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A couple of months back I wrote about legendary Kiwi prog-rock band Think.
Their fabled 1976 album ‘We’ll Give You A Buzz’ has been issued on vinyl and a thing of beauty it surely is. There is a local connection in the shape of long-time musical Tauranga resident Ritchie Pickett.
It was also one of those eclectically inaccurate releases that record buffs love.
Because there are many entertaining stories behind the album. Ritchie departed the band soon after for “bad behaviour”.
In the mid-1980s the master tapes were stolen from Stebbing Studio – many fingers point to a well-known Kiwi bass player.
And the album was bootlegged in America. During the process the album credits were lost.
The new reissue comes from that source, hence several blips, including singer Allan Badger not being credited for vocals.
I know I bang on about it but the CD reissue gives you eight – that’s right eight – extra tracks. The vinyl contains only the album’s original six.
Worth re-investigating
Following that brief nostalgia binge I got an email from Michael Loakman, obviously a fan of the era, pointing to a couple of his favourites. While I realise the mid-1970s are now half a century ago, they’re worth re-investigating.
There is a lazy tendency to assume whatever is happening right now is the peak of its particular mountain; that songs, arrangements and musicianship are now somehow superior.
But 50 years ago it turns out, unsurprisingly, New Zealanders were creating extraordinary music.
Though, despite success at the time, outside the most mainstream and it often failed to leave a stain on the silence.
An oddity
Waves were an oddity on a scene dominated by pub-rockers. They were a harmonising modern folk band led by Graeme Gash and Kevin Wildman. They recorded a self-titled album at Stebbing in 1975 on the nascent Kiwi label Direction Records.
It stunned everyone by reaching the top 10 and included the singles ‘Dolphin Song’ and ‘Arrow’.
Unfortunately Direction Records immediately collapsed. But – good news! – they signed with WEA (Warner-Elektra-Atlantic) and began recording their second album.
Then, capriciously, WEA ordered the almost-completed album to be wiped. Luckily, the audio engineer covertly allowed the band to keep a rough mix.
And – good news again! – the original album was reissued in 2013 and the CD double-disc set contains nine songs from the “lost” second recording. Bloody good it is too.
In 1974
Going back to Think’s prog-rock, the Kiwi leaders in that genre I’d suggest were Ragnarok. They’re on this week’s playlist though I should mention that the popularity of Norwegian death metal now means there are some 20 bands with that name.
Think. Photo / Supplied
They formed in 1974, and made two terrific albums, their self-titled debut – reissued on vinyl in 2022 – and follow-up ‘Nooks’. The first featured singer-songwriter Lea Maalfrid, who departed for the United Kingdom, but both are awash with relentlessly changing time-signatures, extravagant soloing and everything else you desire of proggy rocking. They toured constantly and were gone by 1978. But, damn, could those boys play!
Hear Winston’s latest Playlist: