Smoke Rise - The Survival of St. Joan (1971) [2013]

Smoke Rise were an American progressive rock band in 1969-1972. It's members were brothers Hank Ruffin (keyboards), Gary Ruffin (guitar), and Stan Ruffin (drums), and Randy Bugg (bass guitar). In 1970, they created the first American Rock Opera, The Survival of St. Joan, based on a play and a libretto by James Lineberger, and produced by Oscar-winner Stephen Schwartz and Dave Blume. The Buffalo Production of The Survival of St. Joan set box office records in the fall of 1970 at the Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo, NY. The New York Off-Broadway production was staged at the Anderson Theater in the East Village, with Gretchen Corbett (later of "Rockford Files" fame) playing the title role. Another Oscar winner, F. Murray Abraham, was also a member of the cast. The artwork by Doug Jamieson for the cover of the double album (Paramount PAS 9000) was displayed in the New York Museum of Modern Art. To date, their works have not been issued on compact disc, except by Flawed Gems, an unofficial release.