Camel – Mirage (1972)

Mirage is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band Camel, released on March 1, 1974. It features some of their best-known songs,[citation needed] including “The White Rider” and “Lady Fantasy”. It is also a showcase for Andrew Latimer’s flute, notably on “Supertwister”.Mirage is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band Camel, released on March 1, 1974. It features some of their best-known songs, including “The White Rider” and “Lady Fantasy”. It is also a showcase for Andrew Latimer’s flute, notably on “Supertwister”.
There are five tracks on Mirage, two over 9 minutes. Those two are multi-part songs: “Lady Fantasy” and “Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider”, the latter being about The Lord of the Rings. The album was released on Gama Records/Deram Records. Mick Rock shot the inner sleeve photo.
The album was voted no. 51 in the Top 100 Prog albums of All Time by readers of Prog magazine in 2014. (by wikipedia)

“Mirage” pretty much perfected the style of the debut-album with a richer, more varied sound and overall stronger material. Latimer had now also found his flute, and delivered one of Camel’s best flute-based pieces in “Supertwister”. The track also showed that Bardens used el-piano in a far more intelligent and tasty way than most others who used that instrument. But the centrepiece and highlight of the album was still the 12-minute “Lady Fantasy Suite”. A masterful song with lots of breaks, strong riffs and melodies and a very impressive and powerful performance from the whole band. The album also featured another suite in form of the 9-minute “Nimrodel” with lyrics inspired by Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. “Earthrise” was possibly the hardest rocking and most energetic instrumental-number they ever did, and featured some of Bardens’ best playing ever. The opener “Freefall” was also some kind of a hard rocker, but this one had also the same jazzy sound as “Earthrise”, giving it some kind of sophistication. “Mirage” is a great album, and undoubtedly one of Camel’s best. (by vintageprog.com)

In other words: A masterpiece of the great prog-rock era ! And “Lady Fantasy” is a classic composition of this time ….

Personnel:
Peter Bardens (keyboards)
Doug Ferguson (bass, vocals on 05.)
Andrew Latimer (guitar, flute; vocals on 03. + 05.)
Andy Ward (drums, percussion)

Tracklist:
01. Freefall (Bardens) 5.55
02. Supertwister (Bardens) 3.24
03. The White Rider (Latimer) 9.18
03.1 Nimrodel
03.2. The Procession
03.3. White Rider
04. Earthrise (Bardens/Latimer) 6.42
05. Lady Fantasy (Bardens/Latimer/Ward/Ferguson) 12.46
05.1. Encounter
05.2. Smiles For You
05.3. Lady Fantasy”

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Backstreet Crawler – The Band Plays On (1974)

The Band Plays On is the debut album from Back Street Crawler, fronted by ex-Free guitarist Paul Kossoff. Keyboard player Mike Montgomery composed six songs and co-wrote two others on the album, in addition to singing lead vocals on “All the Girls Are Crazy” and “Survivor”. He dueted with Terry Wilson-Slesser on “New York, New York” (a Mike Montgomery original, and not the tune made famous by Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra). Montgomery subsequently left the band and was replaced by John “Rabbit” Bundrick.

The Mike Montgomery songs, “Jason Blue” and “The Band Plays On”, had previously appeared on a self-titled 1973 album by Bloontz, in which Terry Wilson, Mike Montgomery and Tony Braunagel had played together prior to the formation of Back Street Crawler. (by wikipedia)

While Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke left Free for Swan Song/Atlantic’s Bad Company, their ex-bandmate, the late Paul Kossoff, put together another group on Atlantic which sounded like…you guessed it…Bad Company. Terry Wilson-Slesser could easily be mistaken for Rodgers on so much of this album, be it the song “Jason Blue” or “It’s a Long Way to the Top.” This material is terrific sleeper stuff for the ’70s hard rock genre, before Foreigner made that whole world much slicker. Where Lou Gramm could sometimes annoy, Back Street Crawler creates real hard rock art, taking this oh so seriously. The song “Jason Blue” is a powerful potion, one that would fit perfectly on a classic hits station, arguably one of the best tracks here.

