Forum de rock6070

Et voici maintenent une petite perle du genre prog. Groupe que j'avais déjà cité dans le topic "Morceaux inconnu d'un blog..." Peu d'info sur ce groupe vraiment étonnant. Voici deux bios récupérées avec soin. En anglais hélas !

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Columbus, Ohio was home to Strongbow, whose life began in the middle of 1973. Initially a four piece, the band expanded to a quintet after a few months of gigging and soon landed a contract with Southwind Records. Over a year of touring, building a fan base and writing ensued before their self-titled debut was issued in 1975. Southwind, a tiny subsidiary of Buddah Records, failed to give the band and album any considerable prom.planetmellotron.com/images/strongbow-band.jpg[/img]otional push and soon the album was lying in cutout bins across the country.

At a time when image conscious artists like David Bowie, Alice Cooper and Kiss were peaking, it appears that Strongbow were just simply overlooked. The band fought onward, attempting to write and record a followup album, but management and the label were deadlocked in contractual disputes causing the band to finally give up the ghost in early 1978. Members went on to continue working the local scene, though the majority of them have long since retired from the business.

"Strongbow" is a fairly decent album, though it does tend to be a bit faceless. Certainly a talented bunch, the performances here are stellar but the bland vocals hinder much of the proceedings. The opening track, "One Armed Bandit" is a standout which balances light progressive flourishes with classic 70's rock to great effect. "Move Over Gloom" packs a great groove, but is somewhat diminished by vapid lyrics. "Wine Eyes" is an edgier track here and is also effective and well written. The rest is a bit questionable, sounding a little like a poor man's Nektar (Magic Is a Child lineup).

Despite being short on stellar material, Strongbow's sole effort is worthy of attention here simply due to its rarity. Whether mid 70's neo prog is your thing or not, this interesting midwestern quintet is worthy of a second look...even if only for a brief moment. Enjoy!

Strongbow !
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

strongbow-band.jpg [ 25.97 Kio | Vu 3236 fois ]

Never let it be said that I don't find utter obscurities for you (as if you would). Strongbow were a mid-'70s US outfit, falling somewhere in between typical Midwest rock and prog-lite, who (to my knowledge) released just the one, eponymous album on the local Southwind label. One Armed Bandit opens with an intriguing sequenced synthesizer part before shifting gear into more mainstream rock, and while Sister Sea has its moments, the excitement factor is rather lacking in places. I had high hopes for The Only One Around, at nearly ten minutes, but it turns out to be a soft-rock epic with a proggy edge. Move Over Gloom and Hazy May are the most dynamic tracks on offer here, but Strongbow sound like a band who weren't quite sure what they wanted to be; to prog or not to prog? Like so many competent bands, especially in the vast hinterlands of the US, I expect they were popular locally, but, like all but the extremely lucky few, they were never going to break out nationally, let alone internationally. As you can see from the enclosed rear-sleeve pic, their fashion sense left a little to be desired, too.

John Stelzer doubled on keys and wind instruments, with vocalist Bill Bendler covering both pianos and electric trombone, apparently. Stelzer's Mellotron work is fairly sparse, with just a few string chords at the end of Sister Sea, although The Only One Around has a little more, scattered throughout the song. Hazy May would definitely have benefitted from its inclusion, but he opted to confine its use to the two tracks on side one, making me think that they almost certainly didn't own a machine, but used the studio's own/hired one in for the session.

So; an OK, so-so sort of album, with a few bright spots, raising it above the 'three star quagmire' of albums about which I can't get even vaguely enthused. I didn't pay that much for my copy, but it was still probably slightly too much. In other words, pick up if you see it cheap.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://hotfile.com/dl/62027853/f626d4e/ ... w.rar.html
Lien sur le groupe

Quand la joie de la découverte n'égale que le bonheur de trouver le lien comme ça poum, comme dans les bios alcatiennes, moi je résiste pas, je mange.

C'est rigolo de parler de « petite perle » et de copier des critiques très mitigées :D

C'est rigolo de parler de « petite perle » et de copier des critiques très mitigées :D Quand je suis sûr de télécharger, pour tout vous dire, j'écoute avant d'en lire une critique (sauf si elle vient de VM), donc pas lu celle là

Pour ceux ou celles qui aurait télécharger l'album de Strongbow avant que le lien ne soit obsolète, merci de m'en tenir informer

Pour ceux ou celles qui aurait télécharger l'album de Strongbow avant que le lien ne soit obsolète, merci de m'en tenir informer

http://untimemusic.blogspot.ca/2011/02/ ... -1975.html

Merci LXI