Dragon - Universal Radio / Scented Gardens For The Blind (Reissue) (1974-75/2005)

Dragon formed in Auckland, New Zealand, in January 1972 with a line-up that featured Todd Hunter on bass guitar, guitarist Ray Goodwin, drummer Neil Reynolds and singer/pianist Graeme Collins. All had been in various short-lived bands in Auckland, Collins is credited with using I Ching to provide the name Dragon. Their first major gig was an appearance at The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival in early January 1973. By 1974 several personnel changes had occurred, with Todd Hunter's younger brother Marc Hunter joining on vocals and Neil Storey on drums. The band recorded two progressive rock albums in their native New Zealand, Universal Radio in 1974 and Scented Gardens for the Blind in 1975 both on Vertigo Records. Despite being New Zealand's top live attraction by late 1974, neither albums nor related singles had any local chart success, and they recruited Robert Taylor (ex-Mammal) on guitar as they searched for a raunchier pop sound. By early 1975, manager Graeme Nesbitt (ex-Mammal), who had obtained regular gigs and organised their first New Zealand tours, felt they should tackle the larger Australian market. Nesbitt was unable to travel with them to Australia - he had been arrested for selling drugs.
This was the first stage of Dragon's career and also the one that granted them access to Prog Archives. The band is still going strong today, which may or may not have been due to the shift away from their earlier flirtation with prog rock.