It is one of six compositions by Mike Montgomery, the major force on this album. Montgomery co-writes two additional tunes and sings lead on “All the Girls Are Crazy” and “Survivor,” dueting with Terry Wilson-Slesser on “New York, New York” (a Mike Montgomery original, not the tune made famous by Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra). And by the way, how many groups would have two guys named Terry Wilson in their band at the same time anyway? The more you play The Band Plays On, the more it grows on you. It is one of those albums that has enormous depth that can’t be heard on the first spin or two. Sounding so much like Bad Company on the same label was no doubt a drawback — the records showing up in the same section alphabetically at retail bins, their names so closely aligned, the unfortunate big difference for Back Street Crawler was no hit single emerging from this set. Mike Montgomery’s vocal style on the excellent song “Survivor” isn’t as gritty as Terry Slesser, nor as commercial. Slesser would leave after this project to be replaced by John “Rabbit” Bundrick on vocal, who similarly joined Free when they needed his talents to replace members moving on. “It’s a Long Way Down to the Top” could be Bad Company performing “Ready for Love,” down to the riff and the mood, but so many references to that band don’t take away from the fact that this is a solid ’70s blues-rock disc with hooks, top-notch production, and lots to offer. Wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere down the road people started picking up on The Band Plays On, songs like “New York, New York,” “It’s a Long Way Down to the Top,” and “Jason Blue” are ripe for being covered. (by Joe Viglione)

Personnel:
Tony Braunagel (drums)
Paul Kossoff (guitar)
Mike Montgomery (keyboards, vocals)
Terry Wilson (guitar, bass)
Terry Wilson-Slesser (vocals)
+
George Lee (flute, saxophone on 07. + 09.)
Eddie Quansah (trumpet, flugelhorn on 07. + 09.)
Pete Van ((saxophone on 07. + 09.)

Tracklist:
01. Hoo Doo Woman” (Back Street Crawler) 4.17
02. New York, New York (Montgomery) 4.40
03. Stealing My Way (Mike Montgomery/Kossoff) 4.21
04. Survivor Montgomery) 3.35
05. It’s A Long Way Down To The Top Montgomery) 5.58
06. All The Girls Are Crazy Montgomery) 3.33
07. Jason Blue ( Montgomery) 4.57′
08. Train Song (Wilson/Braunagel) 4.36
09. Rock & Roll Junkie (Montgomery) 3.17
10. The Band Plays On (Wilson) 3.17

 

*
**

 

Gregg Allman Band & Cowboy – The Gregg Allman Tour (1974)

Gregg Allman, the singer, musician and songwriter who played an essential role in the invention of Southern rock, has died at the age of 69 of complications from liver cancer. Allman’s rep confirmed to Rolling Stone that the artist died Saturday afternoon.

Allman “passed away peacefully at his home in Savannah, Georgia,” a statement on the singer’s website read Saturday. “Gregg struggled with many health issues over the past several years. During that time, Gregg considered being on the road playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul. Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times.”

“It’s too soon to properly process this,” Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts said in a statement. “I’m so glad I was able to have a couple good talks with him before he passed. In fact I was about to call him to check and see how he was when I got the call. It’s a very sad day.”

Allman’s longtime manager and close friend Michael Lehman added, “I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a brilliant pioneer in music. He was a kind and gentle soul with the best laugh I ever heard. His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans. Gregg was an incredible partner and an even better friend. We will all miss him.”

Although Allman claimed the term was redundant, the singer-keyboardist helped create the first great “Southern-rock” group as co-founder of the legendary Allman Brothers Band alongside his older brother, famed guitarist Duane Allman. The Allmans fused country blues with San Francisco-style extended improvisation, with their sound creating a template for countless subsequent jam bands. Gregg Allman was blessed with one of blues-rock’s great growling voices and, along with his Hammond B-3 organ playing (beholden to Booker T. Jones), had a deep emotional power.

Writing in Rolling Stone, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons said that Allman’s singing and keyboard playing displayed “a dark richness, a soulfulness that added one more color to the Allmans’ rainbow.”

“I’ve tried … Words are impossible. Gui Gui forever. Chooch,” Cher wrote on Twitter. “Rest in peace Greg [sic] Allman peace and love to all the family,” Ringo Starr wrote. The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir added, “Bon Voyage, Brother Gregg, enjoy your next stop…” (by Rolling Stone)

The Gregg Allman Tour is the second album and first live album by Gregg Allman, released in 1974. It was recorded at Carnegie Hall and Capitol Theatre. It peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1974. It was originally released as a double LP.

For this concert, Allman was backed by the band Cowboy, who played two of their own songs. Cowboy was a Capricorn Records label-mate and was Duane Allman’s favorite band. Several of its members had already backed Gregg Allman on his debut album the previous year.

At the beginning of the album, Gregg Allman is introduced by Martin Mull. (by wikipedia)

Gregg Allman’s tour in support of his debut solo LP, Laid Back, led to the recording of this album (originally two LPs) at Carnegie Hall in New York and the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ. It’s a match for Laid Back in musical value and then some, with a good, wide range of repertory and great performances throughout by all concerned, plunging head-first and deep into blues, R&B, honky tonk, and gospel. Strangely enough, the album contains only three of Laid Back’s songs — “Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing” opens the show in a properly spirited, earthy manner, but it’s the second song, “Queen of Hearts,” in a soaring rendition, with gorgeous backing by Annie Sutton, Erin Dickins, and Lynn Rubin, and superb sax work by Randall Bramblett and David Brown, that shows Allman in his glory as a singer and bandleader.

Allman gives a lively, raucous, honky tonk-style rendition of the Elvis Presley hit “I Feel So Bad,” complete with a killer guitar solo by Tommy Talton, and “Turn on Your Lovelight” gets an extended treatment worthy of the Allman Brothers Band. One would expect that, with Chuck Leavell and Jaimoe present in the band, there were be more similarity to the Allmans’ sound, and that they’d be prominently featured, but Tommy Talton and bassist Kenny Tibbetts get more of a spotlight. Several Allman Brothers songs are present here, in more laid-back and lyrical versions, and the Capricorn Records band Cowboy — essentially serving as the core of Allman’s touring band — gets a featured spot with two songs, “Time Will Take Us” and “Where Can You Go,” that leave one wanting to hear a lot more concert material from them, and from Talton as a singer. (by Bruce Eder)

Personnel:

 

The Gregg Allman Band:
Gregg Allman (organ, vocals)
Scott Boyer (guitar)
Randall Bramblett (saxophone)
David Brown (saxophone)
Peter Eklund (trumpet)
Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson (drums, percussion)
Chuck Leavell (piano)
Todd Logan (trumpet)
Bill Stewart (drums)
Ken Tibbets (bass)
Tommy Talton (guitar, slide guitar)
Harold “Bullets” Williams (saxophone)
+
background vocals:
Annie Sutton – Erin Dickins – Lynn RubinCowboy:
Scott Boyer (guitar, Background vocals)
Randall Bramblett (organ, saxophone)
David Brown (bass)
Peter Eklund (trumpet)
Johnny Lee Johnson (drums, percussion)
Chuck Leavell (piano)
Todd Logan (trumpet)
Bill Stewart (drums)
Tommy Talton (vocals, guitar, slide guitar)
Harold “Bullet” Williams (saxophone)
+
Gregg Allman (organ on 06.)

Tracklist:

The Gregg Allman Band:
01. Don’t Mess Up A Good Thing (Sain) 4.33
02. Queen of Hearts (G.Allman) 7.40
03. I Feel So Bad (Willis) 4.44
04. Stand Back (G.Allman/Oakley) 3.30

Cowboy:
05. Time Will Take Us (Talton) 5.30
06. Where Can You Go? (Talton) 8.11

The Gregg Allman Band:
07. Double Cross (G.Allman/Leavell) 4.39
08. Dreams (Gregg Allman) 7.19
09. Are You Lonely For Me Baby (Cousin/Livesey/Price/Regan) 4.21
10. Turn On Your Love Light (Malone/Scott) 10.32
11. Oncoming Traffic (G.Allman, J.B.Allman) 5.44
12. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Traditional) 6.13

*
**

Goodbye Gregg and thanks a lot !
(December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017)
Rest In Peace !

AC/DC – Festival Hall Melbourne (1974)

It was in September 1974 when the legend that was Bon Scott joined the then still wet behind the ears AC/DC, formed the year before by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young in Melbourne, Australia. Over the next five and a half years, Scott fronted the band and, in tandem with the Youngs, established the group as arguably the finest rock act in the world. Bon’s tragic passing in the early months of 1980 only served to strengthen AC/DC’s fan base and appeal and across the next 35 or so years (and counting!) with perennial new boy Brian Johnson having taken on Bon Scott’s role with both aplomb and dignity, AC/DC have gone from strength to strength to strength.

But the Bon Scott years remain those that most adherents of the group remember most fondly and it is with this in mind that this live recording of one of his earliest shows with AC/DC is presented here

In November 1974, Michael Browning, manager of the Hard Rock Cafe (Melbourne), became AC/DC’s full time manager. Together they all moved into a house in Melbourne where there was apparent nightly debauchery. Nevertheless, though the band clearly knew how to party, especially with Bon now on board, they could also work hard and fast. Within ten days the group had recorded their first album, which they named High Voltage. This was undoubtedly influenced by the AC/DC name itself and was perhaps a discreet assertion that the name represented power and energy as opposed to sexual preferences. It also covered the base of the music, which was somewhat lo-fi, straight to the point good time rock n’ roll with an added kick; the verve of youth and the unmistakable howl of Bon Scott.

AC/DC, 1974

George Young and Harry Vanda manned the controls behind the production desk whilst George played bass himself on some songs. Session musician Tony Currenti was enlisted to finish the drum parts as Peter Clack and John Proud had only played on one track each. The band now had a real record to stand behind and after a tour of South Australia finished the year off in style with a New Year’s Eve gig at Festival Hall in Melbourne. By their own admission they would pretty much play in front of anyone, and often did. Every type of fan could be seen at an AC/DC show, from gays who assumed they were named for a different reason, to typical girl groupies and the standard male rockers – this was an act that could transcend boundaries. The High Voltage record was to set them well on their way down the road to glory. [extract from AC/DC – Two Sides To Every Glory, by Paul Stenning, Chrome Dreams Publishers, 2005. p49]

AC/DC, 1975

Thanks to heavy attention from the police, by the time AC/DC set up base in Melbourne the roaming hordes of Sharps had largely, though not entirely, died down; but a toughness of spirit and attitude in the city’s audiences remained. Melbourne’s character was what AC/DC were all about: Michael Browning was dead right.
Their reputation for high-energy performances preceded them thanks to a major New Year’s Eve show at Melbourne’s Festival Hall, and more notoriously, an incident at Prahran’s Station Hotel, when Angus took exception to someone clearly unmoved by the band’s performance.

Malcolm: ‘Angus jumped out into the crowd and he ran up to this guy, grabbed his beer and poured it on his head. This guy had really fuzzy hair and it formed a puddle on top first and then slowly fucking rolled over his face. I thought, this guy’s going to kill Angus! He didn’t. He just sat there and took it. He felt so embarrassed. I thought at that time Angus had overdone it, but the place loved it. This guy that had the beer poured over his head became a bit of a cult hero!’

Browning’s next move was to sign the band to a deal with agent Bill Joseph, who handled a number of major venues in Melbourne. A six-month contract with Joseph’s Premier Artists agency provided each member with a wage of $60 a week, and covered the cost of their sound system and repairs to their tour bus, a huge beast of a thing formerly owned by Ansett Airlines.[extract from Ac/DC – Maximum Rock & Roll, by Murray Engleheart & Arnard Durieux, Harper Collins Publishers, 2006. p98]

So weird hearing the “Dave” arrangement of Can I Sit Next To You Girl with Bon’s voice.
Notice that Malcolm alternates solos with his Brother during Soul Stripper and Show Business. It also happened in the launceston boot, but in this one (melbourne) we can hear it more clearly. In the BBC boot (1976), we realize that malcolm has already leaved his guitar solo roll.

Pretty weird drumming on the songs, but intersting to hear Mal and Ang trading solos on Soul Stripper, otherwise no great shakes.

That was the first time at a show I encountered religious picketers who were handing out pamphlets about the devil and rock music , some people were giving them a real hard time.

Definitely a show for all diehards to have in their file.

This concert was recorded by Melbourne radio station 2SM.
Excellent soundboard recording !

Personnel:
Rob Bailey (bass)
Peter Clack (drums)
Singer: Bon Scott (vocals)
Angus Young (lead guitar)
Rhythm Guitar: Malcolm Young (guitar)

Tracklist:
01. She’s Got Balls (M.Young/A.Young/Scott) 7.07
02. Soul Stripper (M.Young/A.Young) 4.15
03. Show Business (M.Young/A,Young/Scott) 4.27
04. Can I Sit Next to You Girl? (M.Young/A.Young) 3.38
05. Baby Please Don’t Go (Broonzy) 11.02

*
**

The James Cotton Band – Live & On The Move (1976)

James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017)[1] was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time and with his own band. He played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing.

