(Progressive rock) DAY OF PHOENIX - Wide Open N-Way (1970) - APE (image + .cue), lossless

The group was formed in 1968 by Cy Nicklin along with Prehn, Lyng, Jess Stæhr Nielsen (all three were ex-members of the beat group The Maniacs) and Hendrik Friis. During the early days they released one single and wrote the soundtrack for "Stine Og Drengene", before Nicklin left to join Culpeper's Orchard.
With new vocalist Hans Lauridsen, Day Of Phoenix recorded their first album in Copenhagen with Tony Reeves (of Colosseum) as their producer. Their sound was an unusual (and highly ambitious) mixture of influences from the US West Coast (particularly Grateful Dead's "Anthem For The Sun"), rural folk-rock and the jazzy sound of Denmark's Burnin' Red Ivanhoe. This doesn't hang together too well (the two tracks beyond 10 minutes are partly disjointed free-rock) but the concept is so original that it's still well worth listening to. After the first split of Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Ole Fick, Stæhr and Andersen joined a re-organised Day Of Phoenix in June 1972. Their new album, "The Neighbour's Son" was a disappointment with plain rock songs that lacked spark and energy.