By now anyone taking an interest in the Esoteric release schedules will be pretty well acquainted with their knack of plucking bands from the '70s which, somehow, despite your best efforts, slithered completely under your radar without you having a clue they had even been there. Hardly ever can that be better exemplified by the..
AL STEWART – Year Of The Cat (Esoteric / Cherry Red)
The Esoteric Al Stewart reissue schedule here alights upon the album which would not only prove to be his commercial peak, but also the work which cemented him in the public consciousness - largely via the ubiquitous and irresistible title track. Originally released in 1976, Year Of The Cat proved to be one of those..
Jon Anderson – Animation – Expanded & Remastered (Esoteric)
Here endeth the decades-long wait for a decent CD version of Animation... Artists often find themselves at a crossroads by their third release (there's even an unofficial syndrome named for that very quandary), and when change is afoot, the fan base can quickly become disenchanted. But Jon Anderson was on a creative ascent at the..
Jon Anderson – Olias Of Sunhillow: Remastered & Expanded Edition (Esoteric)
'Olias for me was like going to music school for three months solid without breathing.' Of the solo debuts released in fairly quick succession by Yes members following their Relayer era, it's long been Jon Anderson's otherworldly concept album Olias Of Sunhillow that gets mentioned at the top of the heap more often than not...
Rhinoceros – The Elektra Albums 1968-1970 (Esoteric)
This release is a great insight into one of those bands in the late 60s that genuinely underachieved despite producing music that was as good as most of the bigger bands around them at the time. Let’s start with a quick question: how many bands can you list with an animal as part of their..
CULPEPER’S ORCHARD – Mountain Music: The Polydor Years 1971-73 (Esoteric)
Looking back through the annals of recorded rock music, there are quite a number of things which, when put together, manage to complete the phrase 'an unlikely union of...' with some accuracy. Some with more successful results than others. Bing Crosby and David Bowie springs to mind as an example. Aerosmith and Run DMC as..
PROCOL HARUM – Something Magic (Esoteric)
Ah, here we get onto one of those albums which has accrued a reputation as one of those 'unloved stepchild' albums, through a mixture of material, circumstances and timing. And sometimes, as in the case of ELP's Love Beach, the cover art! In that regard this, the final Procol album before their initial split in..
Anthony Phillips – Missing Links I – IV (Esoteric)
There's been something of a renaissance these last several years with regard to the music of Anthony Phillips, and fans have been suitably spoiled as a result - especially those with an affinity for boxed sets. Esoteric Recordings have seen to that with their extensive reissue campaign, resurrecting titles from across Ant's vast catalogue, giving..
SAMURAI – Samurai (Esoteric)
In which the diligent miners at Esoteric Records unearth yet another nugget from the rich 1970s seam which only the more dedicated of '70s prog devotees are likely to be familiar with. In this case, it was blink-and-you'd-miss-them, as Samurai released this sole album in 1971 before folding almost immediately. There was more to them,..
Be Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim 2CD Edition (Esoteric)
If there ever was an album on which Bill Nelson allowed himself the luxury of being an ‘axe hero’, this would be the one. The latest installment of Esoteric Records' reissuing of the Be Bop Deluxe catalogue in deluxe editions (or should that be 'deluxe Deluxe editions) backtracks a little and alights upon the band's..