Granicus - Better Days (2016)

Taking their name from the river where Alexander the Great achieved his first important victory over the Persians, Cleveland Ohio's Granicus have far exceeded their ridiculously brief lifespan as a working band to gain lasting and ever-growing favor among serious collectors of obscure ‘70's hard rock. Formed at the start of the decade by singer Woody Leffel (also acoustic guitars), lead and rhythm guitarists Wayne Anderson and Al Pinelli, respectively, bassist Dale Bedford and drummer Joe Battaglia, Granicus honed their original material in Cleveland area clubs before signing to RCA Records in 1973. Boasting a surprisingly mature caliber of songwriting, their eponymous debut album of the same year offered a spirited synthesis of late-‘60's hard rock influences -- Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Blue Cheer, etc. -- and early-‘70's giants-in-the-making like Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin -- particularly when it came to Leffel's high-pitched, Robert Plant-like attack. But for all its apparent merits, the LP met with little to no commercial success upon release, and, after being dropped by RCA, Granicus's dwindling career prospects eventually contributed to their break-up sometime later. For all their inherent talent, none of the band members resurfaced in other groups -- save for drummer Battaglia who was briefly associated with a New York-based band called Pandora a few years later. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia