Recommendation: Rockfour - The Man Who Saw It All (1994)

He looks pretty happy for someone "who saw it all"...

High school albums.

I'm sure you have those. 

These albums that are the soundtrack of that particular period in your life. They hold a sentimental value but that is not their sole virtue.

In this case, my then-girlfriend-now-wife and I were both enamored with this Israeli psychedelic 60s rock band called Rockfour (רוקפור), and their then, latest album, The Man Who Saw It All (האיש שראה הכל).

It was preceded by a lovely and naive sounding album called Butterfly Net who had beautiful charming tunes, that were perfect for a weekend morning, relaxing with your coffee. There was also something "autumnal" and melancholic in some of the songs and melodies. The Man Who Saw It All took that autumnal feel and expanded on it but it did not neglect the catchiness and charming aspects.   

When "The Man Who Saw It All" came out we were struck by the early pink-floyd-ish psychedelic elements (a notion that was later reinforced by the band doing a version of Arnold Layne) as well as the heavy 60s sound and style. There is no weak song on there and the whole listening experience is magical. Take an evening off, shut yourself from the world, put headphones on (or use your audio system if you can play it loud), dim the lights and sink in.

Following the album's release we went to see them live in small venues a few times and it was great to see the band perform them live. The intimate setting did their songs justice.

To this day we're both in love with that album.

Read more about the band on their Prog Archives page

You can stream their albums on their bandcamp.

Here's my favourite song on the album, a gorgeous piece building up into a trippy climax.

Rockfour - Hole in the Moon (חור בלבנה)