Canned Heat – The New Age (1973)

The New Age is the ninth studio album by Canned Heat, released in 1973. It was the first album to feature the talents of James Shane and Ed Beyer. Clara Ward also appears on the album in her very last recording. Influential Rock Critic Lester Bangs was fired from Rolling Stone for writing a “disrespectful” review of this album upon its release:

Hey, kids and bluesbusterbrowns of all ages, guess who’s back? No, not the Plaster Casters Blues Band – it’s Canned Heat! The originators of Boogie in the flesh! And it sure is refreshing to see ’em too, what with all these jive-ass MOR pseud-dudes like John Lee Hooker ripping off their great primal riffs and milking ’em dry.
How did we love Canned Heat? Let’s count the ways. We loved ’em because they scooped out a whole new wrinkle in the monotone mazurka; it wasn’t their fault that a whole generation of ten zillion bands took it and ran it into the ground sans finesse after Canned Heat had run it into the ground so damned good themselves. We loved ’em because they’ve always held the record for Longest Single Boogie Preserved on Wax: “Refried Boogie” from Livin’ The Blues was 40-plus minutes of real raunch froth perfect for parties or car stereos, especially if they got ripped off – and a lot of it was even actually listenable. We loved ’em because Henry Vestine was an incredible, scorching motherfucker of a guitarist, knocking you through the wall. And we loved ’em because Bobby Bear was so damned weird you could abide his every excess.

But Canned Heat disappeared from the sets for awhile there, just sorta flapped up and boogied into the zone and what was really sad was that nobody missed ’em. Even though they were always real fine journeymen, they never made a wholly and entirely good album, of course, but they’ve consistently had their moments. And The New Age, which of course is no new age at all, has just as many of ’em as any of the others. There’s “Keep It Clean”, a happy highho funk churn like unto their cover of Wilbert Harrison’s “Let’s Work Together”, which means it could very well be hitbound. There’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”, Bear Hite’s obligattortilla in deference to the traditions, his utter lack of imagination, and all that. He’s been listening to some old New Orleans R&B this time, so it’s OK even if he does still sing like a scalped guppy.

“Framed” is just a reprise in new drag of their classic about being busted in Denver that was on Boogie with Canned Heat, and that was just a new-drag on old Bo Diddley and “Jailbait” riffs. “Election Blues” is the required slow blues chest retch. “So Long Wrong” is one more low down blackboned gutgrok funk-lurking album-closer boogie just like lotsa their other yester highlights. Vestine still knows how to play so’s to make you feel like ringworms are St. Vitusing in your heartburn, and Hite scrapes your intestines widdat bass good as Mole Taylor ever did. “Lookin for My Rainbow” even has Clara Ward and her jive bombers just for a tintype taste of authenticity, but it’s boring as old View Master slides and most of the rest of the songs are just some kinda nondescript clinkletybonk tibia-rattling in pursuit of yeehah countryisms so let ’em dry rot in the grooves.
Buy this album if you’ve gotta lotta money or don’t care much what you blow your wad on, but don’t pass up any of the really cosmic stuff like the Stooges for it or the shadow of Blind Lemon Jefferson will come and blow his nose on your brow every night. (Lester Bangs – Rolling Stone # 136)

Bob Hite proved fat was really where it’s at for good rocking white men who play blooze’n’boogie. Okay, all that bulk killed him in the end, but the output of Bob and the varied Canned Heat line-ups, particularly through 1966 to 1974, proved even more substantial than The Bear’s waistline.

New Age was a pretty ironic title even on its release in 1973. Don’t be fooled, even though this is a pretty mellow album by Heat standards, it’s not lift music for stressed-out executives.

Even if the Great White Blues Boom had already disappeared up its own bottleneck, New Age’s roots are very much 12-bar, though most of the tracks are self-penned and confident enough not to be imitative of the Chicago style that originally brought Canned Heat both fame and infamy.

Instead, New Age is framed by the opening whip-crack pace of “Keep It Clean”, and ends with “Election Blues”, all slide and bar-room keyboards. The former is a song of hope that Richard Nixon would get thrown out of power, the latter a bitterly laidback post-election blues. The boys knew then the New Age wasn’t gonna come, but even big Bob didn’t know just how bad it would get. (by Randy Bones)

Personnel:
Ed Beyer (piano)
Bob Hite (vocals)
Richard Hite (bass)
Adolfo de la Parra (drums)
James Shane (guitar)
Henry Vestine (guitar)
+
Clara Ward (vocals on 05.)

Tracklist:
01. Keep It Clean (B,Hite) 2.46
02. Harley Davidson Blues (Shane) 2.38
03. Don’t Deceive Me (B.Hite) 3.12
04. You Can Run, But You Sure Can’t Hide (Beyer) 3.15
05. Lookin’ For My Rainbow (Shane) 5.24
06. Rock And Roll Music (B.Hite) 2.29
07. Framed (Leiber/Stoller) 5.07
08. Election Blues (Beyer) 6.04
09. So Long Wrong (Shane) 5.36

*
**

 

 

Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe – My Fair Lady (OST (1964)

My Fair Lady is a 1964 American musical film adapted from the Lerner and Loewe eponymous stage musical based on the 1913 stage play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. With a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner and directed by George Cukor, the film depicts a poor Cockney flower seller named Eliza Doolittle who overhears an arrogant phonetics professor, Henry Higgins, as he casually wagers that he could teach her to speak “proper” English, thereby making her presentable in the high society of Edwardian London.

The film stars Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison as Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins respectively, with Stanley Holloway, Gladys Cooper and Wilfrid Hyde-White in supporting roles. A critical and commercial success, it won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. In 1998, the American Film Institute named it the 91st greatest American film of all time.

In Edwardian London, Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison), a scholar of phonetics, believes that the accent and tone of one’s voice determines a person’s prospects in society. In Covent Garden one evening, he boasts to a new acquaintance, Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White), himself an expert in phonetics, that he could teach any person to speak in a way that he could pass them off as a duke or duchess at an embassy ball. Higgins selects as an example a young flower seller, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn), who has a strong Cockney accent. Eliza’s ambition is to work in a flower shop, but her thick accent makes her unsuitable. Having come from India to meet Higgins, Pickering is invited to stay with the professor. The following morning, Eliza shows up at Higgins’ home, seeking lessons. Pickering is intrigued and offers to cover all expenses if the experiment should be successful.

Eliza’s father, Alfred P. Doolittle (Stanley Holloway), a dustman, shows up three days later, ostensibly to protect his daughter’s virtue, but in reality simply to extract some money from Higgins, and is bought off with £5. Higgins is impressed by the man’s honesty, his natural gift for language, and especially his brazen lack of morals. Higgins recommends Alfred to a wealthy American who is interested in morality. Eliza goes through many forms of speech training, such as speaking with marbles in her mouth, enduring Higgins’ harsh approach to teaching and his treatment of her personally. She makes little progress, but just as she, Higgins, and Pickering are about to give up, Eliza finally “gets it”; she instantly begins to speak with an impeccable upper class accent.

As a test, Higgins takes her to Ascot Racecourse, where she makes a good impression initially, only to shock everyone by a sudden lapse into vulgar Cockney while cheering on a horse. Higgins, who dislikes the pretentiousness of the upper class, partly conceals a grin behind his hand. Eliza poses as a mysterious lady at an embassy ball and even dances with a foreign prince. At the ball is Zoltan Karpathy (Theodore Bikel), a Hungarian phonetics expert trained by Higgins. After a brief conversation with Eliza, he certifies that she is not only Hungarian, but of royal blood, declaring her to be a Princess.

After all the effort she has put in, however, Eliza’s actions aren’t even acknowledged; all the praise going to Higgins. This, and his callous treatment towards her afterwards, especially his indifference to her future, causes her to throw Higgins’ slippers at him, and to walk out on him, leaving him mystified by her ingratitude. Accompanied by Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Jeremy Brett), a young man she met at Ascot and who is charmed by her, Eliza returns to her old life, but finds that she no longer fits in. She meets her father, who has been left a large fortune by the wealthy American to whom Higgins had recommended him, and is resigned to marrying Eliza’s stepmother. Alfred feels that Higgins has ruined him, since he is now bound by morals and responsibility. Eventually, Eliza ends up visiting Higgins’ mother (Gladys Cooper), who is enraged at her son’s behaviour.

The next day, Higgins finds Eliza gone and searches for her, eventually finding her at his mother’s house. Higgins attempts to talk Eliza into coming back to him. He becomes angered when Eliza announces that she is going to marry Freddy and become Karpathy’s assistant. He makes his way home, stubbornly predicting that she will come crawling back. However, he comes to the realization that he has “grown accustomed to her face.” Henry returns to his study to lament his loneliness. As he listens to Eliza’s recorded voice, she reappears in the doorway behind him, turning off the recording and saying in her old Cockney accent, “I washed my hands and face before I come I did.” Higgins looks surprised then pleased before asking for his slippers once more as Eliza smiles on behind him, leaving the audience to decide what happens next. (by wikipedia)

My Fair Lady is–deservedly–one of the most famous musicals of all time. Its popular 1964 film version, directed by George Cukor, has ensured that for most people Audrey Hepburn is Eliza Doolittle, while Broadway-heads swear by Julie Andrews’s stage performance, immortalized on the 1956 cast album. Of course, for the purposes of a CD review it’s more accurate to compare the performances of Andrews and Marni Nixon, who sang the songs lip-synched by Hepburn in the movie. While Andrews usually comes out on top (especially on “I Could Have Danced All Night”), Nixon is no slouch (after all, she also dubbed Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Deborah Kerr in The King & I). Rex Harrison, of course, does his own vocals, but then he doesn’t so much sing his songs as talk them. While Nixon and Harrison are tops, the truth is that Lerner and Loewe’s songs are so good as to endure almost anybody’s interpretation: “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly,” “With a Little Bit of Luck,” “On the Street Where You Live,” “Get Me to the Church on Time,” and so on–not many shows can boast as many classics. The movie version’s real bonus is Andre Previn’s swellegant orchestration. (by Elisabeth Vincentell)

And I add a large collection of lobby cards from this classic movie. Thanks to legendsofsfandfantasyart.blogspot

Personnel:
Rex Harrison ( Professor Henry Higgins)
Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Doolittle)
Stanley Holloway (Alfred P. Doolittle)
Marni Nixon )as Eliza’s singing voice)
Bill Shirley (for Jeremy Brett) (Freddy Eynsford-Hill )
Wilfrid Hyde-White (Colonel Hugh Pickering)
+
The Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra conducted by André Previn

 

Tracklist:
01. Overture 3.27
02. Why Can’t The English Learn To Speak? (Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Wilfrid Hyde-White)
03. Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? (Marni Nixon (for Hepburn))
04. I’m An Ordinary Man (Harrison)
05. With A Little Bit Of Luck (Stanley Holloway)
06. Just You Wait (Hepburn, Nixon)
07. The Rain In Spain (Harrison, Hepburn, Nixon, Wilfrid Hyde-White)
08. I Could Have Danced All Night (Nixon)
09. Ascot Gavotte
10. On The Street Where You Live (Bill Shirley (for Jeremy Brett))
11. You Did It (Harrison, Hyde-White) (without the choir “Congratulations”)
12. Show Me (Nixon, Shirley)
13. Get Me To The Church On Time (Holloway)
14. A Hymn To Him (Why Can’t A Woman Be More Like A Man?) (Harrison, Hyde-White)
15. Without You (Nixon, Harrison)
16. I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face (Harrison) 4.53

Music and lyrics: Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe

*
**

Steve Winwood – Live At The Telluride Festival (2014)

No, Steve Winwood isn´t a blues grass artists, but he appears at the legendary Telluride Festival in

Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy.

