Mad — Mad 1972 (Greece, Psychedelic/Progressive/Folk Rock)

Mad were a short-lived Psych/Prog band from Greece, formed by guitarists/singers Nikos Antoniadis and Dimitris Tsonis, who played together in the 60’s Pop Rock band The Strangers, along with Vaggelis Koutsotolis (flute, vocals), Giorgos Michailidis (drums) and Kostas Mpalomenos (vocals, bass, piano).Their self-titled lone album (1972, Minos) has become a collector’s item, being a good example of Soft Rock meets Psychedelic Rock meets Prog Folk with interesting instrumentation and very irritating lead vocals, which have an unusual ballad-esque color over a rockin’ background.Tracks are short, maybe too short, but contain some very good instrumental moments and above average songwriting with memorable tunes.The music comes in an electroacoustic nature with lots of folky flute parts, mellow organ themes, percussion and even some sax, harmonica and piano to offer a varied musical background.Some poppy pieces are much influenced from the 60’s, but there are some cool ideas here with soft interplays, West-Coast inspirations and an emerging progressive vibe.Antoniadis released a solo album on EMI in 1975 and later collaborated with singer Natassa Marini for another work in 1977.