tales untold

• Label: Out-Sider Music
• Format: Vinyl LP, album reissue, remastered
• Vinyl: Regular black vinyl edition
• Packaging: Original artwork reproduced in a hard-cardboard sleeve, with an insert featuring liner notes and photographs

Originally self-released in 1974, Tales Untold was the only album completed by Michigan progressive hard-rock group Kopperfield. The band combined powerful guitar, Hammond organ, electric piano and an energetic rhythm section with lyrics inspired by fantasy, science fiction and the pressures of life on the road.

The album was developed while Kopperfield were playing an intensive concert schedule throughout the American Midwest and beyond. Their growing reputation enabled them to share stages with groups including Foghat, Kansas, the James Gang and Country Joe McDonald. Years of live performance gave the songs a tight but forceful character before the musicians entered the studio.

The basic tracks were recorded at SRC’s studio in the Ann Arbor area, with additional vocals completed at Sound Machine Studios in Kalamazoo. The band produced the sessions themselves and issued the resulting LP through their own Kopperdisc label, selling copies at concerts and through independent record shops.

“Moonride” establishes the record’s combination of heavy guitar, keyboards and dramatic vocals. “Anatomy” and “Brain Rot” introduce darker psychedelic themes, while “Watching The Time Go By” balances melodic writing with the group’s dense progressive sound. “Nothing Left To Give” closes the first side with urgent vocals and prominent Hammond organ.

The second side begins with the driving road song “Truckin’ On.” The title track and “Magic In Your Mind” display the band’s fascination with imaginary worlds, unusual landscapes and adventurous storytelling. “A Thousand Warriors” is one of the album’s most striking fantasy-rock pieces, while “Wise Man” and “Dreams” bring the record to a more melodic conclusion.

With its loud guitar leads, heavy organ, expressive vocals and mixture of hard rock, psychedelia and progressive arrangements, Tales Untold will appeal to listeners of Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Atomic Rooster, Bloodrock and early Kansas. This Out-Sider edition presents the complete original eleven-track album, newly remastered and accompanied by historical notes and photographs.

Track Listing

Side A

1. Moonride – 3:40
2. Anatomy – 3:05
3. Brain Rot – 4:30
4. Watching The Time Go By – 4:35
5. Nothing Left To Give – 4:40

Side B

1. Truckin’ On – 3:30
2. Tales Untold – 4:30
3. Magic In Your Mind – 3:30
4. A Thousand Warriors – 2:35
5. Wise Man – 2:05
6. Dreams – 4:25