When you hear the name Steve Winwood, where do you go? Back to Blind Faith? On the Arc of A Diver? Do you play Traffic in your head? Or do you think about the kid who was the driving force of the Spencer Davis Group? Wherever Steve Winwood’s impressive output takes you, it’s pure gold. Creatively restless and curious, the hallmark of Steve’s musical journey has been one of exploration and testing boundaries. The albums he’s made with Blind Faith and Traffic set him apart as a musician who reaches out to other, equally adventurous souls – Ginger Baker, Eric Clapton, Rick Grech, Dave Mason, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood – to make records that remain as fresh and exciting as the first time you dropped the needle in the groove. Then as now, there’ve been no other recordings quite like John Barleycorn Must Die, or Blind Faith’s sole eponymous record. Musical conventions of the day were challenged by the sheer audacity of their compositions, range of influences, and stellar musicianship. What remains are classic records that reside in every serious listener’s collection.

His solo records unleashed the Grammy tide – in the late 70s and 1980s, his melodic songs were radio staples and a career that at that time was already 20 years on, exploded. A wickedly talented multi-instrumentalist, Steve might be best known for his distinctive Hammond organ sound, a sound he has lent to Jimi Hendrix on “Voodoo Chile,” and as recently as on Miranda Lambert’s hit, “Baggage Claim.” You hear it and just know it’s Mr. Winwood.

In Steve Winwood’s music there is a vast range of influences and styles. He’s explored Delta blues, English folk, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and melds them into his own inventive songs. Chances are, you know the words to all of them. We’re honored to have Steve Winwood play for you. (Festival announcement for 2018)

Steve Winwood, showing no signs of age or wear on his beautiful voice, closed the second day with an awesome set of rock and roll that touched on songs from his careers with Blind Faith, Traffic, the Spencer Davis Group, and his solo career. One highlight was the blistering take on “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” that jammed into “Empty Pages.” Winwood alternated between organ and guitar, playing a blistering solo on the latter during “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” and even picked up a mandolin for a soulful take on “Back in the High Life.” (Reviews from the 2014 concert at the Telluride Festival by Candace Horgan)

What another great concert by Steve Winwood, including rare live performances of “Rainmaker” and “Medicated Goo” …

Recorded live at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Telluride, CO; June 20, 2014. Very good to excellent web stream.

José Neto

Personnel:
Richard Bailey (drums)
Paul Booth (saxophone, flute, keyboards, vocals, irish whistle)
Cafe DeSilva (percussion)
José Neto (guitar)
Steve Winwood (organ, mandolin, electric guitar, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Introduction 2.27
02. Rainmaker (Winwood/Capaldi) 6.28 (*)
03. I’m A Man (Winwood/Miller) 6.02
04. Fly (Winwood/Godwin/Neto) 8.45
05. Can’t Find My Way Home (Winwood) 6.29
06. Medicated Goo (Winwood/Miller) 5.18
07. The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Winwood/Capaldi) 7.46
08. Empty Pages (Winwood/Capaldi)  5.49
09. Light Up or Leave Me Alone (Capaldi) 16.24
10. Band introductions 0.49
11. Dear Mr Fantasy (Winwood/Capaldi/Wood) 8.55
12. Back In The High Life Again (Winwood/Jennings) 8.51
13. Gimme Some Lovin’(S.Winwood/M.Winwood/Davis) 6.09
14. Closing Radio Banter 1.09

(*) “During Rainmaker, there were some slight chirp sounds and the volume fluctuated during stream.”

*
**

The festival area in Telluride

Tarantula AD – Book Of Sand (2005)

A’right; first things first: The album cover for New York trio Tarantula A.D.’s Book of Sand is one of the worst in recent history. While it’s no secret to anyone who has heard their comp tracks and E.P. that the band has serious art/music-school pretentiousness woven tightly into its sound, the cover is just plain silly, bordering on laughable. And then there’s the music. For those unaware, Tarantula A.D. are an instrumental unit. They play everything from violins and cellos (Danny Bensi), to electric guitars and basses (Saunder Jurrians), to drums, glockenspiels, pianos, and weird percussion instruments (Greg Rogove). Book of Sand is one outrageous recording. It opens with the first of a three-part suite (“The Century Trilogy, Part One: Conquest”) that winds throughout the album. Bensi’s violin enters the fray slowly and deliberately, playing a flamenco figure as Rogove slithers in on tom toms before Jurrians’ electric guitar crashes in with the first of many crescendos.

It’s bombastic, metallic, and to be honest, quite convincing. This is art rock with a capital “R.” The band uses classical themes, flamenco sketches, folk music from around the globe, prog rock, Dirty Three-like interludes, and Debussy-esque preludes, all of them encased and wrapped in heavy metal. And while this sounds like a recipe for disaster, it works so well you have to wonder why no one’s really done it this way before. There are vocals on the album; they come from Sierra Casady (CocoRosie) on “Sealake,” and “Empire”; from Alexander and Damon McMahon (of Inouk) on the first part of another suite called “Who Took Berlin,” and from the ubiquitous Devendra Banhart on “The Century Trilogy Part III: The Fall.”

