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Quill (U.S.) for Psychedelic rock or "Crossover""

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Anstey View Drop Down
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    Posted: December 07 2019 at 01:12
Not to be mistaken with the U.S. "symphonic prog" trio with the same name.

Quill were the band from the U.S. underground scene and played at Woodstock 1969. They released their only album in 1970.














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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 08 2019 at 17:46
Coincidentally I was listening to some of their only album on youtube yesterday. I think they might have been the closest to a progressive rock band to play at Woodstock. Proto prog might be another possible category. Prog wasn't really a US thing at the time though so maybe not. I'll have to listen to more of that album.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ExittheLemming Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 09 2019 at 06:23
^ Is Truro closer to Serbia than Devon?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2019 at 07:29
^How should I know? Tongue
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HarryAngel746 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 13 2019 at 08:19
Regarding prog rock from the USA I found such an ancient thing:


Maybe in the US they also started in the 60s, but with a smaller breakthrough than Caravan or Soft Machine at the same time Wink

In the case of Quill I think that these saxophones are very funny and around 22:50 on their 1970 album I'm thinking about Gong.


Edited by HarryAngel746 - December 13 2019 at 08:20
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote PROGSHOW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 20 2019 at 04:06
Quill opened day two (Saturday) at Woodstock Festival


This one came as a total surprise package to this reviewer. On reading their unexpectedly extensive Wikipedia entry I found that they’d played at Woodstock despite being an unrecorded act; that they were a popular regional attraction around Boston and the northeast; and that virtually all of them were multi-instrumentalists with a penchant for swapping the instruments around onstage: guitarists and keyboardists switching to horns, woodwind or cellos at the drop of a setlist.

The Woodstock slot came courtesy of a well-received appearance in NYC, and on hearing of their impending festival appearance with its film and live album potential, Ahmet Ertegun signed Quill to Atlantic’s Cotillion subsidiary in the summer of ’69. 

The non-appearance of the band’s set in the Woodstock movie contributed to the label losing interest and the band’s insistence on producing the debut album themselves didn’t particularly help their cause with Ertegun either. Although it was released the following year it received next to no corporate support and quickly stiffed. Like many another unsuccessful opus of the period it lay doggo for decades until resuscitated for CD reissue by the excellent Wounded Bird imprint in 2010.

The music itself is also surprising, distinctively and wilfully strange, somewhere between the Doors and early British prog-rock. The band members are all credited under wigged-out pseudonyms, Beefheart-style, and the compositions themselves have similarly wacky titles. Sonically, it’s sparsely realised despite the multifarious talents of the musicians, populated by barely-audible organs and pianos and mixed-back guitars and drums – the most prominent instrument is often the bass guitar. 

The arrangements are of the apparently loose, adlibbed type that can only result from the most meticulous orchestration and rehearsal. The lyrics are far from the usual hippie abandon of the day, laden with social commentary, and the backings are full of irregular chord sequences and modulations. There’s no telling where it’s going from one track to the next, or sometimes within any given track.

After an unpromising raggedy-ass intro, the opening “Thumbnail Screwdriver” builds around a catchy Hendrixoid guitar riff and features a chiming solo by harmonised guitars. The nine-minute “They Live The Life” is a minimalist shuffle with warped Moody Blues harmonies and a sparse drum solo which builds into a collapsing cacophony of chanting and percussion, apparently a favourite concert closer. 

“BBY” showcases the alternative horn skills of the players and comes over like Zappa bowdlerising Chicago, while “Yellow Butterfly” uses only flanged, wah-ed guitar and sparse bass and has ghostly vocals redolent of Syd Barrett. The closing “Shrieking Finally” opens with a droll mock Gregorian chant which leads into a fragmented prog workout with distinctive piano trimmings. Although all the musicianship is excellent, it’s probably Roger North’s inventive and technically adroit drumming that stays longest in the memory.

It’s all wacky and it all works. You won’t whistle the melodies as you walk down the street, but without doubt this is another rarity that deserves its rediscovery.
by Len Liechti






Edited by PROGSHOW - December 20 2019 at 04:23
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote yam yam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7 hours 42 minutes ago at 13:09
This suggestion seems to have fallen down a crack, so as soon as I've got Mike at Awesome Prog to add the band to his site (I'm not sure how to do it myself when there's already that other US band named Quill in the Awesome Prog database), I'll try to get an evaluation under way.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7 hours 37 minutes ago at 13:14
No bio, also this or that subgenre situation, it will fall down the crack. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote yam yam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6 hours 18 minutes ago at 14:33
^ There's enough info in Johnny Progshow's post to put together a biography for these guys, and I'll happily take care of that if the band gets approved in either of the two subs. The suggestion was actually made a couple of months before Keishiro introduced the 'no bio, no evaluation' rule, so the lack of a biography shouldn't really have held things up.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6 hours 14 minutes ago at 14:37
Originally posted by yam yam yam yam wrote:

^ There's enough info in Johnny Progshow's post to put together a biography for these guys, and I'll happily take care of that if the band gets approved in either of the two subs. The suggestion was actually made a couple of months before Keishiro introduced the 'no bio, no evaluation' rule, so the lack of a biography shouldn't really have held things up.

True, then it's the second thing I mentioned, this or that subgenre. Until a decision is made, which is the exact team to look into the suggested band, it will stay in limbo. 


Edited by Cristi - 6 hours 6 minutes ago at 14:45
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote yam yam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 5 hours 44 minutes ago at 15:07
^ I've already mentioned the suggestion in the PSIKE team thread, so hopefully once we've got an Awesome Prog link to work with (I've asked Mike at AP add the band to that database for us due to there already being a US band named Quill on the site), the Psych guys will have a listen to the album in the first instance.
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