Zior - Every Inch A Man (UK - Heavy Psych - 1973)

I’ve read a few reviews of this UK four-piece’s self-titled debut, and more than once it is declared as a sound akin to Sabbath. A few shining heavy moments aside, if this sophomore release is any indication of a Sabbath blueprint on the first, then people haven’t heard enough bands to compare Zior to. In all reality, except for tinges in the first and final song, it’s about as BS as my grandmother’s bicycle. Sometimes I think reviewers get bogged down if not lazy, the record or cd in hand seems about as interesting as a pipeline, they read other people’s reviews for a brief overview, flip through tracks just to say they listened to the damn thing, and whallah…a review. Now where’s my paycheck. The band gets a reputation from all these like-minded reviews, and the result is a lot of disappointed music-loving consumers. In reality, the only thing these country mates have in common are some witchcraftian lyrics and an artist called Keef who painted the lurid covers for both band’s debuts.
Less obscure than the band’s moniker (named after a mountainside city in the Bible) and the album’s title (let’s just sit back and ponder this title, eh…) is the band’s music; a mixture of blues, progression, old-time and heavy rock, and some light psych and folk to fill out these 13 tracks. The band does a decent job tossing this mixture around within the songs as well as the overall procession of tracks, intermingling the diverse with the driven most of the time so as to not sound similar. From what I can pick apart, their lyrics are part dark-stained poetics, part straightforward, depending on the mood of the song. Their musical structures and diversity brings Australian band Blackfeather to mind, though lacking a little of the outbacker's refinement and the vocals are 95% night and day.

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Blind Faith - Blind Faith (UK - Blues Rock - 1969)

What to speak of a band that, even before officially announcing its formation, it was idolized by fans and press, surrounded by so great an expectation that their members, making fun of themselves, chose the name "Blind Faith" to name it?
After being part of the Yardbirds and present the music of black Americans for white British boys, recording one of the most important albums of the decade alongside Bluesbrakers John Mayall and take the rock to its limits with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in Cream, Eric Clapton found himself at a crossroads: he could get in a band, form your own group or go solo. They were all possibilities.The Blind Faith came about almost by chance. In search of fun, Clapton invited his friend Steve Winwood, and together they began to take a few jams. Ginger Baker learned of the contract, and wanted to join the duo. The principle Clapton was against, it was of the opinion that the presence of Baker transformed what was to be a simple gathering of friends into something much bigger, but was overcome by the insistence of the drummer and Winwood. Tests drizzled long improvisations were emerging the first ideas for some original songs as well as the need for a bassist to complete the group. Rick Grech of Family, was offered and accepted immediately. Thus was born the Blind Faith, the first supergroup in rock history.

The news that the four were writing together soon leaked, causing a great expectation in the press and fans, who prophesied that soon Clapton, Winwood, Baker and Grech would record one of the best rock albums that would see the birth.Despite the hype, they were not wrong. The absolute belief that led the four to baptize the group as Blind Faith, materialized with the release of self-titled debut in July 1969. The album is spiked on two solid foundations: the beautiful "Can not Find My Way Home" and the anthology "Presence Of The Lord". The first is nothing less than the best record of Steve Winwood, one of the most beautiful voices that gave the world rock. About guitar Clapton, Winwood gives us a beautiful vocal line, alternating moments using your voice in a natural way the falsetto anthologies. The result is stupendous, justifying in its fullness the preconceptions about the group.

Already "Presence Of The Lord" is the talk of Clapton with one with which it was compared. Sung magnificently by Winwood, became one of the most iconic songs of guitarist, both for its beautiful letter and by soil filled with unforgettable wah-wah, where Clapton seems to show that, despite the advent of Jimi Hendrix, still possessed some tricks up his sleeve. 
In addition to "Can not Find My Way Home" and "Presence Of The Lord", four tracks complete the debut of Blind Faith. "Hard To Cry Today", the opening track, is a hard one as it was in the late sixties, and whose revenue is lost with time. "Well All Right" puts groove in the group's sound, with an end result that anticipated the ways that sunny trilharia Clapton on albums such as 461 Ocean Boulevard. The beautiful violin solo performed by Rick Grech on "Sea Of Joy" is another unforgettable moment, while the long "Do What You Like" brings individual solos of each member, especially Ginger Baker.

Besides music, Blind Faith brought another attraction. Its cover, where the daughter of Baker posed bare-chested and holding a plane beyond phallic, caused great controversy at the time, generating even banning the sale of the album in the United States, which led the label to release an exclusive version for the American market, with a photo of the group in place of the original cover.After the album's release, the group, surrounded by entrepreneurs, scheduled and held a U.S. tour. The pressure increased, commitments too, and when they saw the four were again living what he did not want to live when they met to play together. What a pleasure it was to be turned into endless obligations, and it took four to enact the end of the band.After almost forty years of its release, Blind Faith is still one of the highest points in the careers of Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker and Rick Grech. An album that is worth (re) discovered, along with live London Hyde Park in 1969, which came out in video and shows the presentation of the guys at the legendary English park.Much more than recommended, historical.

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Zior - Zior (UK - Heavy Psych - 1971)

An obscure progressive/heavy rock group whose debut album has few memorable moments but has become quite collectable because of the label it's on. The vocals are poor, the composition's weak and the playing is ponderous. The pick of a poor batch are I Really Do, Za Za Za Zilda (also released as a 45), Love's Desire and Oh Mariya, but all four were in a similar, rather flat, heavy rock style.
The See For Miles album reissue includes five previously unreleased tracks from a second projected album which never saw daylight. The best of these was Strange Kind Of Magic, which had a good voodoo beat and some distorted guitar. Overall, they were stronger than the material on the original album. Cat's Eyes had some decent heavy rock guitar riffs. The CD featured three additional tracks to the album but I can only really recommend this to Zior and Black Sabbath fans.
Zior had their roots in Southend's early sixties R&B scene. Kevin Bonsor had previously been in a local R&B outfit, The Essex Five, and then classical/rock fusion outfit, Cardboard Orchestra. Pete Brewer had been in another Southend R&B band, The Night Riders. He and Bonsor were Zior's founding members recruiting Truba and Skeels (who'd once played in a London band called The Bum) via a 'Melody Maker' advert.
Zior did have a reputation as a wild live band. They were heavily into Black Magic and Satanic Mass etc. They recorded an album on the Beacon label, later in 1971, which was credited to Monument, though in fact it featured all four members of Zior.

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Pinnacle - Assasin (UK - Heavy Prog - 1974)

Actually, more of a prog rock album with some hard rock leanings. The keyboards (Farfisa organ and moog) pretty much carry this one. The vocals are a bit on the weak side, but musically it’s fairly strong for a low-budget prog album. Would have definitely been better had they had a Hammond (and better production), it would have set these songs to “kill,” not merely “stun.” Skip’em and stick with the main album tracks.

These guys where certainly onto a fairly early metal sound somewhat similar to early Judas Priest and Deep Purple, although I'm pretty sure this bands real biggest influence was the mighty Hawkwind.

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