It’s a tightly conceived mess that gets more expansive as it goes; there are refined dynamics that whisper and float before exploding into one’s ears, and gorgeous passages of detailed beauty juxtaposed against bone-crunching mayhem. The tension written into these pieces is sublime, and the sheer abandon with which this music is played is not only admirable; it’s remarkable. Fans of the Dirty Three and Hungry Ghosts will (though Tarantula A.D. sounds nothing like either of them) will find a common reference point, though fans of lo-fi indie rock will, most likely, find Book of Sand an utterly horrifying concept. Either way, it’s a recording that stands on its own as original, iconoclastic, and brave. (The import version of the record comes with a hidden bonus track entitled “If You Deny Me I’ll Be Lost,” which was kept off domestic releases because it may offend some religious sensibilities. It is available for free as a download form the band’s website.) (by Thom Jurek)

Personnel:
Danny Bensi (violin, cello)
Saunder Jurrians (guitar, bass)
Greg Rogove (drums, percussion, glockenspiel, piano)
+
Devendra Banhart (guitar on 06.)
Sierra Casady (vocals on 04. + 05.)
Alexander McMahon (keyboards on 02.)
Damon McMahon (guitar on 02.)

Tracklist:
01. The Century Trilogy I: Conquest 6.35
02. Who Took Berlin (Part I) 5.11
03. Who Took Berlin (Part II) 3.32
04. Sealake 3.36
05. The Century Trilogy II: Empire 6.30
06. Prelude To The Fall 3.30
07. The Lost Waltz 6-05
08. Riverpond 2.03
09. Palo Borracho 5.47
10. The Century Trilogy III: The Fall 9.41

Music written by Danny Bensi – Saunder Jurrians – Greg Rogove

*
**

Clannad – Dulaman (1976)

It doesn’t matter whether you’re an American or from the British Isles. This music brings simple Irish music to the ears of Americans. Dulaman- The title track, fun to listen to.
Cumha Eoghain Rua Ui Neil- Lovely harp instrumental track, very poignant also.
The Two Sisters- A humorous story about a sibling rivaly. I like it better than Loreena McKennitt’s version because this version sounds more traditional and Irish. It also, like the other tracks, has very lovely whistle and flute music.

Eirigh Suas A Stoirin- The beginning is a little out of tune, but the rest of the song is very moving and touching. Another very poignant version is found on Maire’s album “Mysty Eyed Adventures”.
The Galtee Hunt- I love this lovely track. The cheerful beat and soothing whistle music expresses the Irish pride and dignity.

Rise and Dress Yourself(long Gaelic title)- Much of this song is instrumental, but the Gaelic words tell a love story, just like many of the other songs. It’s very energetic with a good use of harp, guitar, mandolin, and flute.

Siuil A Run- The most touching song of all, this song expresses the woe of having a loved one out at war, while desiring to have your love by your side. Most of the song is in English, but the Gaelic verse speaks for itself. I highly recomend checking out another version on the Chieftains album “Tears of Stone”, performed by singer Sissel.
Mo Mhaire- This song often reminds me of Maire!

dTigeas A Damhsa- A very short, but simple a capella.
Cucandy/The Jug of Brown Ale- Two jigs that give a final great expression of Irish spirit.
This early Clannad album may sound different from their albums nowadays, but it does well in expressing the Irish voice and spirit. I hope they continue performing traditional songs that show what Ireland’s music is all about. (by Callieon)

Personnel:
Máire Ní Bhraonáin (harp, vocals)
Ciarán O Braonáin (bassm guitar, mandolin, piano)
Pól Ó Braonáin (flute, whistle, guitar, percussion, vocals)
Noel Ó Dúgain (guitar, vocals)
Pádraig Ó Dúgain (mandola, guitar, vocals)
+
Nicky Ryan (vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Dúlamán 4.34
02. Cumha Eoghain Rua Ví Néill 4.09
03 Two Sisters 4.13
04 Éirigh Suas A Stóirín 5.14
05 The Galtee Hunt 3.09
06 Éirigh Is Cuir Ort Do Chuid Éadaigh Cóiríu 4.12
07 Siúil A Rún 5.50
08 Mo Mháire 2.43
09 DTigeas A Damhsa 1.26
10. Cucanandy / The Jug Of Brown Ale 3.13

Written-By – Traditional

*
**

 

Swinging Blue Jeans – Blue Jeans à Swinging (1964)

Blue Jeans a’Swinging is the first UK studio album by British Merseybeat band the Swinging Blue Jeans, released in November 1964 on HMV.

The Swinging Blue Jeans were near the top of Liverpool’s rock & roll bands, although Americans who’ve only heard their pile-driver-textured Top 30 version of “Hippy Hippy Shake” (utterly unrepresentative of their sound or range) might wonder at that statement. This album provides the evidence — ironically, with a little better choice of material, it would rate very close behind the With the Beatles LP as a fresh and brilliant piece of music-making, and even as it stands, it’s not too far behind. In order to fully appreciate Blue Jeans a’ Swinging, you have to put yourself back in 1964. Liverpool and the rest of the north are filled with acts that can thump away hard, or harmonize pleasingly, but only a handful that can do both, and even fewer that can do both well, and most of those, apart from the Beatles, can’t decide if they want to be the Everly Brothers or Chuck Berry. The Beatles knew that with a little care, they could be both — and based on the evidence on this album, the Swinging Blue Jeans were of the same mind and had the talent to pull it off.

