You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 204

PLAYS: 33

(Sadistic Mika Band - rumored to have been named in honor of Mika's cooking)

Sort of in keeping with the Prog/International feel of the week, I thought I would toss something a little different in the live concert department. The Sadistic Mika Band wasn't really characterized as a Prog-Rock band. They came about at a time Glam was starting to take off in 1972 and had the distinction of having their second and third albums produced by Chris Thomas (whom Mika wound up having an affair with and later marrying) and released in the UK, to good reviews and a decent following.

They toured as opening act for Roxy Music in October 1975 (where this concert comes from) to coincide with the release of their 3rd album "Hot Menu" and did several appearances on British television.

As usual, they were never issued by a label in the U.S. and had only the hardcore import collectors here for a following. Naturally, they never performed live in the U.S. even though there was a lot of press about them and a goodly amount of hype, which in turn made it possible for a number of other Japanese bands to explore popularity outside their own country during the middle and late 70's.

It's highly likely that the popularity in Europe for bands like Sadistic Mika made it possible for bands like Yellow Magic Orchestra (which morphed from ex-Mika Band members) and Ryuichi Sakamoto to establish themselves to English speaking audiences. Just as it was possible performers like Stomu Yamash'ta made it possible for bands like Sadistic Mika to be considered for release in the UK. Just speculating.

Vocals are a bit weak and not their strong suit. But the bulk of the tracks during this concert are instrumental, which are top notch and confirms the idea a lot of great musicians were not confined to a couple of countries.

After the affair surfaced, Mika and Kazuhiko Kato, the bands lead guitarist and estranged husband, divorced and left the band. Mika becoming Mrs. Thomas, Kazuhiko pursuing a solo career before becoming a TV personality, while the rest of the group continued for a time as simply The Sadistics.

Just a reminder that music is the universal language and its spoken everywhere and you don't necessarily have to understand it to get into it.

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 165

PLAYS: 26

(Le Orme` - roughly translated "The Footprints"- makes perfect sense)

The main reason most bands from the Prog-Rock era didn't become household names was the language barrier. There were a lot of bands doing really incredible things from Italy, France, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Japan - literally all over the world. The trouble was, most all of them sang in their own languages and that was a tough sell to the majority of English speaking record companies and impossible to get airplay on just about every American radio station (unless you were either a college station or a public station with a very progressive Music Director). So hearing about what new bands were happening in Italy was pretty much either by word of mouth, or by one of the two import companies supplying very limited quantities of albums from overseas to the U.S. market - Jem Records or Peters International. Outside of that, you were on your own.

Probably of all the countries most heavily involved in the Prog scene, the Italians were far and away the busiest. From the late 1960's to the mid-1970's there seemed like an avalanche of new and interesting bands popping up.

One of those, and certainly one of the main groups to gain worldwide recognition was Le Orme` (pronounced Lay Ormay). Literally translated as "The Footprints". They were a three piece band; keyboards, bass and drums and, together with bands like PFM and Banco did more to further the cause of Progressive Rock to the rest of the world than anyone outside the UK.

Le Orme have had a long career, one that's still going strong, although personnel and direction changes over the years have altered their sound, they are still extremely popular throughout Europe.

They did have one foray into the English language market. During a brief stint with Charisma (through the recommendations of Genesis and Peter Hamill of Van der Graaf who often toured with them in Italy), they re-recorded vocals for an English version of their 1973 album "Felona e Sorona". It wasn't terribly successful and didn't stay in print for very long,and was certainly never issued in the States. But the original Italian version was a great success and has been reissued numerous times and has been considered some of their best work.

So . . .with best feet forward, if you aren't familiar with them - here is the first track off the original Italian version of Felona, "Sospesi nell'Incredibile".

In the words of Adlai Stevenson: "don't wait for the translation - yes or no."

You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player!

DOWNLOADS: 140

PLAYS: 40

(Van der Graaf Generator - in a word, intense)

Probably one of the better known of the Prog-rock era of bands, Van der Graaf Generator were probably the biggest influences of that movement in the 1970's. This was a band you could never listen to casually - it was not party music. This track, "White Hammer" off their first Charisma release in 1970 "The Least We Can Do Is Wave At Each Other" is typical of who they were. Intense, lyrical and dissonant with highly dramatic vocals by Peter Hamill - they were never a band you could take or leave. You either loved them from the get-go or you couldn't stand them.

And their music has had wide ranging influence for a lot of musicians over the years. I remember talking with Lars from Metalica several years ago, and the subject of influential bands came up. Without a beat, Van der Graaf was high on his list.

So if you've never heard them . . . . .