Three Man Army Two LP (Cobalt Blue Vinyl)

Brothers Adrian and Paul Gurvitz were responsible for some of the most progressive hard rock sounds of the late '60s and '70s, first in The Gun, and later with Cream drummer Ginger Baker in The Baker Gurvitz Army. In between those two bands, though, was the one that was perhaps the best of the bunch; Three Man Army put out three records from 1971 to 1974 that would nestle nicely in your heavy British rock collection next to, say, Cactus and Jeff Beck's Truth and Beck-Ola records.

1974's Two was, confusingly, their third album, and it's safe to say they saved their best for last. "Polecat Woman" kicks off the record with a Led Zep-like boogie stomp, "Today" is very Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, and "Flying" almost sounds like a harder version of Badfinger. But the highlight might be "I Can't Make the Blind See," which, with its orchestration and soulful vocals, almost sounds like a power ballad done by Traffic.

This overlooked '70s hard rock platter gets a long-overdue vinyl reissue with a cobalt blue pressing limited to 1,500 copies!

The music of British outfit Three Man Army skirted that wonderful line where blues, prog and heavy rock collided. That locale was befitting a pair of players - guitarist / vocalist Adrian Curtis and his bassist brother Paul Gurvitz - that were members of Gun and later logged time with Ginger Baker in the Baker Gurvitz Army. Joined by the explosive drummer Tony Newman, the brothers went far out and gone as TMA, a short-lived exercise that ended after the release of this, their third album. 1974’s Two is as ambitious as it gets, complete with orchestral accompaniment on 'I Can't Make The Blind See' and 'Space Is The Place,' and complicated arrangements that played with time signatures and moods throughout. The album works best when the power trio is in full freakout mode, as on side two opener 'Irving,' a breakneck instrumental worthy of inclusion on an ELP album and the extended breakdown on 'Today,' which must have had Led Zeppelin blushing with envy.