Spot (1972)

dprp.net:

"Another Swiss band I had never heard of. Different from most other re-issues on Black Rills Records, this band Spot is older and much more influenced by the blues and rock from the late Sixties. Now that's one of my favourite cups of tea... The singer plays keyboards as well, in a more accompanying role, not very upfront or soloing. Now I mentioned the singer, I must also add that he has a great blues voice. Raw, but could have used some more power. Still fits the music well.

Strange perhaps, but some of the vocal melodies remind me of the early Moody Blues. I mean the mysterious, moody, bluesy (what's in a name...) and melancholic Moody Blues. Spot are heavier, though. More blues and more rock. Other vocal lines are definitely more blues / (hard) rock, like Led Zeppelin (as in Free, but especially in Portobello). Lots of wah-wah guitar, distorted guitar - Cream and Hendrix influences. But there's also an easier side to the music, as in In My Dreams, which has a great Spirit and Doors feel to it. Or a bit of Deep Purple or Mountain in Oh What A Day.

Spot are really like the more original progressive blues bands than your ordinary Blue Cheer hard rock or something. Songs really evolve, change. Rough, bluesy, rocking. And listen to that marvellous version of Sabre Dance... You might not know the title, but the music you do... Great, driving version, menacing atmosphere.

The production is not very well. The original recordings are from 1972, and definitely not done in a great recording facility with immense budgets. But due to the kind of music, this is not a bad thing. Had this band got a better chance in the international music world, they surely would have recorded more albums. I like this kind of music very much - they refer to a lot of my favourite bands from those days. OK, I can mention a lot of bands they sound like, but it's more like bits sound like this, other bits sound like that. It's not that complete songs sound very much like this or that band. It's a great mix, a bit like Steve Morse's latest solo album, Major Impacts: an ode to all those great bands. Spot recorded their album in a time when those bands were still active, or had just stopped for one reason or another... If you like even a couple of the bands I just mentioned, you should have a listen." link in comments (buy it)

Spot - Who Are You