Customer Reviews

Ursa Major

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Main floor, COBO ARENA, DETROIT, 1972 -- I witnessed this power-trio open for Alice Cooper (School's Out Tour, methinks) that balmy summer evening and have LOVED them ever since. Wore out two or three vinyl copies of this debut (and only) LP during the Seventies and early Eighties, then prayed for the day the CD would become available! My wish has finally come true. Dick Wagner is even more brilliant here as a songwriter/vocalist/guitarist than he was with the Frost. Greg Arama is THE consummate rock bassist. Simply awesome. And the drummer --Ric Mangone (sp?)-- was doing stuff as innovative as John Bonham. As a drummer myself, he forced me contemplate suicide, or at least consider giving up the instrument altogether! This the kind of music that makes you wish you could go back in time and re-live rock's earlier, simpler days. Also makes one wonder what it is that makes one band go on to become an Aerosmith, and another -- like Ursa Major -- to go largely unnoticed. In any case, I HIGHLY recommend this record who appreciates powerful hard rock melody and excellent musicianship.

I never thought this would ever make it to cd. This is one killer cd, a 3 man powerhouse that could stand up to any others of this time period. Brilliant guitarwork. A must-have for hard rock fans.

Bought the album way back in the 70's, absolutely loved it. Album became scratched, searched high and low for a replacement and had no luck. Then a miracle happened. Picked it up about a year ago when they introduced it on cd format. What an awesome piece of work. I thought I'd never get to listen to these tunes again. They say it's impossible to "wear out" a cd, vs an album....we're about to find out. This music, I simply cannot get enough of. What a shame this band only produced one album.

Hot Damn! What a good album,especially considering its age[1972]. I first heard this album at a party when I was in the Air Force and immediately bought it and have worn out about 4 copies on vinyl since. I picked up a CD about 8 years ago that was issued from Canada in conjunction with Dick Wagner and it has been a regular player for me since.The new release doesn't have an unissued B side from their one and only single and that is my only complaint.Good,driving,hard rock guitar and decent songwriting too.Ahead of its time.Why didn't this band have a couple more albums?Dick Wagner still plays,Greg Arama dead in motorcycle wreck,and the drummer MIA.If you're a fan of early hardrock/metal then do yourself a favor and get this album.

i bought ursa major back in the early eighties at a salvation army store. i recognized dick wagner's name,and had some of his solos,as well as all the frost albums.this is truly a good find on album(good luck)as well as cd. i highly recommend it for anyone who has good taste in 70's metal!!!!

This album is a good example of why Dick Wagner is on my top-ten list of all-time favorite guitarists. He proved he could jam with the first Frost album, and with this one, he brings out the riff monster.

This is another album I bought at a garage sale in Turkey in the mid 80's and only listened to it a couple of times. When I bought it, I had never heard of it, but saw his name on there and grabbed it. I was glad I did, though at the time, other priorities shelved it from regular play on my turntable.

I finally burned it to CD and have been playing it in the car on the way to work. The music has grown on me with each listen. There are some great tracks, and it shows his flair for composing.

There are no guitar pyrotechnics on here, and the lead isn't as prevalent as the first Frost album, but the riffs and the way he plays are what make this such a great guitar album. Standout tracks are Lay Me Down and Darkest Hour. Silverspoon is a live track, from where, I don't know, but it shows how they could rock before a live crowd.

For a power trio, Ursa Major was a step above many of their contemporaries for complexity, style, and song quality. Too bad they never got past this one album (as far as I know). Highly recommended.

Hard rock Classic W/Dick Wagner,Known for his Virtuoso guitar work W/Detroits"Frost"+Lou Reeds "Rock & Roll Animal/Live cd+Alice Cooper Billion Dollar Babies cd/Tour*(W/Steve Hunter).Imagine Cream+Mountain+ D.W.'s history & U have the idea.Don't know if they ever played Live:??tba.I'm sure!Poss.Greg Arama died of an overdose:He was an addict.Grt player,though.Power trio hard rok.ps G.A.style was ala Jack Bruce/Tim Bogert:a real loss!

If ever an album could be called an "undiscovered gem " this one would
most certainly fit the bill.Powered by the awesome talents of singer/
songwriter/guitar player Dick Wagner this is a killer of a hardrock album
which deserves a better place in the history of the genre.This is, quite
simply, a power trio at it's very best. I loaned my CD ( thank you Amazon,
my vinyl copy wore out many years ago ) to one of my workmates (who is
20 years younger than me, a talented guitarist in his own right & somewhat
of an authority on all things hard rock ) & he was totally blown away.
Not just by the quality of the songs & the musicianship on display but
also by the fact that neither he, nor any of his friends,had ever heard
of Ursa Major.You now have a whole new generation of converts here in
New Zealand Mr Wagner. Wait till I loan him "Rock & Roll Animal" & he
hears "Intro/Sweet Jane".Sometimes being over 50 can be very satisfying.

Great music. Converted my old obsolete vinyl Albums to CD with this purchase and then downloaded into my MP3 player. Listen to all the oldies driving to and from work. It brings me back to College days listening to the tunes I grew up on.

The vocals are very derivative from Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad, but the major difference here is that the lyrics are more intelligent (no offense to Grand Funk as I dig their music too!). My favorites are the closers: 'Lay Me Down' and 'Liberty and Justice'. The guitars are heavy but with a good sense of melody. What a phenomenal batch of tunes! 'Lay Me Down' should have been all over the radio!!