Earth And Fire - Memories (1976)

Earth and Fire originated with Dutch brothers Chris and Gerard Koerts, who'd made music together since the early 60's. They played in local bands around 1963/64, and in 1965 they formed The Swinging Strings and began covering hits by the Beatles, the Byrds, and others. By 1967 the brothers were dissatisfied with playing cover music and were looking to increase the technical level of their music, so they renamed the band Opus Gainfull, and started searching for a new rhythm section. They found bass player Hans Ziech and drummer Cees Kalis in local band The Soul, and once they joined the new band they recruited guitar player Eric Wenink. Throughout 1968 and 1969 the band practiced their new sound, influenced by Jimi Hendrix, Moby Grape, and Jefferson Airplane. They added singer Manuela Berloth to complete the line-up, and began coming up with ideas for concept albums, centred around the US West Coast and their improvisational practice sessions. In 1968 the band changed their name again to Earth and Fire, and after winning a talent contest they were allowed to record two songs as their prize, although it didn't lead to a recording contract, and shortly afterwards Berloth left the band. She was replaced in 1969 by Jerney Kaagman, and their recording career began in earnest.
Their first album 'Earth and Fire' was released in 1970 and produced three hit singles, while subsequent releases were the concept albums that they'd though about in those early days. Their music was well-produced and easily accessible and so they were very popular in the UK, with all of their early albums becoming highly sought after by fans of progressive rock. They continued to release singles throughout the 70's, either taken from the albums or as releases in their own right. They also treated fans to non-album tracks on the b-sides of some of them, and so I've collected a number of the best of these b-sides and non-album singles for this post. It's a great snapshot of the band, as it includes some of their pop songs and also some fine examples of their progressive rock side, so if you haven't heard of the band before then prepare to be impressed by some superb Dutch rock music.

Track listing

01 Seasons (single 1969)
02 Hazy Paradise (b-side of 'Seasons')
03 Mechanical Lover (b-side of 'Ruby Is The One' 1970)
04 Invitation (single 1971)
05 Song Of The Marching Children (b-side of 'Invitation')
06 Lost Forever (b-side of 'Storm And Thunder' 1971)
07 Memories (single 1972)
08 From The End Till The Beginning (b-side of 'Memories')
09 Tuffy The Cat (b-side of 'Love Of Life' 1974)
10 Fun (b-side of 'Only Time Will Tell' 1975)
11 Thanks For The Love (single 1975)
12 What Difference Does It Make (single 1976)