So much music, so little time (and money). Here's a list of artists I keep meaning to check out someday:

BLIND GUARDIAN: I really don't know much about this outfit except they are supposed to be a premier metal outfit in the style of Iron Maiden, their song titles are heavily Tolkein-inspired, and they have really elaborate fantasy artwork CD covers worthy of a Robert Jordan novel. This is a contemporary band, but I think they may already be defunct.

DUST: Early seventies heavy-metal band supposed to form a great missing link in the evolutionary chain that led to Zep, Sabbath and Purple.

GTR: A band with both Steve Howe AND Steve Hackett? WOW, my mouth is watering. Keyboard god Geoff Downes also has a hand in this mid-eighties supergroup's one album. Asia covered one of GTR's songs, "The Hunter", for a '96 single release.

LUCIFER'S FRIEND: This is one I'm ashamed to admit, being such a great John Lawton fan (whom I had the privelege to meet back in '99). It's just that it's hard to find Lucifer's Friend stuff here in the states these days, except for costly imports. I'm sure this band is killer. Actually, I do have one Lucifer's Friend album, Sneak Me In, which I found in the Tower import cutout bin, but that one is from the eighties after Lawton departed and the sound is commercial eighties arena rock which is completely removed from the jazz-metal fusion sound they were supposed to have during the seventies.

MOSTLY AUTUMN: Actually, I have seen this band perform live at the NJ classic rock fesitval last year. But hearing a band's music in a life venue and getting a chance to sit down in your own living room and quietly digest their studio works are two different things, I'm sure you'll grant me. Plus, I only attended part of the Mostly Autumn set, and their female vocalist was wearing a see-through white dress that made it difficult for me to concentrate on the music. Anyway, this band (which also has a good deal of Tolkein-inspired material) has been getting rave reviews and won a new artist of the year award.

SIR LORD BALTIMORE: Another early seventies hard rock dinasour that gets rave reviews from everyone who's heard them as one of the great underrated metal legends.

SPOCK'S BEARD: Apparently named in honor of the Star Trek "Mirror Mirror" episode, this band is supposedly the Yes of the late nineties-early 2000s.

STARZ: Late seventies commercial hard rock band that's supposed to sound like Kiss or Sweet. I've heard that one of their songs is a Rush parody, which alone should be worth seeking out.

STATUS QUO: Okay, so yes I of course HAVE heard "Pictures Of Matchstick Men". But I understand that that song is to Quo what "Listen To The Flower People" is to Spinal Tap, in that it bears no relation to the bulk of their hard rock career on which their fame rest. I have been unsuccesfully searching for a decent Status Quo anthology for years in order to sample their wares, but I haven't been able to find a decent anthology (everything seems focused on the "matchstick" period). This guy I used to know, Alex Gitlin, who had the most extensive rock listening expertise and knowledge of anyone I've ever know, considered Quo his all-time favorite band.

A couple I haven't been able to track down:

Skip Spence: One time Jefferson Airplane and then Moby Grape member. Often known as the American Syd Barrett. To make matters worse, he only did one album, and I've yet to actualy see it anywhere.

Silver Apples: Occasionally refered to as electronica innovators for their use of a sythesizer-like device called the "simeon".

The Dukes of Stratosphear: Actually XTC under psudonym. I heard some of their stuff online, but the sound was awful so I don't think it really counts.

Secret Square: I don't know much about this group, but they reportedly recieved creative contributions from their Elephant 6 labelmates Olivia tremor Control and The Apples (in stereo), whom I love with the passion of a thousand blazing suns.

Marbles: Actually the name Apples (in stereo) frontman Robert Schneider recorded under in the early '90s.

The Pillows: A Japanese band who provided the soundtrack to the animated series FLCL. Ok, so maybe I "heard" them that way, but I can't exactly absorb the music if I'm watching TV at the time, can I?

The Dukes of Stratosphear: Actually XTC under psudonym. I heard some of their stuff online, but the sound was awful so I don't think it really counts. - Blitz

It rarely does, Blitz. This ain't no lost Robert Johnson recording, and actually the sound of the Dukes is a big part of what makes them so special. The other big parts are, of course. the songwriting (which is consistently top notch) and the unbridled joy with which the whole thing is put together. Very Highly Recommended- Chips From the Chocolate Fireball is still fairly easy to get.

It just so happens that I was driving around with Chips... this very week. Part of the fun is trying to figure out which band they were paying homage to on each particular song. "Pale and Precious" is the most obvious (Beach Boys), but it is SO freaking good that it alone is worth getting the disc for. Enjoy!!


STARZ: Late seventies commercial hard rock band that's supposed to sound like Kiss or Sweet. I've heard that one of their songs is a Rush parody, which alone should be worth seeking out.- Todd Pence
Sorry, I can't help you out with that particular song but I can tell you that the album to seek out is called Violation (their best). I had a few of them (Starz albums) a while back, though I no longer do or I'd offer to hook you up. Good luck.

One group that always seem to be mentioned as an influential 1980s band are the Pixies, who passed me by somehow in the 1980s. I guess they didn't get much UK airplay.

Megaherz--loved by Rammstein fans. Also German.

Loads of classic rock bands who are mentioned here often, that I haven't heard. None come to mind at the moment.

A buddy of mine has the Skip Spence record, and I have the GTR album on cassette...I may be able to help you out. Go to http://toxicbag.com/evil/dwlb2.sht and you will be able to reach me as there's an email link on the page. And of course, check out my band while you're there!

Spock's Beard is good, a bit proggy. They play here in Chicago from time to time.

In 1999, a tribute album to Skip Spence's Oar came out, called More Oar. It covered all of the original album's tracks, and featured artists such as Robert Plant, Robyn Hitchcock, Tom Waits, Greg Dulli and Beck. It is excellent, and a testament to this album's influence.

