...this blog captures in order the albums as I pull these gems off the shelf and groove to them .....

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Benny Soebardja - Lizard Years

Benny Soebardja - The Lizard Years (1975 - 1977)

   As a music lover with a wide taste I have crossed many different borders and paths, but boy was I shocked when i first heard the music of Soebardja.    Indonesian prog psych!    Yeah baby!
   
  This 2 cd compilation basically covers 3 albums from 1975 to 1977 when Benny was in his real creative days.   I had never heard of this guy until i heard a track on a comp cd that i had laying about and had to find more by him.
  Soebardja and his band blend symphonic prog rock with psych creating a sound that I just can't get enough of.  I was really taken back and a bit in shock with just how cool this album is and how I never heard of this guy before.
  The bummer of the whole thing is sadly the sound.....something usually would be a difference maker for me, but you have to make a exception here......we really dont have a choice.   According to the liner notes all of the original master tapes were lost in a fire and all they had to work with were cassettes.  So needless to say the sound quality is sub-par and sadly lack the dynamics that you will wish for when you hear these great songs.
  The packaging and booklet is pretty "Meaty" and the record label did a great job on this.
  Fans of  prog rock and psych rock will likely really get into this album and for me I think this is excellent music.   

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