The Truffle

It's early 1970s German R&B/prog outfit Frumpy, fronted by the incredible Inga Rumpf. Ms. Rumpf has had a nice, long career as a band frontwoman and a solo artist but remains unknown, alas, in the US. Seriously, it's weird being one of six people in the US who've heard of her. Her more recent output is R&B rather than prog. And I love R&B, so...

Okay. This weird. Genesis before they went MOR. Peter Gabriel sans flower outfits and masks. Phil Collins with facial hair. FACIAL HAIR, people. And Tony Banks channeling his inner Keith Emerson. Truly one of life's little "WTF?" moments.

King Crimson live, 1973.

In view of his recent blogging about healthcare, I'm dedicating this blog post to Badtux. Here's 1970s cult band National Health on "The Old Grey Whistle Test."

It's Family, fronted by the inimitable Roger Chapman. One of those bands that really shoulda been more famous.

This time, it's Canterbury cult heroes Caravan:

It's Pink Floyd with Syd Barrett. Billed as a rare video. Watching it, you realize the Summer of Love was the only time when men could get away with wearing pinks, purples, and jackets with flowers. Weird, huh? Of course, fast forward ahead about ten years, and they were dressing like extras from SF B movies. Witness Ian Anderson here. What the fuck's on his shoulders anyway? Arthur Brown (aka "The God of Hellfire") onstage with his early 1970s band, Kingdom Come, not to be confused with the lame 1980s Zep soundalikes. Dig the sideman with the polka-dotted blouse. And then you have prog rock's resident style icon--Chris Squire, bassist for Yes. At least he isn't wearing purple satin anymore.

It's a Deutchland-themed prog blog for today! First, Ash Ra Tempel: Next, Popul Vuh: And finally, Can!

This time it's Rush performing "Tom Sawyer." Whaddya mean, you don't like Rush?

Van der Graaf Generator performing "Whatever Would Robert Have Said," circa 1970: Soft Machine, performing "Why Am I So Short?" circa 1967: Jello Biafra's favorite prog band, Magma, performing...uh, I don't know the title of this song:

Last weekend, Le Sweetie and I saw Magma, arguably one of the world's strangest, darkest prog bands. Even darker and stranger than Van der Graaf Generator. I mean, Van der Graaf had a skinny dude singing about lost astronauts and the darkness deep within his soul. Magma consists of French people singing in an invented language about refugees from Earth. They all wear black shirts with symbols on them. And along with Van der Graaf, they're a prog band that punks aren't afraid to admit they like. Reportedly, John Lydon and Jello Biafra are fans. Jello loves 'em so much he had a Magma t-shirt custom-made, complete with the logo. Anyway, these photos are from one of the band's few NYC-area shows. They played a small club in Brooklyn that was filled with merry fans. Man, there ain't nothing like obscure cult bands with happy, loyal fans. The above photos are from this show. Since a. the lighting didn't really show their faces and b. I don't hink it...

I'm mainly posting this to demonstrate what strange dressers British prog rockers are. Bass player Chris Squire has been the one constant in Yes, the only one to appear on all their albums--and dressing really badly every time. Dig those sunglasses.

As a tribute to ELO, the band behind Xanadu's most memorable songs, here is an early clip of the band doing "10538 Overture." This is right after the Move morphed into ELO, and Roy Wood is wearing a gray wig while Jeff Lynne practices for next year's Talk Like a Pirate Day.

I love Amon Duul II and can't for the life of me figure out why they aren't more famous. Actually, I can: They're German. Anglo-American audiences are usually wary of Continental acts. Sure, you'll get the occasional one- or two-hit wonder (Golden Earring, Nena, Focus), who remain big stahs in their homelands and answers to trivia questions in America. Imagine a German answer to King Crimson or Hawkwind, and you've got Amon Duul II. This is one of their better-known songs, "Surrounded by the Stars."

Yes, it's the inimitable Bill Bruford, handling the skins for this very early Yes tune called "Astral Traveller." Steve Howe had just joined, and bassist Chris Squire is as sartorially challenged as ever. (What do you call that purple thing with wings anyway?)

It's 1971, with obscure but wildly talented Danish psych-prog band the Savage Rose, singing "Dear Little Mother." Lester Bangs loved them and David Fricke also has a soft spot for them. The lady with the 'fro is singer extraordinaire Annisette. This was done for a ballet titled Dodens Triumf , which is why you see lots of dancers but no one else in the band save Annisette. And more recent Savage Rose. Annisette's husband and bandmate Thomas Koppel died last year, but Annisette continues on with the band.

Yes, it's a long-overdue prog blog. Are Electric Light Orchestra truly prog? Uh...they somehow ended up on Supernatural Fairy Tales with their cover of "Roll Over Beethoven." Here's ELO performing "Telephone Line." PS: If you like ELO, check out their parent band, The Move. Omnibus, their '60s singles collection, is a good starting point, followed by Shazam and the newly remastered version of their final album, Message from the Country.

As it turns out, I'm not the only prog blogger on the internets. anonyMoses has managed to unearth some prog vids by Yes, ELP, Fripp, and Dead Can Dance. Yes, thanks to YouTube, all kinds of weird, obscure prog vids are popping up on the internets. First up, the Moody Blues doing "Nights in White Satin." (Is it me, or do about three-fifths of the band look kind of bored in this clip?) Next up: the original Soft Machine lineup with Kevin Ayers: And finally, one of my most favorite artists doing one of my most favorite songs based on one of my most favorite books. It's Kate Bush singing "Wuthering Heights."

It's England's weirdest prog band. The only major prog band to feature flute solos on almost every song. The only prog band to win a heavy metal Grammy. The only prog band to have a keyboardist who underwent a sex change. The band, of course, is Jethro Tull. This is Ian Anderson and company in 1973.

And this week, it's Pink Floyd, performing "Careful With That Axe, Eugene."