Cotton began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin’ Wolf’s band in the early 1950s.[3] He made his first recordings in Memphis for Sun Records, under the direction of Sam Phillips. In 1955, he was recruited by Muddy Waters to come to Chicago and join his band. Cotton became Waters’s bandleader and stayed with the group until 1965.[4] In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with Waters’s band. He eventually left Waters to form his own full-time touring group. His first full album, on Verve Records, was produced by guitarist Mike Bloomfield and vocalist and songwriter Nick Gravenites, who later were members of the band Electric Flag.

In the 1970s, Cotton played harmonica on Waters’s Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter.

Born in Tunica, Mississippi, Cotton became interested in music when he first heard Sonny Boy Williamson II on the radio. He left home with his uncle and moved to West Helena, Arkansas, finding Williamson there. For many years Cotton claimed that he told Williamson that he was an orphan and that Williamson took him in and raised him, a story he admitted in recent years is not true. However, Williamson did mentor Cotton during his early years. Williamson left the South to live with his estranged wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, leaving his band in Cotton’s hands. Cotton was quoted as saying, “He just gave it to me. But I couldn’t hold it together ’cause I was too young and crazy in those days an’ everybody in the band was grown men, so much older than me.”

Cotton played drums early in his career but is famous for his harmonica playing. He began his professional career playing the blues harp in Howlin’ Wolf’s band in the early 1950s. He made his first recordings as a solo artist for Sun Records in Memphis in 1953. In 1954, he recorded an electric blues single “Cotton Crop Blues”, which featured a heavily distorted power chord–driven electric guitar solo by Pat Hare. Cotton began working with the Muddy Waters Band around 1955. He performed songs such as “Got My Mojo Working” and “She’s Nineteen Years Old”, although he did not play on the original recordings; Little Walter, Waters’s long-time harmonica player, played for most of Waters’s recording sessions in the 1950s. Cotton’s first recording session with Waters took place in June 1957, and he alternated with Little Walter on Waters’s recording sessions until the end of the decade.

In 1965 he formed the Jimmy Cotton Blues Quartet, with Otis Spann on piano, to record between gigs with Waters’s band. Their performances were captured by producer Samuel Charters on volume two of the Vanguard recording Chicago/The Blues/Today! After leaving Waters’s band in 1966, Cotton toured with Janis Joplin while pursuing a solo career. He formed the James Cotton Blues Band in 1967. The band mainly performed its own arrangements of popular blues and R&B from the 1950s and 1960s. Cotton’s band included a horn section, like that of Bobby Bland’s. After Bland’s death, his son told news media that Bland had recently discovered that Cotton was his half-brother.

In the 1970s, Cotton recorded several albums for Buddah Records. He played harmonica on Waters’s Grammy Award–winning 1977 album Hard Again, produced by Johnny Winter. In the 1980s he recorded for Alligator Records in Chicago; he rejoined the Alligator roster in 2010. The James Cotton Blues Band received a Grammy nomination in 1984 for Live from Chicago: Mr. Superharp Himself!, on Alligator, and a second for his 1987 album Take Me Back, on Blind Pig Records. He was awarded a Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for Deep in the Blues in 1996. Cotton appeared on the cover of the July–August 1987 issue of Living Blues magazine (number 76). He was featured in the same publication’s 40th anniversary issue of August–September 2010.

In 2006, Cotton was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at a ceremony conducted by the Blues Foundation in Memphis. He has won or shared ten Blues Music Awards.

Cotton battled throat cancer in the mid-1990s, but he continued to tour, using singers or his backing band members as vocalists. On March 10, 2008, Cotton and Ben Harper performed at the induction of Little Walter into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, playing “Juke” and “My Babe” together; the induction ceremony was broadcast nationwide on VH1 Classic. On August 30, 2010, Cotton was the special guest on Larry Monroe’s farewell broadcast of Blue Monday, which he hosted on KUT in Austin, Texas, for nearly 30 years.

Cotton’s studio album Giant, released by Alligator Records in late September 2010, was nominated for a Grammy Award. His album Cotton Mouth Man, also on Alligator, released on May 7, 2013, was also a Grammy nominee. It includes guest appearances by Gregg Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Ruthie Foster, Delbert McClinton, Warren Haynes, Keb Mo, Chuck Leavell and Colin Linden. Cotton played harmonica on “Matches Don’t Burn Memories” on the debut album by the Dr. Izzy Band, Blind & Blues Bound, released in June 2013. In 2014, Cotton won a Blues Music Award for Traditional Male Blues Artist and was also nominated in the category Best Instrumentalist – Harmonica.

