MEGA RARE LP RECORD ORIGINAL UK VERTIGO

HEAVY PROG PSYCH ALBUM

MAY BLITZ

" 2nd Of May "

UK Original Heavy Progressive Psych Vertigo Swirl Lp 1971

" The 2nd Of May " very rare second Lp by MAY BLITZ and released in 1971 on the Vertigo "Swirl" label.This is the ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING UK [ cat. no.#  6360 037 ] made in ENGLAND.

NO RESERVE!!!!

Condition: 

Vinyl Record: VG [ vinyl has some light marks,few light scratches, some crackling while playing or some back noise but no jumps or sticks. Still quite listenable after 38 years!].

Labels: VG [aging stain wear with name writing on one side]

Mat Gatefold Cover jacket: VG [ Because the mainly white colour and the mat and very sensitive gatefold cover has yellow aging colour,rubbing and storaging wear and light ring wear on the back sleeve ,light corner - edge wear and starting mini tiny split seam only on top middle one side cover,name writing on back top right,tear on the front bottom right side cover,inside fold-out cover is excellent clean with nice psych photo group of this killer power trio!!].

An overlooked progressive blues / progressive / rock / psychedelic band with a massive scarcity value, and music that is original and highly progressive to boot!

Songs / Tracks Listing

Side one: 1. For Mad Men Only (4:11)
2. Snakes And Ladders (4:47)
3. The 25Th Of December 1969 (3:07)
4. In Part (6:00)
Side two: 1. 8 Mad Grim Nits (4:20)
2. High Beech (4:56)
3. Honey Coloured Time (4:09)
4. Just Thinking (6:00)

Line-up / Musicians

- James Black / lead vocals, guitar
- Reid Hudson / bass
- Tony Newman / drums

MAY BLITZ were formed by vocalist/guitarist Jamie Black who recruited Tony Newman on drums, (ex Sounds Incorporated and Jeff Beck Group), and Reid Hudson (bass, vocals) in 1969. The original lineup featured bassist Terry Poole and drummer Keith Baker, from Bakerloo, but both left before recording anything for the band. Baker had a better offer from Uriah Heep, and went to record "Salisbury" with the band.

The band survived long enough to record two incredibly heavy, powerful and psychedelic albums with strong blues undertones and progressive tendencies, despite the lack of keyboards. These were released on Vertigo, who we also associate with Black Sabbath and Uriah Heep - but the music is probably heavier than either. Their style comes in somewhere around High Tide and the Pink Fairies - but these are really ballparks.

Their debut album is a must-hear for anyone curious about the development of heavy music, and features a production in which it is not only almost possible to smell the ganja smoke, but is also rich and clear enough to provide the striking dynamic contrasts the music needs, as it occasionally veers from ambience to crushing riffs in the blink of an eye. It is certainly very unpredictable, even now.

The 1971 follow-up to "May Blitz", "The 2nd of May" featured similarly grotesque artwork on the cover and contained eight excellent tracks!!!

The album kicks off with "For Mad Men Only", with a heavy fuzzy power chord guitar and driving beat, it contains some great riffs and solos, certainly a sign of things to come as they are similar to bands such as Black Sabbath. This track also reminds me of the typical heavy sound from UK underground Psych / Space rock band " Stray ". The style of vocals in "Snakes and Ladders" sounds reminiscent of Hendrix, has a strong bass line, fuzz power chords which sound very Black Sabbath indeed. There are echoed backing vocals and "space" effects swirling around, now we're in Hawkwind territory! "The 25th of December" as you'd guess is a Christmas song which swings along beautifully, occasionally leading into whispered vocals and a jazzy style rhythm and bluesy guitar. "In Part" is a jazzy style number which has a flute playing in the background, funny thing the vocals are half sung half spoken, almost rap-like, which leads into a fine drum solo. I don't care what anyone says, i love 'em!! The next track on the cd is called "8 Mad Grim Nits", not sure who they refer to but it is a crazy fast jazzy jam featuring very fast drum and bass playing and some wild fuzzy, phased over- amped lead guitar, really sounds like they had a lot of fun doing this one! Here's another group i would have loved to have seen live. "High Beech" is a beautiful folky song overlaid with watery acoustic guitars and nice lyrics, "shadows spring to life", "today is the beginning of the rest of our lives". "Honey Coloured Time" is another beautiful song about our hypocritical world with hushed vocals, which includes some fine jazz style guitar and bass and a Hendrix style ending, talk about mixing styles. "Just Thinking" is a ponderous, dreamy love song, very laid back, and features some interesting echoed "squeaky" guitar effects.

It's a shame May Blitz didn't do more after they were dropped from Vertigo. James Black and Reid Hudson returned to Canada and Tony Newman went on to work with such artists as Three Man Army, Marc Bolan, David Bowie & Mick Ronson, Chris Spedding and David Coverdale's Whitesnake. An essential addition to any Prog / Space / Psych collection.

 KEYWORDS: psych rock kraut cosmic space electronic prog psychedelic jam garage nuggets fuzz acid flowers hippy hippie pokora

Records are graded visually.

More interesting , obscure and rare original Records of the past ( Psych-Kraut-Electronic-U.K. / US-Progressive-Psychedelic, Garage, Acid-Folk & Classic Rock Originals as well as Jazz & Blues,Metal...) you can see in my other auctions....      

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