Blue Jeans a’ Swinging features punchy, crunchy rhythm guitar, jangling lead guitar, some pretty raw singing by all four bandmembers alternating with decent harmonizing. There are also a few offbeat song choices, starting with the opening track, “Ol’ Man Mose.” Their cover of “Save the Last Dance for Me” is a credible rendition of a contemporary Drifters hit, and their versions of “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” and “Long Tall Sally” are solid pieces of rock & roll. Their Buddy Holly-like versions of the Hank Marvin-Bruce Welch songs “That’s the Way It Goes” and “Don’t It Make You Feel Good” have enough hooks that either could’ve been a single and a hit; the ballad “All I Want Is You,” dominated by the quartet’s harmony vocals, sounding even more like Holly.

The band reaches back further than the Shadows, covering, “It’s All Over Now,” an offbeat lament written by Wally Whyton of the Vipers Skiffle Group-this is their “Ringo Starr number, ” slightly goofy, with a vague country-ish tint. Even the one original here, a group composition called “It So Right,” is a good rock & roll number with acceptably clever wordplay. Only their version of the Boudleaux Bryant “Some Sweet Day” seems flaccid and second-rate. That flaw aside, this is one of the best rock & roll albums of its era to come out of Liverpool. (by Bruce Eder)

Many songs are from the innocent side of the early Beat music (like “Save The Last Dance For Me”)  … but on this album you can some real hightlights from this period of music like “TuttiFrutti”, a great version of “Around And Around” by Chuck Berry and of course “Long Tall Sally” … one of the est versions ever recorded …

Oh … let´s have some fun tonight …

Personnel:
Les Braid (bass, keyboards)
Ray Ennis (lead guitar, vocals)
Ralph Ellis (guitar)
Norman Kuhlke (drums)

Tracklist:
01. Ol’Man Mose (Armstrong/Randolph) 3.07
02. Save The Last Dance For Me (Pomus/Shuman) 2.53
03. That’s The Way It Goes (Marvin/Welch) 2.38
04. Around And Around (Berry) 2.09
05. It’s All Over Now (B.Womack/S.Womack) 1.58
06. Long Tall Sally (Johnson/Blackwell/Penniman) 1.45
07. Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price) 1.42
08. Some Sweet Day (F.Bryant/B.Bryant) 2.07
09. It’s So Right (Braid/Kuhlke/Ellis/Ennis) 1.58
10. Don’t It Make You Feel Good (Welch/Marvin) 1.42
11. All I Want Is You (Ireland/Chilton) 2.11
12. Tutti Frutti (LaBostrie/Lubin/Penniman) 1.58

*
**

They say the joint was rocking
Going round and round
Yeah reeling and a rocking
What a crazy sound
Well they never stop a rocking
Until the moon went down

Oh it sound so sweet
Gotta take me a chance
Rose out of my seat
Just had to dance
Started moving ma feet
Well and clapping my hands

Well the joint started rocking
Going round and round
Yeah reeling and a rocking
What a crazy sound
Well they never stoped rocking
Until the moon went down

Twelve o’clock
Well the place was packed
Front doors was locked
Well the place was packed
When the police knocked
Both doors flew back

Well they kept on rocking
Going round and round
Yeah reeling and a rocking
What a crazy sound
Well you never stop rocking
Until the moon went down

The Swinging Blue Jeans, live in 2013 !!!

Grateful Dead – Anthem Of The Sun (1968)

Anthem of the Sun is the second album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Released in 1968, it is the first album to feature second drummer Mickey Hart, who joined the band in September 1967. In 2003, the album was ranked number 287 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The mix of the album combines multiple studio and live recordings of each song. The result is an experimental amalgam that is neither a studio album nor a live album, but both at the same time (though it is usually classified as a studio album).

Drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s description of the production process describes the listening experience of the album as well: “…Jerry [Garcia] and Phil [Lesh] went into the studio with [Dan] Healy and, like mad scientists, they started splicing all the versions together, creating hybrids that contained the studio tracks and various live parts, stitched together from different shows, all in the same song — one rendition would dissolve into another and sometimes they were even stacked on top of each other… It was easily our most experimental record, it was groundbreaking in its time, and it remains a psychedelic listening experience to this day.” (by wikipedia)

As the second long-player by the Grateful Dead, Anthem of the Sun (1968) pushed the limits of both the music as well as the medium. General dissatisfaction with their self-titled debut necessitated the search for a methodology to seamlessly juxtapose the more inspired segments of their live performances with the necessary conventions of a single LP. Since issuing their first album, the Dead welcomed lyricist Robert Hunter into the fold — freeing the performing members to focus on the execution and taking the music to the next level. Another addition was second percussionist Mickey Hart, whose methodical timekeeping would become a staple in the Dead’s ability to stop on the proverbial rhythmic dime. Likewise, Tom Constanten (keyboards) added an avant-garde twist to the proceedings with various sonic enhancements that were more akin to John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen than anything else coming from the burgeoning Bay Area music scene.

Their extended family also began to incorporate folks like Dan Healy — whose non-musical contributions and innovations ranged from concert PA amplification to meeting the technical challenges that the band presented off the road as well. On this record Healy’s involvement cannot be overstated, as the band were essentially given carte blanche and simultaneous on-the-job training with regards to the ins and outs of the still unfamiliar recording process. The idea to create an aural pastiche from numerous sources — often running simultaneously — was a radical concept that allowed consumers worldwide to experience a simulated Dead performance firsthand. One significant pattern which began developing saw the band continuing to re

fine the same material that they were concurrently playing live night after night prior to entering the studio.