Cotton’s touring band includes guitarist and vocalist Tom Holland, vocalist Darrell Nulisch, bassist Noel Neal (brother of the blues guitarist and harmonica player Kenny Neal) and drummer Jerry Porter.

Cotton died at a medical center in Austin, Texas from pneumonia on March 16, 2017 at the age of 81.(by wikipedia)

James Cotton, live 2015

I’m usually not a big fan of live recordings, but these mid-70’s recordings really catch the spirit of James Cotton “live & on the move”, while still in his prime! Sure, there may be sentimental reasons for my liking this disc {often caught Cotton during this period at the club where these recordings were made} but putting all sentimentality aside, I’ve gained a whole new level of appreciation for these cuts. Listening to these tracks with fresh aged ears {the first time in 20 some years} I can’t help but be impressed by Cotton and company’s tightness as a unit. A tough act to follow, there weren’t many shows rolling down the proverbial blues pike that packed as much punch as a James Cotton performance in it’s heyday, and these cuts certainly can attest to that. Cotton’s band, consisting of seasoned vets such as Matt “guitar” Murphy, know how to lay and hold down earthy funkified grooves, build energetic boogie’s, shuffle and swing without ever losing so much as a beat. If I had to criticize one thing, it would be Cotton’s choice of material. James Cotton had written some fine numbers while a recording artist for both the Sun and Vanguard labels, it’s too bad that he doesn’t showcase a few of them here. Instead, Cotton is content rekindling old chestnuts such as “Got My Mojo Working” and “Help Me”. What would a review of a James Cotton disc be without mentioning his harmonica playing? James Cotton shows why he’s earned the nickname “Mr. Superharp”, especially on tunes such as, “One More Mile”, “All Walks Of Life” and “Boogie Thang”, where the deep tonal qualities and grittiness of his harp work can be heard to full effect. A nice slice of what a James Cotton live show sounded like back in the 70’s, complimented by one of the tightest and hardest working bands in the blues biz, Recommended! (unknow amazon custiner)

Recorded live in 1974 at the Shaboo Inn in Wlllimantic, Connecticut

Personnel:
Charles Calmese (bass)
James Cotton (harmonica, vocals)
George T. Gregory (saxophone)
Kenny Johnson (drums)
Matt Murphy (guitar)

Mike “Captain Z” Zaitchik (Keyboards)

Tracklist:

01  Cotton Boogie (Cotton) 3.01
02. One More Mile (Cotton) 2.34
03. All Walks Of Life (Cotton) 2.22
04. Born In Missouri (Cobbs) 4.45
05. Flip Flop & Fly (Calhoun/Turner) 5.06
06  Mojo (Ervin) 4.15
07. Rocket 88 (Brenston) 2.27
08. Goodbye My Lady (Klingman/Smart II/Rundgren) 4.38
09. I Don’t Know (Mabon) 3.35
10. Caldonia (Moore) 5.11
11. Boogie Thing (Murphy) 4.50
12. Good Morning Lil’ Schoool Girl () 3.20
13  Oh Baby You Don’t Have To Go (Reed) 2.32

14. Help Me (Watson) 4.12
15. Fannie Mae () 4.03
16  Hot ‘N Cold (Toussaint) 3.59
17  Teeny Weeny Bit (Whitcomb) 2.48
18. Blow Wind Blow (Dickerson) 4.43
19. How Long Can A Fool Go Wrong (Cotton) 7.15
+
20. Next Time You See Me (Forest/Harvey) 3.03

*
**

James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017)

 

 

Marshall Tucker Band – A New Life (1974)

A New Life is the second album by The Marshall Tucker Band. It was recorded in Macon, Georgia at Capricorn Studios.

