suites topped off with wild shrieks (supposedly of a woman in the throes of orgasm, although she sounds more like she’s being tortured), bellows and howls. Most of the first side is covered with amplifier buzzing that’s presumably intended to sound like a vibrator, whilst the second is overlaid with Neanderthal grunting and chanting. The overall effect sounds like a cross between Amon Düül and Yoko Ono, with everyone stoned to the max throughout the record. The disc comes with an insert that is actually a sticker; on many copies, the image (of a naked woman with her genitals on fire) has been removed and pasted on the front cover. Why this record was made and who it was aimed at (certainly not perverts; making love to this would be nightmarish) is a mystery, but it’s a fascinating piece by any standard. GRADE: B–.

First Revelation (USA): This Side Of Eternity (Revelation D5051, 1973?)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic
Lynda Kimer (principal vocals, keyboards)
The husband-and-wife duo formerly known as Danny & Lynda teamed up with a full-time drummer and adopted a band identity for their second album. Much of this is rather MOR, with syrupy string synthesiser, but on the best cuts Danny lets loose with some impressive fuzz guitar work to add a strongly psychedelic edge. The closing version of ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’, played on banjo and synthesiser, is so unintentionally odd that it almost takes the album into ‘incredibly strange music’ realms. Two different recordings of the same material were issued, with identical catalogue numbers and sleeves; I’ve only heard the second version, with Bob Argiro on drums. GRADE: C+.
First Revelation (USA): Upon This Rock (Revelation D6736, 1975?)
Folk/Rock/Psychedelic
Lynda Kimer (principal vocals, keyboards)
Once again, there’s a gulf in quality between the more gospelish material and the heavier cuts where Danny’s guitar work is to the fore. By far the finest track is the hard rocking ‘Morning Sun’, which has more than a hint of Jefferson Airplane and is among the best recordings the Kimers ever made. GRADE: C+.
See also Danny & Lynda