The extended “That’s It for the Other One” suite is nothing short of a psychedelic roller coaster. The wild ride weaves what begins as a typical song into several divergent performances — taken from tapes of live shows — ultimately returning to the home base upon occasion, presumably as a built-in reality check. Lyrically, Bob Weir (guitar/vocals) includes references to their 1967 pot bust (“…the heat came ’round and busted me for smiling on a cloudy day”) as well as the band’s spiritual figurehead Neal Cassidy (“…there was Cowboy Neal at the wheel on a bus to never ever land”). Although this version smokes from tip to smouldering tail, the piece truly developed a persona all its own and became a rip-roaring monster in concert. The tracks “New Potato Caboose” and Weir’s admittedly autobiographically titled “Born Cross-Eyed” are fascinatingly intricate side trips that had developed organically during the extended work’s on-stage performance life. “Alligator” is a no-nonsense Ron “Pigpen” McKernan workout that motors the second extended sonic collage on Anthem of the Sun. His straight-ahead driving blues ethos careens headlong into the Dead’s innate improvisational psychedelia. The results are uniformly brilliant as the band thrash and churn behind his rock-solid lead vocals. Musically, the Dead’s instrumental excursions wind in and out of the primary theme, ultimately ending up in the equally frenetic “Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks).” Although the uninitiated might find the album unnervingly difficult to follow, it obliterated the pretension of the post-Sgt. Pepper’s “concept album” while reinventing the musical parameters of the 12″ LP medium. (by Lindsay Planer)

Personnel:
Tom Constanten (piano, electronic tape)
Jerry Garcia (guitar, kazoo, vibraslap, vocals)
Mickey Hart – drums, orchestra bells, gong, chimes, crotales, piano)
Bill Kreutzmann (drums, glockenspiel, percussion)
Phil Lesh (bass, trumpet, harpsichord, kazoo, piano, timpani, vocals)
Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (organs, celesta, claves, vocals)
Bob Weir (guitar, kazoo, vocals)

Tracklist:
01. That’s It For The Other  7.57:
01.1. Cryptical Envelopment (Garcia)
01.2. Quadlibet for Tenderfeet (Garcia/Kreutzmann/Lesh/McKernan/Weir)
01.3. The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get (Kreutzmann/Weir)
01.4. We Leave the Castle (Constanten)
02. New Potato Caboose (Lesh/Petersen) 8.26
03. Born Cross-Eyed (Weir) 2.04
04. Alligator (Lesh/McKernan/Hunter) 11.20
05. Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) (Garcia/Kreutzmann/Lesh/McKernan/Weir) 9.37
+
06. Alligator (live) (Lesh/McKernan/Hunter) 18.43
07. Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) (live) (Garcia/Kreutzmann/Lesh/McKernan/Weir)  11.38
08. Feedback (live) (Constanten/Garcia/Hart/Kreutzmann/Lesh/McKernan/Weir) 6.58
09. Born Cross-Eyed (single version) (Weir) 2.55

06 – 08.: recorded August 23, 1968

*
**

Status Quo – Quo (1974)

Quo is the seventh studio album by Status Quo from 1974. Featuring Francis Rossi, Richard Parfitt, Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan. Like the previous album Hello!, it consisted entirely of songs written or co-written by the group. The only guest musicians featured were Bob Young and Tom Parker, who played harmonica and piano respectively on “Break the Rules”.

Despite the band believing the album’s opening track, “Backwater”, was the most suitable candidate for release as a single, the only track to actually be released as a single was “Break the Rules”, in April 1974, and it peaked in the UK at #8.

The album itself was released in May the same year. Its highest position was #2. In retrospect this album is regarded as one of their heaviest, possibly due to the influence of bassist Alan Lancaster, who is credited with co-writing six of the eight tracks.

The UK LP contained a gatefold insert with a picture of the band playing live on one side, backed with the lyrics on the other. (by wikipedia)

By spring 1974 and the release of Status Quo’s seventh album, the band was already regarded as among the most reliable institutions in British rock, denim-clad purveyors of a rocking, rolling boogie beat that never knew when to quit. And, when “Break the Rules” peeled off the still unreleased LP to give the group its fourth Top 20 hit in little more than a year, it was clear that Quo would be business as usual. Eight tracks followed the now standard format for a new Quo album, a neat division between the two sets of songwriters (Rossi/Young, Parfitt/Lancaster), a final track that went on forever, and — best of all — a couple of intros that sounded nothing at all like Status Quo. Only the intros, though, and it quickly become one of the best games of the age, trying to predict how long it would last before the bandmembers ripped off their disguises and unleashed the boogie.

“Backwater” keeps the mask on for one minute and eight seconds, but it’s a hallmark of Status Quo’s genius that, all these years later, it can still keep you guessing. “Just Take Me,” too, packs more than its fair share of surprises, rolling in on a drum solo that itself grows out of “Backwater”‘s back end. And if “Break the Rules” contrarily doesn’t break a single one, that’s probably just as well; there have been enough shocks already. Elsewhere, Quo indeed settles down to the status quo, with even the ballad “Lonely Man” holding onto the spirit of the band’s earliest boogie excursions (“In My Chair” and “Gerdundula” spring to mind). The pièce de résistance, however, is the closing “Slow Train,” an eight-minute epic that confusingly drives like an express, then collides with a Gaelic jig. The Chieftains would do such things a lot better — but Status Quo did it louder. (by Dave Thompson)