Perhaps the only reason that New Life isn’t quite as memorable as its self-titled predecessor is that the band’s debut was just so startling when it appeared. By the time New Life was issued in 1974, to the band’s credit, it seemed like the Marshall Tucker Band sound had always been a part of America’s rock & roll scene. New Life is earthier than the first album, and country music is less layered over by the trappings of jam-band rock. “Blue Ridge Mountain Sky” is only eclipsed by Dickey Betts’ “Ramblin’ Man” as the ultimate road song from the period. Likewise, the pedal steel blues of “Too Stubborn” echo an earlier era altogether, as the ghost of Bob Wills comes into Toy Caldwell’s songwriting. The whining guitars and lilting woodwinds of the title track bring the jazzier elements in the band’s sound to the fore and wind them seamlessly into a swirling, pastoral country music. The Muscle Shoals horns lend a hand on the Allman Brothers’ Brothers and Sisters-influenced “Another Cruel Love,” and guest Charlie Daniels’ fiddle cooks up a bluegrass stew on “24 Hours at a Time.” The sound is fantastically balanced and warm, and like its predecessor, this album has dated very well. (by Thom Jurek)

Personnel:
Tommy Caldwell (bass, background vocals)
Toy Caldwell – guitar, steel guitar, slide guitar, vocals on 03. + 11.)
Doug Gray (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Jerry Eubanks (flute, saxophone, keyboards, background vocals)
George McCorkle (guitar, Banjo)
Paul Riddle (drums)
+
Charlie Daniels (fiddle)
Earl Ford (horn)
Paul Hornsby (keyboards)
Oscar Jackson (horn)
Jaimoe (percussion)
Todd Logan (horn)
Harold Williams (horn)

Tracklist:
01. A New Life 6.44
02. Southern Woman 7.55
03. Blue Ridge Mountain Sky 3.37
04. Too Stubborn 3.58
05. Another Cruel Love 3.58
06. You Ain’t Foolin’ Me 7.03
07. 24 Hours At A Time 5.04
08. Fly Eagle Fly 4.25
+
09. Another Cruel Love” (Live at Uhlein Hall, Milwaukee, WI, July 11, 1974) 4.23

*
**

Eagles – One Of These Nights (1975)

One of These Nights is the fourth studio album by the Eagles, released in 1975. The record would become the Eagles’ first number one album on Billboard’s album chart in July that year, and yielded three Top 10 singles, “One of These Nights”, “Lyin’ Eyes” and “Take It to the Limit”. Its title song is the group’s second number one single on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold four million copies and was nominated for Grammy Album of the Year. A single from the album, “Lyin’ Eyes”, was also nominated for Record of the Year, and won the Eagles’ first Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

One of These Nights is the last Eagles album to feature guitarist Bernie Leadon, who was later replaced by Joe Walsh. Leadon left the band after the One Of These Nights tour. The seventh track, “Visions”, is the only Eagles song on which lead guitarist Don Felder sang the lead vocals, despite his desire to write and sing more songs. The album was the band’s commercial breakthrough, transforming them into international superstars and establishing them as America’s number one band. They went on a worldwide tour to promote the Album.

The Eagles began working on their fourth album in late 1974. Glenn Frey and Don Henley wrote four of the nine songs by themselves, and they also collaborated with other members of the band on three other songs. Many of the songs were written while Frey and Henley were sharing a house in Beverly Hills, including “One of These Nights”, “Lyin’ Eyes”, “Take It To The Limit” and “After The Thrill Is Gone”. Henley joked in an interview with Cameron Crowe that it was their “satanic country-rock period” because “it was a dark time, both politically and musically” in America, referring to the turmoil in Washington and disco music starting to take off. He added: “We thought, “Well, how can we write something with that flavor, with that kind of beat, and still have the dangerous guitars?” We wanted to capture the spirit of the times.”

Frey said that “One Of These Nights was the most fluid and ‘painless’ album [they] ever made”, and thought that the quality of the songs he wrote with Henley had improved dramatically. However, Leadon was becoming increasingly unhappy during the making of the album. He wrote three of the nine songs, none of which was released as a single. He was unhappy with the more rock direction of the band that Frey preferred, at one time walking out of a meeting to discuss which take to use after the recording of a rock track. Leadon would leave the band in late 1975, after the album was released.

Frey also began to sing less as a lead singer starting with this album, singing solo lead on only one song (“Lyin’ Eyes”) and sharing lead vocals with Henley on another (“After the Thrill Is Gone”). Henley later said: “[Glenn] was generous in that respect … If I began to do more than he did, it was because if someone had a strong suit he would play that card. ‘You sing this, you sing it better,’ that kind of thing.” Randy Meisner sings lead on two songs, one of which, “Take it to the Limit”, a composition he co-wrote with Frey and Henley, was released as the third single from the album. It is the only Eagles single on which Meisner sings lead.

