Early psych / prog from a one record band. Songs start out rather simple and turn into massive fusion / psych / hard rock jams. Somewhat similar to pre-Gillan Deep Purple.
United Artists managed to sign several good groups (Thunder and Roses, Boffalongo, Pookah for example) but never gave them much promotion. Led by Mark Mangold who composed their material, Valhalla is another of these forgotten groups and their album deserves to be rediscovered. It mixes heavy rock, prog and psych with a predominant organ and powerful vocals on tracks like Psychedelic Minds Going Nowhere and Overseas Symphony Valhalla's only album was a rather haphazard mix of end-of-the-'60s psychedelic and heavy rock influences. Even if it's not particularly outstanding or original, however, it has its enjoyable aspects, especially for those who enjoy late-'60s combinations of bluesy hard organ and bluesy hard rock guitar. In its slightly overreaching, over-serious feel with a hint of religious pomposity, it's often slightly reminiscent of early Deep Purple and -- more distantly, especially in the fairly penetrating organ -- The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Graham Bond, and Lee Michaels. Throw in some more guitar-oriented hard rock with songwriting and riffs reminiscent of Cream and the "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"-era Yardbirds, and it's a little surprising to learn that this band came from Long Island, not Britain. At times, too, the record takes strange right turns into more orchestrated, skewed pop and jazzy tempos, as if they were trying to get a little more mainstream but couldn't quite iron out their more uncommercial aspirations. Some faint symphonic pretensions both add and detract in some ways, but there are some pretty commanding lead vocals and organ, which put it a notch above many other secondary psychedelic albums of this kind.
Personnel :
BOB HULLING: vocals
DON KRANTZ: guitar, bs
EDDIE LIVINGSTON: drums
MARK MANGOLD: organ, percussions, vocals
Tracklisting :
1. Hard Times
2. Conceit
3. Ladies in Waiting
4. I'm Not Askin'
5. Deacon
6. Heads are Free
7. Roof Top Man
8. JBT 9. Conversation
10. Overseas Symphony
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