Personnel:
John Coghlan (drums)
Alan Lancaster (bass, vocals)
Rick Parfitt (guitar, vocals)
Francis Rossi (guitar, vocals)
+
Tom Parker (keyboards)
Bob Young (harmonica)

Tracklist:
01. Backwater (Parfitt/Lancaster) 4.23
02. Just Take Me (Parfitt/Lancaster) 3.32
03. Break The Rules (Rossi/Parfitt/Lancaster/Coghlan/Young) 3,38
04. Drifting Away (Parfitt/Lancaster) 5.00
05. Don’t Think It Matters (Parfitt/Lancaster) 4.49
06. Fine Fine Fine (Rossi/Young) 2.32
07. Lonely Man (Parfitt/Lancaster) 5.05
08. Slow Train (Rossi/Young) 7.56

*
**

 

Nathan Milstein & The Philharmonia Orchestra – Concerto In E Minor + Concerto No.1 In G Minor (1961)

Nathan Mironovich Milstein (January 13, 1904 [O.S. December 31, 1903] – December 21, 1992) was a Russian Empire-born American virtuoso violinist.

Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach’s solo violin works and for works from the Romantic period. He was also known for his long career: he performed at a high level into his mid 80s, retiring only after suffering a broken hand.

Milstein was born in Odessa, then part of the Russian Empire (now in Ukraine), the fourth child of seven, to a middle-class Jewish family with virtually no musical background. It was a concert by the 11-year-old Jascha Heifetz that inspired his parents to make a violinist out of Milstein. As a child of seven, he started violin studies (as suggested by his parents, to keep him out of mischief) with the eminent violin pedagogue Pyotr Stolyarsky, also the teacher of renowned violinist David Oistrakh.

When Milstein was 11, Leopold Auer invited him to become one of his students at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Milstein reminisced:

Every little boy who had the dream of playing better than the other boy wanted to go to Auer. He was a very gifted man and a good teacher. I used to go to the Conservatory twice a week for classes. I played every lesson with forty or fifty people sitting and listening. Two pianos were in the classroom and a pianist accompanied us. When Auer was sick, he would ask me to come to his home.

Milstein may in fact have been the last of the great Russian violinists to have had personal contact with Auer. Auer did not name Milstein in his memoirs but mentions “two boys from Odessa … both of whom disappeared after I left St. Petersburg in June 1917.”[2] Neither is Milstein’s name in the registry of the St Petersburg Conservatory.

Milstein also studied with Eugène Ysaÿe in Belgium. He told film-maker Christopher Nupen, director of Nathan Milstein – In Portrait, that he learned almost nothing from Ysaÿe but enjoyed his company enormously. In a 1977 interview printed in High Fidelity, he said, “I went to Ysaÿe in 1926 but he never paid any attention to me. I think it might have been better this way. I had to think for myself.”

Milstein met Vladimir Horowitz and his pianist sister Regina in 1921 when he played a recital in Kiev. They invited him for tea at their parents’ home. Milstein later said, “I came for tea and stayed three years.” Milstein and Horowitz performed together, as “children of the revolution”, throughout the Soviet Union and struck up a lifelong friendship. In 1925, they went on a concert tour of Western Europe together.

He made his American debut in 1929 with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He eventually settled in New York and became an American citizen. He toured repeatedly throughout Europe, maintaining residences in London and Paris.

A transcriber and composer, Milstein arranged many works for violin and wrote his own cadenzas for many concertos. He was obsessed with articulating each note perfectly and would often spend long periods of time working out fingerings which would make passages sound more articulated. One of his best-known compositions is Paganiniana, a set of variations on various themes from the works of Niccolò Paganini.

In 1948, his recording of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, with Bruno Walter conducting the New York Philharmonic, had the distinction of being the first catalogue item in Columbia’s newly introduced long-playing twelve-inch 33 rpm vinyl records, Columbia ML 4001.

He was awarded the Légion d’honneur by France in 1968, and received a Grammy Award for his recording of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas in 1975. He was also awarded Kennedy Center honors by US President Ronald Reagan.

A recital he gave in Stockholm in July 1986 proved to be his final performance. This recital was recorded in its in entirety and shows the remarkable condition of his technique at age 82. A fall shortly afterwards in which he severely broke his left hand ended his career.

After playing many different violins in his earlier days, Milstein finally acquired the 1716 “Goldman” Stradivarius in 1945 which he used for the rest of his life. He renamed this Stradivarius the “Maria Teresa” in honour of his daughter Maria (presently wife of Marchese GiovanAngelo Theodoli-Braschi, Duke of Nemi and Grandee of Spain, descendant from Pope Pius VI) and his wife Therese. He also performed on the 1710 ex-“Dancla” Stradivarius for a short period.

During the late 1980s, Milstein published his memoirs, From Russia to the West, in which he discussed his life of constant performance and socializing. Milstein discusses the personalities of important composers such as Alexander Glazunov, Sergei Prokofiev, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky and conductors such as Arturo Toscanini and Leopold Stokowski, all of whom he knew personally. He also discusses his best friends, pianist Vladimir Horowitz, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and ballet director George Balanchine, as well as other violinists such as Fritz Kreisler and David Oistrakh.

Milstein was married twice, remaining married to his second wife, Therese, until his death. He died of a heart attack in London on December 21, 1992, 23 days before his 89th birthday. Therese died in 1999 aged 83. (by wikipedia)

And here´s one of his legendar recordings: two brilliant violin concertos by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and Max Bruch, both were German composers of classical music.