The cover for the album is an image of an artwork by Boyd Elder, also known as “El Chingadero”. Elder created artwork of painted skulls in the early 1970s, and pieces of his work, titled “American Fetish”, were exhibited in an art gallery in Venice, California in 1972. Among those who attended the opening were members of the Eagles who performed “Witchy Woman” at the show, an early appearance by the band as the Eagles. Elder was also a friend of the album cover designer Gary Burden, who had been responsible for the Eagles’ three previous albums and who was interested in using one of Elder’s pieces for this cover.[10] Elder presented two of his works to the Eagles in Dallas in late 1974, one of which was then chosen for the cover of One of These Nights. Later another work of Elder, an image of an eagle’s skull, would be used for the cover of Their Greatest Hits album. The painted animal skull motif was also used in the cover for their compilation album The Very Best of, and the skull of One of These Nights was used for the cover of the documentary History of the Eagles.

The album cover for One of These Nights is the last Eagles album design on which Burden was involved. He made the skull stand up off the page by debossing large areas together with detailed and elaborate embossing in the wings and feathers. According to Burden, the cover image represents where the band was coming from and where they were going – “The cow skull is pure cowboy, folk, the decorations are American Indian inspired and the future is represented by the more polished reflective glass beaded surfaces covering the skull. All set against the dark eagle feather wings that speak of mysterious powers.” The album artwork received a Grammy nomination for Best Album Package.

Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone, in an early review of the album, expressed a liking for the album for its relative lack of conceptual pretension compared to the Eagles’ previous albums, but did not consider it a great album. He thought the band’s ensemble playing “unprecedentedly excellent” but they “lack an outstanding singer”, and that while “many of their tunes are pretty, none are eloquent.” He added: “And for all their worldly perceptiveness, the Eagles’ lyrics never transcend Hollywood slickness. Their hard rock has always seemed a bit forced, constructed more from commercial considerations than from any urgent impulse to boogie. And when the Eagles attempt to communicate wild sexuality, they sound only boyishly enthused. These limitations, however, seem built-in to the latter-day concept of Southern California rock, of which the Eagles remain the unrivaled exponents.

“The Rolling Stone Album Guide judged the album to be the band’s “most musically adventurous outing yet, flirting with disco on the title song, a waltz on “Take It to the Limit”, and bluegrass psychedelia on Leadon’s “Journey of the Sorcerer”.

William Ruhlmann of AllMusic in a retrospective review was more favorable; he thought that it had more original material and that the material was more polished. He wrote: “One of These Nights was the culmination of the blend of rock, country, and folk styles the Eagles had been making since their start; there wasn’t much that was new, just the same sorts of things done better than they had been before. In particular, a lyrical stance—knowing and disillusioned, but desperately hopeful—had evolved, and the musical arrangements were tighter and more purposeful. The result was the Eagles’ best-realized and most popular album so far.”

The album first entered the Billboard 200 chart at No. 25 the week of its release, and climbed to No. 1 in its fourth week on the chart, where it then stayed the next four weeks. It is the first of the four consecutive No. 1 albums by the Eagles. The album was certified Gold three weeks after its release on June 30, 1975, and it received its 4× Platinum certification on March 20, 2001, signifying shipment of over 4 million copies in the United States.

Personnel:

Don Felder (vocals, guitar, slide guitar)
Glenn Frey (vocals, guitar,  piano, harmonium)
Don Henley (vocals, drums, percussion, tabla)
Bernie Leadon (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, pedal steel-guitar)
Randy Meisner (vocals, bass)

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David Bromberg (fiddle on 04.)
Albhy Galuten – Synthesizer on 03.)
Jim Ed Norman – piano on 05. + 06.)
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The Royal Martian Orchestra conducted by Jim Ed Norman (04.)

Tracklist:
01. One Of These Nights (Henley/Frey) 4.51
02. Too Many Hands (Meisner/Felder) 4.43
03. Hollywood Waltz (B.Leadon/T.Leadon/Henley/Frey) 4.04
04. Journey Of The Sorcerer (B. Leadon) 6.40
05. Lyin’ Eyes (Henley/Frey) 6.22
06. Take It To The Limit (Meisner/Henley/Frey) 4.49
07. Visions (Felder/Henley) 3.58
08. After The Thrill Is Gone (Henley/Frey) 3.56
09. I Wish You Peace (Davis/B. Leadon) 3.45

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