Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wizard - Wizard (1979)

Wizard were a Los Angeles based hard rock act which featured brothers Dave Walsh (guitar) and Brian Walsh (drums), as well as Bruffie Brigham (vocals, bass). It's not known when the band was established but their one and only album was self-financed & pressed under the guise of their own label, Future Track Records. The album circulated in nearby shops for awhile before disappearing completely. As the new decade approached, the band fizzled and Brigham moved on to Masque and later worked as a session player. The Walsh brothers activities are unknown.

This album has been fetching ridiculous prices at collector fairs and online auctions for a number of years now and I can't help but wonder why. Sure, the musicianship is decent enough and the songwriting isn't completely terrible by any means but methinks this is a clear case of hype over substance. The production here is half the problem, as the dynamics have all but been tossed out the window. What's left is a leaden and somewhat claustrophobic sounding mix that does no justice to the music at all. There have been many Rush comparisons made about Wizard and I just don't hear it at all. Am I missing something here? Overall, this LP is on the low end of "good", barely scraping by on the fact that there's exceptional musicianship happening here. Otherwise, unless you're a sucker for plodding lo-fi early 80's hard rock, you might want to bypass Wizard.

Unfortunately, this rip leaves alot to be desired. It's fuzzy and part of the opening track has been truncated, but I have seen no alternate rips floating around and until then, this will have to do. Thanks to my friend Orchman, here is Wizard. What do you think?

Monday, June 15, 2009

Vinyl For Sale!

Yep, time to start unloading some of my humble collection. I suffered a 450gb hard drive crash recently and all proceeds from this sale will go towards a reliable 1 or 2tb external drive. This makes my 2nd drive crash since 2005 and this one in particular stings! Fear not, alot of my rarities that I've been waiting to post here have been salvaged, so RFR will only get better and more active as I begin reorganizing files and doing write ups as I go. In the meantime, take a look at the vinyl I'm offering below. All LPs are graded conservatively and freight charges will be calculated on your zipcode or postal code. There will be no extra charges and each item will be shipped within 24hrs of payment, so there'll be no excessive waiting! I'm selling on a first come first serve basis, so use my email link at the bottom right margin of this blog to confirm your selection and we'll exchange contact information. Keep in mind that the gradings are for cover/vinyl. Thanks!
Thundermug – Orbit 1972 Axe Recs EX-/EX $12.00
Thundermug – Strikes 1973 Epic Recs EX-/EX $ 8.00
Thundermug – Ta-Daa!! 1975 Mercury Recs EX-/EX+ $12.00
Trooper – Trooper 1975 MCA Recs NM/EX- $12.00
Hello People – Bricks 1975 ABC Recs NM/NM $ 8.00
FM – City Of Fear 1980 Passport Recs EX-/EX- $10.00
Target – Captured 1977 A&M Recs EX-/EX- $ 6.00
Growl – Growl 1974 Discreet Recs EX-/EX $10.00
Voyager – Halfway Hotel 1979 Elektra Recs NM/NM $10.00
Glider – Glider 1977 United Artists Recs EX/EX+ $12.00
Flying Squad – Flying Squad 1978 Epic Recs EX-/EX+ $15.00
Baby – Baby 1975 Mercury Recs EX/EX+ $12.00
Baby – Where'd All The Money Go? 1976 Chelsea Recs EX/EX+ $12.00
Christ Child – Hard 1977 Buddah/Arista Recs VG+/VG+$ 8.00
Locust – Playgue 1976 Annuit Coeptus Recs NM/EX+ $12.00
Neon – Neon 1970 Paramount Recs VG+/EX- $ 8.00
The Pirates – Hard Ride 1979 Pacific Arts Recs VG+/EX- $ 6.00
Child – Child 1977 Ariel Recs NM/NM $15.00