There are several reasons to listen to this album.  If you are looking for the best recordings of Bruch’s and Mendelssohn and Prokofiev’s 1st concerto, you are on the right track: there are very few versions which can compete with Milstein’s Mendelssohn and Prokofiev, and nobody could match him in Bruch’s G minor concerto. (by Anton Zimmerling)

This is one of my favorite recordings. Any of these classic concertos would make this a treasure, but together they cannot be passed up. Milstein is incomprable; technically perfect. The highlight of the album would definately be the 1st & 2nd movements of the Bruch concerto. Played with such warmth and intensity in the mournful g-minor key. I love it. highly recommended. (by an amazom customer)

Alternate frontcovers

Personnel:
Nathan Milstein (violin)
+
Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Leon Barzin

Tracklist:

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Concerto In E Minor, Op. 64:
01. 1st Movement: Allegro Molto Appassionato 11.26
02. 2nd Movement: Andante 7.49
03. 3rd Movement:: Allegretto Non Troppo: Allegro Molto Vivace 6.27

Max Bruch: Concerto No. 1 In G Minor:
04. 1st Movement: Allegro Moderato 7.52
05. 2nd Movement: Adagio 8.09
06. 3rd Movement: Allegro Energico 6.37

*
**

Amazing Blondel – Same (“Amazing Blondel and a Few Faces”) (1970)

Amazing Blondel are an English acoustic progressive folk band, containing Eddie Baird, John Gladwin, and Terry Wincott. They released a number of LPs for Island Records in the early 1970s. They are sometimes categorised as psychedelic folk or as medieval folk rock, but their music was much more a reinvention of Renaissance music, based around the use of period instruments such as lutes and recorders.

 

John Gladwin (guitar and vocals) and Terrance (Terry) Wincott (guitar and vocals) formed a band called The Dimples along with Stuart Smith (drums) and Johnny Jackson (bass guitar). Signed to the Decca label they recorded a single, the “A” side “Love of a Lifetime” and the “B” side written by John Gladwin titled “My Heart is Tied to You”, disappointingly the record didn’t chart, although more recently the “B” side has become popular on the Northern Soul scene.

Following the break up of The Dimples John and Terry formed a loud “electric” band called Methuselah. However, at some point in Methuselah concerts, the duo would play an acoustic number together: they found that this went down well with the audiences and allowed them to bring out more of the subtlety of their singing and instrumental work. They left Methuselah in 1969 and began working on their own acoustic material.

Initially their material was derived from folk music, in line with many of the other performers of the time. However, they began to develop their own musical idiom, influenced, at one extreme, by the early music revivalists such as David Munrow, and the other extreme, by their childhood memories of the Robin Hood TV series, with its pseudo-mediaeval soundtrack by Elton Hayes.

The band was named after Blondel de Nesle, the musician in the court of Richard I. According to legend, when Richard was held prisoner, Blondel travelled through central Europe, singing at every castle to locate the King and assist his escape. This name for the band was suggested by a chef, Eugene McCoy, who listened to some of their songs and commented: “Oh, very Blondel!” and they began to use that name. They were then advised to add an adjective (in line, for example, with The Incredible String Band) and so they became “Amazing Blondel”.

Their first album The Amazing Blondel (also called “Amazing Blondel and a Few Faces,”) was recorded in 1969 and released by Bell Records. It was directed by session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan. At about this time, Eddie Baird (who had known the other members at school) joined the band. On 19 September 1970 they were one of the bands to play at the first Glastonbury Festival. Following what Baird described as “a disastrous ‘showbiz’ record signing”, Amazing Blondel were introduced, by members of the band Free, to Chris Blackwell of Island Records and Artists. Blackwell signed them up to Island …  (by wikipedia)

This was actually the first Amazing Blondel album, but spent most of the last 25 years of the century as one of the most sought after collector items. While it’s fair to say that the value of the LP was based more on rarity than quality, this is in fact a very good album.

To recap the history up to this point, most members of the band had been in a group called Methuselah, which issued one fairly heavy psychedelic album featuring several strong themes, some of which can be seen infiltrating this somewhat uneven AB debut. About half the tracks owe more to Methuselah while the other half have that Elizabethan flavour for which the group would become better known, if not exactly household names, through the first part of the 1970s.

This juxtaposition of styles in almost alternate order actually works quite well, with Wincott’s more rugged voice on the delightful “Bethel Town Mission” and the somewhat Blood Sweat and Tears influenced “Canaan” contrasting well with Gladwin’s more elfin voice on “Saxon Lady” and “Season of the Year”. It doesn’t hurt that the songwriting and arrangements are already pretty mature, if simultaneously a bit naive. The rousing and raucous closer, “Bastard Love”, produces an unlikely combination of the two styles, resulting in a humour that later would only be perceptible from their live shows.

The weaker tracks hint at Blondel’s occasional tendency to overestimate the elasticity of some of their material, as in “Shepherd’s Song” which is frankly a bore. But on the whole this is a document that is likely to make more than a few faces happy. (by kenethlevine)

Personnel:
John Gladwin (guitar, vocals, bass)
Terrance (Terry) Wincott (guitar, vocals, flute, recorder, harmonium, percussion)
+
Clem Cattini (drums)
Chris Karan (percusion)
Gary Taylor (bass)

Tracklist:
01. Saxon Lady 3.10
02. Bethel Town Mission 3.15
03. Season Of The Year 2.46
04. Canaan 3.50
05. Shepherd’s Song 6.14
06. You Don’t Want My Love 3.59
07. Love Sonnet 4.08
08. Spanish Lace 2.46
09. Minstrel’s Song 5.34
10. Bastard Love 4.10

All sings written by John Gladwin

 

*
**

What a great cover !