rep> Truk - Truk Tracks (1971 us, strong heavy psych rock, 2008 Retro Disc remaster)

Truk hailed  from Oklahoma, and played a high energy  Hard Rock magma punctuated with stunning heavy organ, there is a good cover of Gun's " Yellow Cab man", some acoustic melodic passages and few glamour glimpses.

Truk obviously had a pretty strong affinity for the trailblazing trudge of titans like Cream, and the powerful, messy drunken genius of early Guess Who.It's the kind of record where the drums and electric guitar crunch buries the sound right into the middle of your chest when it's played loud enough.

The sound was surely found at a dime-a-dozen in '71, but they sure don't make them like this today! 10 tracks, including "Country Woman", "Got To Find A Reason", "Pretty Lady", "Yellow Cab Man", "Silence Ending", "Max", "Sun Castle Magic" and more."

In 1973 Glenn Townsend resurfaced with Johnny Rivers and later Willy Daffern played with the reformation of Captain Beyond.  Truk Traks  Album cover picture shot at the East-West Truck Terminal in Orange County during a strike by the Teamsters.  The L. A. P. D.  was called by the security dude, who was not told we had permission to shoot the pictures.  

"Dewey Martin produced Truk and later became a mechanic. In the late '70s he also played sessions on a Hoyt Axton album. Buddy Emmons kept on recording hundreds of country sessions, Harvey Kegan rejoined Doug Sahm and Augie Meyer, and Steve Lefever became a session man, notably with Alexander Harvey.

Tracks
1. Country Woman - 4:29
2. Got To Find A Reason - 3:02
3. Pretty Lady (James Patrick Graham) - 3:56
4. Winter's Coming On - 2:46
5. Sun Castle Magic - 5:12
6. Yellow Cab Man (Adrian Curtis, Jimmy Parsons) - 3:01
7. Five Is Together (Glenn Ray Townsend, James Patrick Graham) - 3:41
8. You (George Michael Graham, Glenn Ray Townsend) - 4:02
9. Silence Ending (Glenn Ray Townsend, James Patrick Graham) - 2:43
10.Max (Glenn Ray Townsend) - 3:52

Songs written by James Patrick Graham, Glenn Ray Townsend, George Michael Graham, J. Martin Anderson, William Daniel Daffern except where noted.

Truk
*J. Martin (Moby) Anderson - Bass, Vocals
*Danny Cornett -  Drums, Vocals (original drummer)
*William Daniel Daffern -  Drums, Vocals (on last 4 songs cut--lead vocal on Winter's Coming On)
*George Michael (Mike) Graham - Lead Vocals
*James Patrick (Pat) Graha - Organ, Vocals
*Glenn Ray Townsend - Guitar, Vocals

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rep>>> Strife - Back To Thunder (1977-78 uk, stunning hard rock, 2021 remaster and expanded)

Liverpool based three piece Strife emerged during the mid-seventies amassing a strong live following on the club circuit and releasing an impressive debut album 'Rush' on the Chrysalis label. It was a work of intriguing possibilities, embracing both progressive and harder rock. Their songs were long and convoluted yet also signalled a penchant for melody and purpose that elevated them above the run of the mill units operating at the same time. Sadly, their label failed to recognise the potential and allowed the band to slip between the cracks, and ultimately, due to a contractual production dispute, the band was left in limbo.

Despite facing almost overwhelming odds, the band managed to eventually pick themselves up and negotiated a new record deal with the Gull label, the same outfit that signed Judas Priest and released their first two albums. The resulting Strife album, 'Back To Thunder', was as impressive as their debut, but less flamboyant and more focussed. Indeed, if it wasn't for the fact that they were just ahead of the rejuvenated interest in British hard rock (the NWOBHM) they could well have been sitting comfortably as one of the key acts operating on the scene.

Housing eight tracks, the album boasts a number of standout compositions, including 'Feel So Good', 'Shockproof, 'Sky' and the intriguingly titled 'Fool Injected Overlap'. All solid, punchy hard rock tracks that saw the band embrace a new stylistic approach whilst keeping their progressive rock influences proudly on display. Housed in one of the era's most attractive album sleeves, the record also boasts the appearance of keyboard wizard Don Airey, who was at the time a member of progressive giants Collosseum II."

by Derek Oliver

Tracks

1. Shockproof - 3:34

2. Let Me Down - 5:15

3. Feel So Good - 2:51

4. Sky - 6:07

5. You Are What You Are - 3:53

6. Red Sun (Gordon Rowley) - 3:33

7. Fool Injected Overlap - 6:32

8. Weary Traveller - 3:50

9. You Don't Know - 2:54

10.School - 4:08

11.Go - 2:33

12.Unknown - 4:36

All songs by John Reid except where indicated

Bonus Tracks 9-12

Strife

*Gordon Rowley - Bass, Gong, Vocals

*John Reid - Vocals, Guitar

*David Williams - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

With

*Don Airey - Keyboards (Tracks 4,7,8)

1975  Strife - Rush (2021 bonus tracks remaster)  

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