Now that 2025 is finally out of the way, I can focus on a new set of Top 5 lists for this year. However, in order to check out some stuff for my 1971 list, I figured I should squeeze in a handful of debut albums in advance. The first three bands all have albums in 1971, but I'll get to those next time. Here's what I've been checking out for the start of the new year!
Formed by remaining members of The Wilde Flowers, and borrowing equipment from their country mates Soft Machine, Caravan had their humble start with this debut album in 1969. While I definitely enjoyed their follow up from 1970, going back to this one shows them still forming their sound and clearly hoping for some pop success.
The songs are much more conventional here, with many of them featuring standard verse and chorus structures. While they aren't bad songs, they do just kinda carry on in a bit of a lazy, laid back. The opener "Place of My Own," "Love Song with Flute," and the nine-minute closer "Where But For Caravan Would I" all sound the most like their jazz fusion-y second album, so they stand out the most to me, but there were a few other good moments. "Ride" gets some decent, meditative sections and "Magic Man" is a good little ballad. However, other tracks like get a little too weird. "Policeman" feels like their attempt at a quirky Beetles-like song, and "Cecil Rons" has some jarring repetitive chords and aggressive growling vocals, of all things!
So over all, it's a decent set of songs with more than a few clunky moments, though this is expected of a band who is on the cusp of something greater. Sometimes it just takes some experience before a band really coalesces into themselves. I don't know what I was expecting necessarily when I started listening to this, but it served as a decent foundation for them to build on for future releases.
This is a band I've heard about, but had never really gotten around to until now. They are best known for having two guitarists, a style that would be very influential on later metal bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. Opening for Deep Purple helped them get attention from MCA Records, and by the end of 1970, they released this debut album. Clearly built on the British blues rock scene, this some decent rock with a very jam-friendly vibe.
While bands like Cream, The Yardbirds, and perhaps even Black Sabbath's first album come to mind, but the double-guitar work really sets them apart from those bands. Another stand-out element is the very clean production, allowing you to hear those crisp guitar harmonies that really are the highlight of the album. Even bassist Martin Turner joins Andy Powell and Ted Turner on some of the melodies, creating a powerful sense of unity. Meanwhile Steve Upton gets plenty of work out of his drums, find all kinds of gaps to get in a fill. Overall, there's a solid, upbeat vibe to their songs, at least for the first half, with "Blind Eye" and "Lady Whiskey" bringing a lot of boogie.
The second half has the band really pushing into psychedelic rock, featuring only two tracks that are both over ten minutes long. "Handy" starts with an extended bass solo before settling into a blues rock groove that felt like a genuine ancestor to Seven Planets before reaching a rather jazzy ending. "Phoenix" was much the same, starting with some laid back jamming before turning up the energy with a swing step. I definitely like the second half more, as I think it had more identity and featured the players at their best as they jammed away. Overall, it was a pretty fun album, banging my head through it all. For a debut album, there's quite a bit going on, and I look forward to where the band goes from here.
Another debut album! Hawkwind is another band I had heard about, but never listened to until now. I mostly knew them as a band that leaned in "space rock" long after the 60s (and had Lemmy on bass for a bit before they kicked him out, which caused him to start Motorhead). But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Their first album is considered an early space rock landmark, but honestly, I don't think it's aged that well.
I get that the point of psychedelic rock is the vibes and atmosphere instead of having thought-out orchestrations, but there are times where this album seems to revel in musical noise that occasionally has some rock jams in between. A great example is "Seeing It as You Really Are," where there are so many sound effects and strange noises going on that it overwhelms what might have been a decent track. Another example is "The Reason Is," which turns out to be just a few minutes of jarring ambiance. Fortunately, there are a few songs to enjoy here. The opener "Hurry on Sundown" has a folky twang coming from a 12-string guitar, making for a very acoustic-heavy rock jam. "Be Yourself" has some rather King Crimson rhythms at the start before settling into a decent groove. The closer "Mirror of Illusion" is probably the best track, as Dave Brock's voice really carries the song through a pretty solid jam, featuring plenty of solos. I guess this song is what I was expecting the whole album to be like.
After listening to the whole thing, I get the feeling that the band were more interested in freaking out the listener than focusing on the music. The descending warp in "Paranoia Part 1" in particular seems designed to make the listener to panic, thinking there is something wrong with their player. Perhaps innovative and bizarre for its time, but listening to this retroactively on a computer, it feels just tacky. Even though there are a few decent sections, this feels like one of those "you had to be there" kind of albums.
Finally, something that isn't a debut album! I've been slowly working my way through Deep Purple's catalog, and I can see why Mark II is so important to the band's history, as I'm finding quite a bit to like. This one has another decent bunch of songs, but listening to this retroactively, it's hard not to feel like this is just preparation for something greater.
I think a good way to describe this album is to say that the band is coming to terms with their new sound. While In Rock was a massive burst of power, here they are grappling and controlling that power into something more organized. They also wander into elements of space rock here and there, exploring the dynamics of their sound. "No No No" and "Fools" have some stark transitions between hard riffs and mellower sections, but none of it feels jarring as they make these switches with a confident ease. "The Mule" also has this droning quality that pushes the listener into a very strange space (though I do think the version on Made In Japan is better, naturally). Still, there's plenty of rockin', with the opening title track not wasting anyone's time with its double-kicking bass drum energy, and "No One Came" has this pulsing drive from Roger Glover that keeps things moving. "Anyone's Daughter" is a curious attempt at a joke song, but it's hard to know how much of the band was into the idea.
This is an improvement over In Rock, as the band is a little more confident in what they're doing, not really having to prove themselves as much. However, like I said, with Machine Head coming after this one, it's hard not to feel like this one falls short of that excellent album. Perhaps it's unfair to do that. In any case, they are really becoming a strong unit with some solid (if quickly written) songs, proving that the switch to Mark II was worth it for both the band and the listener.
