SCARCE MINT UK re 1972 HARD PROG PSYCH ""GREEN EYED GOD" Steel Mill RAW MATERIAL

$

51

  1972 HEAVY UK UNDERGROUND PROGRESSIVE PSYCH
      ..|/\|...............................................|/\|..
                         
              = STEEL MILL =              "Green Eyed God"                              ..|/\|...............................................|/\|..                                            UK - ESSEX - 1012

MINT / SCARCE

Long long gone exact 2nd-press of the highly sought heavy-prog collectible recorded in 1972. The British band sank without a trace but represents as a major $$$ rarity 45+ years later... their soud is in the RAW MATERIAL vein. This is the best pressing you can get, rivals the original sound-wise....


The mystery that surrounds the band adds to the appeal of this album...
One of the most obscure release from England (the history of the band and whereabouts of the musicians are still unknown) and most-searched after vinyl by collectors. Released in 1972 in Germany, this album got its UK release three years later, by which time the group had disbanded. This quintet is your developing heavy progressive so typical of the first years of the 70's and is a pure delight for collectors searching for lost gems. Sound-wise Steel Mill is a mix of Raw Material, some hard-riffing from Uriah Heep or Black Sabbath. All of the tracks are penned by wind player John Challenger and keysman and singer Dave Morris.

GREEN EYED GOD's greatest strength is it's diversity. Every track takes on a different characteristic. "Mijo And The Laying Of The Witch" continues sounding completely different than the previous two tracks with an intriguing mysterious atmosphere with a jazzy backdrop. The track slowly changes into a heavier rocker with hard rock guitar heft but also a healthy presence of the sultry sax soloing. The track at nearly eight minutes long is also one of the more progressive as it tackles varying stylistic shifts which alter tempo, timbres and dynamics as well as some abrupt time signature changes. The folky parts exude pastoral flute runs.

"Treadmill" starts strangely with a Hare Krishna type of a cappella group vocal chant and some bells before erupting into a more standard hard rock tune laced with guitar fuzz and bass and drum heft to back it up. The call and response of the vocals and bluesy guitar solos keep the track fiery and sounding great. The highlight of the album is surely the nine minute title track. While released as a truncated single, this full version is gorgeous and also quite progressive as it begins in a mediative ancient Celtic flute trance and cymbal action that slowly ratchets up to a heavy bluesy rocker sounding something like Bad Company only more adventurous with stylistic chord changes, ballsy soloing and excellent bass and percussive interactions. Jazzy touches also join in and Morris offers a more passionate than usual vocal performance. It's fairly ecstatic how the sax and flute alternate and the percussive drive flips from standard rock to tribal drumming at the drop of a hat. This track demonstrates STEEL MILL's strong sense of instrumental interplay as the musicians find many variations that play well together.

The piano driven "Turn The Page Over" offers yet another stylistic shift with Beatles like vocal harmonies conspiring to create utterly infectious melodic counterpoints. "Black Jewel Of The Forest" is another Pagan ritual sounding track with heavy flute action, tribal drumming and eerie background vocals. Somewhat like Comus but not as frantic. The album ends with the unusual fifty second instrumental "Har Fleur" yet again sounding different than what came before. It's most likely you will not own an original copy as the first vinyl editions are extremely rare and have been known to be some of the most expensive original prog vinyl albums ever to exchange hands in which case if you do indeed own GREEN EYED GOD then you will be treated to the two bonus tracks "Get On The Line" and "Zang Will" which are every bit as good yet different from the original eight tracks but still fit in so well. STEEL MILL may have only crafted a handful of tracks but did an outstanding job in the process.

Despite the album bombing big time the first time around and shrouding the band in mystery for decades, the popularity of GREEN EYED GOD has only grown exponentially since. The album has become quite the mandatory staple of progressive rock collectors who like a hard rock bite with their psychedelic folk with jazzy touches which is mostly due to the strong songwriting that provides intricate and addictive melodies but most of all it's how the band crafted these compositions with a keen sense of adding subtle elements that despite using the templates of the 60s, implement the more sophisticated touches of the progressive rock heyday. The result is an album that sounds like it exists in two timelines. True that Dave Morris doesn't provide the most stellar vocal performances but his limited range keeps the album simmering in a typical hard rock band fashion while the nuances of the instrumental interplay make this an more intriguing progressive listen. This was a grower. It may not blow you away at first but if you let it sink in for a few spins, its unleashes its magic in doses .....
 Blood Runs Deep 5:18
 Summers Child 4:25
 Mijo and the Laying of the Which 7:52
Treadmill 4:00
 Green Eyed God 9:44
Turn the Page Over 3:52
 Black Jewel of the Forest 6:04
 Har Fleur 0:48
 Get on the Line 4:15
 Zang Will 3:43
                 CONDITION: The cover: rated: M- top copy, the fragile UK cover in great shape, hard to find in any shape, this long goe pressing. There are no delete marks, no split seams, no bends, and no writing  ...

The vinyl: Rated: M- beautiful, will play perfect with loud vibrant sound quality ... both UK Essex labels are clean                  A cool addition to anyone's music library!






  SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...   EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING All imperfections are noted both cover & record   NOTE: All Items backed by  money back guarantee! IF you have a problem PLEASE let us solve for you BEFORE leaving ANY negative feedback. Thanks!   GRADING SCALE: M, M-, EX, VG++,VG+, VG, VG- M    Completely clean, no marks M-   Carefully used, looks clean, plays clean, shiny gloss, no marks EX   Faint scuff or superficial mark, near M-, high gloss, plays clean VG++ Glossy with minimal scuffing or light mark playing very nice, clean VG+ a bit more scuff or markls still plays well with very minimal surface at worse VG   more marks/scratches only minor, nothing deep, no loud clicks or pops         this grade is abused by many, VG here does not mean "trashed" VG-  surface noise present, will not have skips or jumps     ALL PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 5 DAYS Of AUCTIONS END   BIDDERS PLEASE = Do Not Bid If You Are Not Serious About  Following Through The Transaction!   ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR WINNING BID - LESS SHIPPING!