Cargo: Cargo 1972 (2009)

 

Formed in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1972 (Previously called "September") and recorded their sole album. CARGO consist of brothers Ad and Jan De Hont both on guitars, Willem DeVries on bass

and vocals and English drummer Denis Whitbread. The music developed here is a seducing hard rock with a killer twin-guitar attack much in the line of WISHBONE ASH around their "Argus" album. The two brothers play delightfully long and cooperative guitar lines that intertwine beautifully (what a pleasure it is to follow in stereo their progress) proof of their long-standing mutual trust and camaraderie.
                      

The first line up was: Jan de Hont (voice/guitar), Ador Otting (keys), Willem de Vries (voice/bass), Frans Smit (drums, ex-Graaf X (Count X) and Klimax). This line-up recorded a single for Imperial,

"Little Sister"/"Walk On By". It became a minor hit in the Netherlands but left no permanent impression. Frans Smit left the band to join Brainbox; at the end of 1970, he was replaced by Jerry Göbbel. In 1971, Hessel de Vries (ex-Angelflight Railways) replaced Ador Otting. Jan's brother Adri de Hont was added as an extra member. This line-up produced yet another single, "Jelly Rose"/"If Mr. Right Comes Along".
                      

The third single, "Chocker"/"Lydia Purple"was recorded without De Vries and Göbbel (who was replaced by Dennis Whitbred, ex-Het and Ekseption). In 1972, September changed their name to Cargo.

The change in name indicated also a change in musical direction for the band. They transitioned from a singles band to a "serious" rock band, focusing now on long, mostly instrumental passages. Also the very crafty and elaborate drumming of Dennis Whitbread drew plenty of attention. Under this monicker, they made one (eponymous) album containing only four very long tracks. It was received favorably by the Dutch press but sales-wise unfortunately didn't amount to much. This lack of recognition is presumably the main reason why the band broke up by the end of 1972. 
                     

 It's amazing how some bands can stick together for decades trying to craft their music into a cohesive whole and never quite achieve what they intended and then there are rare cases where a band exists for

less than a year, releases one album and crafts such a masterful work of art that it's still sought after half a century after its initial release. Such is the case of the Dutch band CARGO that had its roots in the band September before experiencing a lineup change along with a moniker reboot. This short-lived band existed only in the year 1972, recorded a total of four tracks, released one self-titled album and then disappeared never to be heard from again. This album got released in Cd by Pseudonym record and as bonus tracks are included their "September" singles.
                           

Cargo – Cargo
Label:     Private Cd Production – 662
Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered 2009
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1972
Genre: Rock
Style: Hard Rock
                       

TRACKS

               

01. Cargo – Sail Inside   10:54
Written-By – A. de Hont, J. van Setten, W. de Vries
02. Cargo – Cross Talking   8:33
Written-By – A. de Hont, D. Whitbread, J. de Hont, W. de Vries
03. Cargo – Finding Out   5:14
Written-By – D. Whitbread, J. de Hont
04. Cargo – Summerfair   15:35
Drums – Dennis Whitbread
Guitar – Ad de Hont, Jan De Hont
Vocals, Bass – Willem de Vries
Written By – P. Daniel
Written-By – J. de Hont

BONUS TRACKS

    
05. September – Choker   3:52
Written-By – A. de Hont, D. Whitbread, J. de Hont, W. de Vries
06. September – Lydia Purple   3:51
Drums – Dennis Whitbread
Guitar – Ad de Hont, Jan De Hont
Vocals, Bass – Willem de Vries
Written-By – Dunn, McCashen
07. September – Yelly Rose   4:01
Written-By – H. de Vries
08. September – If Mr. Right Comes Along   4:23
Bass – Willem de Vries
Drums – Jerry Göbel
Guitar – Ad de Hont, Jan De Hont
Vocals, Electric Piano – Hessel De Vries
Written-By – J. de Hont
09. September – Little Sister   3:41
Written-By – A. Otting, F. Smit, J. de Hont, W. de Vries
10. September – Walk On By   2:59
Drums – Frans Smit
Guitar – Jan De Hont
Organ [Hammond M3] – Ador Otting
Vocals, Bass – Willem de Vries
Written-By – B. Bacharach/H. David
11. September – Run Away (Demo)   3:14
Written-By – A. de Hont
12. September – One More Change (Demo)   2:35
Drums – Snuffel
Guitar – Ad de Hont, Jan De Hont
Vocals, Bass – Jan De Hont
Written-By – J. de Hont

LINE - UP

Drums – Dennis Whitbread (tracks: 1 to 6), Frans Smit (tracks: 9, 10), Jerry Göbel (tracks: 7, 8), Snuffel (tracks: 11, 12)
Guitar – Ad de Hont (tracks: 1 to 8, 11, 12), Jan de Hont (tracks: 1 to 12)
Organ [Hammond] – Ador Otting (tracks: 9, 10)
Vocals, Bass – Willem de Vries (tracks: 1 to 12)
Vocals, Electric Piano – Hessel de Vries (tracks: 7, 8)

NOTES

                             

Originally released in 1972 as Cargo - Cargo.
Tracks 5 & 6 from September - Choker (1971).
Tracks 7 & 8 from September - Yelly Rose (1971).
Tracks 9 & 10 from September - Little Sister (1971).
Tracks 11 & 12 demos previously unissued.
Tracks 5 to 12 are bonus selections.
Tracks 1 to 4 recorded at Bovema Studio B, Heemstede, The Netherlands, 1972.
Tracks 5 to 12 recorded at Bovema Studio A, Heemstede, The Netherlands, 1970/1971.

Flac Size: 471 MB