Fat Matress, Noel Redding's post Jimi Hendrix Experience group. "She's So Fine and "Little miss Strange" are two of my fave Experience songd, so I'd love to hear what else he did.

np - Magic in the Air - The Attack

A band I am curious to hear is Celtic Frost. They apparently were a very influential Swiss prog metal band in the 80s. But what is really interesting is that one of their albums had a cover of Wall of Voodoo's "Mexican Radio" on it. Now that is something I would like to hear.

Iced Earth.

XTC. I've read a little bit about them, but I have yet to buy their double-disc collection.

Would anyone here recommend them?

By all means, Andre.

I guess that you're refering to Fossil Fuel, which I must admit looks pretty amazing (and I'm usually no fan of singles compilations). In fact I couldn't think of a better place to start (I'm quite familiar with all of those tracks), and the fact that it includes the song "Wrapped in Grey" somehow pleases me to no end.

It is rather light on representing Skylarking however ("Sacrificial Bonfire" and "Another Satellite" are essential in my book, though not exactly singles), which really is all that it is cracked up to be. The two should dovetail quite nicely.

Children of the Monkey Machine: Recommanded by a friend. That is all I know, but the name sure is intresting.

Elbow: I've seen the Singing Kittens sing Elbow's cover of Independent Women and would like to hear more of their stuff.

I should add Wishbone Ash to my list above.

Since I first posted here, I've acquired two two-disc Quo anthologies one covering the first four album and the other all the hit singles. I've also picked up a Starz vinyl album.

And let me add Van Der Graaf Generator while I'm at it.

Today I picked up a copy of the complete works of Sir Lord Baltimore on an import CD. Now, this sounds exactly like a lost Spinal Tap album! It's uncanny. The singer, John Garner, sounds EXACTLY like David St. Hubbins, and many of the lyrics are wonderfully tap-esque.

And to top it all off, "Helium Head" has an honest-to-gosh cowbell a la Will Ferrell's heavy metal band on Saturday Night Live.

First, a few comments on previously mentioned artists:

Spock's Beard: I heard a few tracks off of their most recent album, The Light recently and was very impressed. They're not so much a new Yes, though, as they are a hybrid of Yes and King Crimson. They do a suprisingly good job at blending the dense, moody bombast of Fripp and co. with Yes' more accesible melodies without compromising either.

Wishbone Ash: I stumbled onto the album Wishbone Four at Goodwill a while back. I guess it doesn't represent the progressive direction of their early albums, but it is a very satisfying mix of Zepplin IV and Who's Next

The Pixies: I've never been very thrilled with the Pixies, to tell you the truth. There's only so much to the endless drone of two chords over obnoxious vocals that I can take.

Now, on to stuff I don't have an oppinion yet ^__^:

The Telepathic Buterflies: Suprisingly enough, these guys are a psychidelic-influenced, retro-minded band (who would have thunk it, with that name?)

Gentle Giant: Sort of a sequel to the Status Quo/"Pictures of Matchstick Men" thing. I've heard a cool little psychidelic ditty called "Kites" they did as Simon Dupree & The Big Sound (though no one in the band was named Simon Dupree) but none of their (relatively) better known prog-rock. Sadly, I actually found a copy of Free Hand a few months ago and almost bought it. Oh well.

Outrageous Cherry: Another indie garage band I've heard good things about. Hey Todd, I think they're on More Oar, have you heard 'em?

Rockfour: I've actually heard a few songs by these guys in passing, but they were the kinds of tunes that require much more attentive listening. This Israeli band is VERY Beatles inspired, with some of the best intertwined harmonies this side of an Elliott Smith song (which doesn't really count, since there was only one of him singing it all).

L'Arc-En-Ciel: Don't be fooled by teh French name, this is a Japanese band, and allegedly one of the biggest in the nation at moment. I hear a lot of anime fans sing the prases of these guys.

The Basement Wall: One of those mid 60's "no-hit wonders" of the Nuggets variety. I heard a little of their almost-hit "Nevr Existed" and it sounded pretty good.

The Dimension/The Painted Faces: Another band, known by two names, that probobly could have been on Nuggets but wasn't.

The Jet Set: Not to be confused with Gene Clark, Roger McGuinn, and David Crosby's pre-Byrds line-up (aka "The Beefeaters") or one of the several other bands by the name, THIS Jet Set was a part of the Mod revival or the early 80s. Apparently, though, they were much more Beatles-influenced than the rest of their kin. I've read some astounding tales about The Jet Set's attempt to mimic not only the sound of the fab four, but also their personas and the phenomenon surounding them (almost to the pont of Rutles-esque parody) I'd love to hear if they pulled it off.

I have two Gentle Giant albums, "Octopus" and "Three Friends". "Octopus" is a rather eclectic album without being totally avante-garde, it seems to attempt to combine classic medieval madrigal-style ballads with modern pop-rock forms. "Three Friends" is much more conventional prog in the King Crimson style.

I just this week received the complete works of Dust in the mail, ordered used from an overseas distibutor. For the early seventies, much more streamlined hard rock than the lumbering pace and sledgehammer overkill that was popular at the time. A couple of notes: The cover of the second Dust album was done by Frank Franzetta and was originally meant to illustrate the classic fantasy story "Conan and the Frost Giant's Daughter" by Robert E. Howard. (It also appears on the cover of the second book in the original Ace Conan paperback series, Conan of Cimmeria.
Also a trivia question: Dust drummer Mark Bell later joined a much more famous and renown band after changing his name. What was that band (and under what name is Mark now known)?

For lack of a better place...

Hope everyone is enjoying National One-Hit Wonders Day today!