Lokomotiv GT

Artist: Lokomotiv GT

LP: 7" single

Song: "Higher and Higher"
[ listen ]

Supreme Echo, a tiny little place next to a super depressing pawn shop at the corner of Government and Bay Streets, was the last and final record store I visited in Victoria. It turned out to be the best one of all! (It was actually the second record store I visited too, but after traipsing across town in the pouring rain I found the place locked! I returned the next day via taxi after calling to make sure they were open.)

I realized pretty early on in my Victorian excursion that my vinyl-hunting expectations had been too high. I'd figured, "Canada's a foreign country! Exotic!" Plus, "I once found a Boney M single at Victoria's Salvation Army thrift store. The sky's the limit!" But it turns out the city's shops are primarily peddling pasty-people pop records that you could find in Everett or Wenatchee, USA. 

But my luck finally turned around at Supreme Echo. Along with pasty-people pop and really friendly service, the place offers a treasure trove of Eastern European rock records from the late-'60s and early '70s, with an emphasis on Poland! One of the neat things I found there is this 1975 Polish pressing of two live tracks by Hungarian supergroup Lokomotiv GT. (They're still pasty, but I bet they don't have this in Wenatchee.) You can read all about Lokomotiv GT on Wikipdia here, where they discuss various lineup changes over the years and outline Lokomotiv GT's connections to other Hungarian rock groups of the '70s like Omega and Skorpio.

[ Supreme Echo — Victoria, BC, Canada ]

R-Go

Artist: R-Go

LP: R-Go

Song: "Bombázó (Bomber)"

[ listen ]

If you threw Haircut 100, Scritti Politti, and General Public into a cement mixer with Sheila E. and then poured the resulting stew into an old building in Budapest and had it make a record, you might end up with something like this terrific self-titled 1983 debut from R-Go. Photos and notes from the back of the LP are included below, along with part of an article on the Hungarian rock scene from the June 1986 issue of Spin Magazine. I don't know what R-Go is up to nowadays, but I did stumble upon some unfortunate news concerning one of the lovely young ladies who used to be in the group. Click here to learn more, but adults only—please!

Omega

 

Artist: Omega

LP: Skyrover

Song: "Metamorphosis"

[ listen ]

After spending long and tedious days presiding over the nerve-jangling Clash of the Titans, Zeus would often mosey over to the lobby of the Mt. Olympus Hotel where he would relax to the soothing, otherworldly music of the Hungarian progressive psychedelic space rock band Omega. You can read about the group here, where you can also find a list of all their albums.