PANTHEON Orion 1972 VERTIGO LP Dutch Prog/Psych Band EX
£
100
$
132
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Description
ARTIST: PANTHEON
TITLE: ORION
LABEL + YEAR: Vertigo, 6360 850, 1972 Dutch. Side 1 shows the Vertigo swirl at the 12 o’clock position with the word VERTIGO directly beneath it & above the centre hole.
CONDITION VINYL: Excellent
CONDITION SLEEVE: Excellent – with lower front corner crease and small amount of wear to top and bottom opening corners.
DESCRIPTION: Pantheon's claim to fame is that they were the only Dutch Band signed to Vertigo. They were not just a pretty label however and sounding like Focus/Cressida with sub classical stylings, and a confident and complex production. Flute and layered vocal harmonies decorate their mainly instrumental music which also includes some superb guitar and keyboard work.
Panthéon sprung forth from a high school band in 1971. The band, starting off initially with five members, won a national talent scouting in The Hague at the annual Rekreade Festival. Their first prize was a recording session with record company Phonogram.
The band, by then reduced to four band members, recorded its first single, I want to know / Master Basion, in what turned out to be the definitive cast consisting of Ruud Wouterson (keyboards, vocals), Hans Boer (saxophone, flute, vocals), Albert Veldkamp (bass and electric guitar) and Rob Verhoeven (drums). Because of the suggestive nature of the b-side title it was censored by Phonogram from Masturbation into Master Basion.
With the attention this record received in the media the number of live concerts substantially increased. Concerts in Pop temple Paradiso and the other big concert halls in the progressive scene were very successful. More and more Panthéon was asked as a supporting act for Focus and Solution.
Their second single, Daybreak / Anaïs, received a great deal of attention on radio and television. This paved the way for Tony Vos, the producer of Phonogram, to record the album Orion in 1972, released on the prestigious Vertigo label. The album was well received – and has since become a much sought after Prog/Psych classic. and through Paul Acket's booking agency concerts abroad were booked, a.o. as a supporting act for Mungo Jerry during their Switzerland tour. An absolute highlight was their concert in the Doelen in Rotterdam as the supporting act for the Steve Miller Band.
All youthful, none of the band members were older than twenty one at the time, so lack of financial and commercial insight coupled with a cocky attitude towards the record company and booking agencies led to a premature breaking up of the band. An attempt to regain their position with a renewed cast (a.o. ex-Focus drummer Pierre van der Linden) failed. Up to 1992 they played at various revival concerts with the original line up.
Nowadays Ruud Wouterson owns a busy recording studio and writes ballet music/film scores. Albert Veldkamp is a much sought after guitar teacher. Rob Verhoeven is the owner of an advertising agency. Hans Boer gives management courses.
