Originally released in 1970, this was the fourth release from the British folk-rock group Pentangle and may qualify as their swan song. With only five songs, Jacqui McShee, Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Terry Cox, and Danny Thompson create a dense, layered sound that is woven within the fabric of each song like a tapestry. Although known for their eclectic approach and love of jazz, here the group concentrates on traditional material like "A Maid That's Deep in Love" and the 18-minute "Jack Orion." A Pentangle fan will immediately note that John Renbourn is playing an electric guitar on "A Maid That's Deep in Love." This departure from purely acoustic doesn't create a bigger Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span sound but is imbedded quietly into the song. What really sets both this song and "When I Was in My Prime" apart is McShee's clear, vibrant vocals. On "When I Was in My Prime," she sings unaccompanied, proving that her talent runs as deep as the better-known Jansch and Renbourn. The seven-minute title cut also features McShee singing an absolutely lovely ballad with darker undertones. Renbourn sings the enjoyable though straightforward "Lord Franklin." The crowning jewel of this masterpiece is the epic "Jack Orion," though one has difficulty imagining what possessed Pentangle to record a folk song that took up an entire side of an album. Jansch shares vocals with McShee on this multiple part song, and generous time is left for Renbourn to turn in a bluesy, then jazzy, electric solo. Cruel Sister shows Pentangle at their artistic height, combining all of their skill and inspiration to create a vital and enduring album.
Pentangle - Cruel Sister
The Horace Silver Quintet - Horace Scope
Horace-Scope is the third album by Horace Silver's classic quintet -- or most of it, actually, as drummer Louis Hayes was replaced by Roy Brooks starting with this session. The rhythmic drive and overall flavor of the group are still essentially the same, though, and Horace-Scope continues the tight, sophisticated-yet-swinging blueprint for hard bop pioneered on its two classic predecessors. The program is as appealing as ever, and even though not as many tunes caught on this time -- at least not on the level of a "Juicy Lucy" or "Sister Sadie" -- Silver's writing is tuneful and tasteful. The best-known selections are probably the lovely closing number "Nica's Dream," which had been around for several years but hadn't yet been recorded on a Silver LP, and the genial, laid-back opener "Strollin'." But really, every selection is full of soulful grooves and well-honed group interplay, the qualities that made this band perhaps the top hard bop outfit of the early '60s. Silver was in the midst of a hot streak that wouldn't let up for another few years, and Horace-Scope is another eminently satisfying effort from that period.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Best of the Big Band
In the early '80s, Setzer formed the Stray Cats, a rockabilly band that took England by storm before coming back home to convert audiences in the U.S. The Stray Cats' breakthrough album in America, Built for Speed, spurred three separate Top Ten hits, including "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town." While touring the country with the Stray Cats, Setzer practiced jazz chords and listened to the recordings of Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, and other big-band leaders. After the group's demise (and a largely unsuccessful turn as a solo roots rocker), Setzer turned to jazz music by forming a 17-piece big band for a series of L.A. club dates. This collection of 18 tracks by red hot guitarist Brian Setzer includes covers of songs he made famous with his band The Stray Cats and includes "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut." Japanese exclusive collection of all the former lead Stray Cat's career hits performed with his big band orchestra.
Martha & the Vandellas - Dance Party
One of the great party albums of the 1960s, Dance Party was, oddly enough, the work of a Motown act that wasn't known for delivering great albums. Martha & the Vandellas had enjoyed some serious hits from 1964 onward, but hadn't quite measured up in the LP department until the release of Dance Party in the spring of 1965. Made up of material from singles that went back to the previous summer, the album benefited from the presence of the group's biggest single, "Dancing in the Street," its follow-up, the hypnotically pounding, driving, soaring "Wild One," and the classic "Nowhere to Run," surrounded by a trio of well-above-average B-sides and covers of such Motown dance standards as "Mickey's Monkey" and "Hitch Hike." Even the rest was hardly filler, however, with Martha Reeves turning in a gloriously impassioned performance on the ballad "There He Is (At My Door)" and the group acquitting itself beautifully on "Motoring." Each side was always good for at least two plays at any self-respecting teen party of the '60s, and it all still holds up today.
Herbie Nichols - The Third World
One of jazz's most tragically overlooked geniuses, Herbie Nichols was a highly original piano stylist and a composer of tremendous imagination and eclecticism. He wasn't known widely enough to exert much influence in either department, but his music eventually attracted a rabid cult following, though not quite the wide exposure it deserved. Mary Lou Williams was the first to record a Nichols composition -- "Stennell," retitled "Opus Z," in 1951; yet aside from the song he wrote for Billie Holiday, "Lady Sings the Blues," none of Nichols' work got enough attention to really catch on. He signed with Blue Note and recorded three brilliant piano trio albums from 1955-1956, adding another one for Bethlehem in late 1957. Nichols languished in obscurity after those sessions, though; sadly, just when he was beginning to find a following among several of the new thing's adventurous, up-and-coming stars, he was stricken with leukemia and died on April 12, 1963. In the years that followed, Nichols became a favorite composer in avant-garde circles, with tributes to his sorely neglected legacy coming from artists like Misha Mengelberg and Roswell Rudd. He also inspired a repertory group, called the Herbie Nichols Project, and most of his recordings were reissued on CD.
Jimmy McCracklin Sings
Jimmy McCracklin Sings, his first solo album, was released in 1962, in the West Coast blues style. McCracklin grew up in Missouri, his main influence on piano being Walter Davis (little Jimmy's dad introduced him to the veteran pianist). McCracklin was also a promising pugilist, but the blues eventually emerged victorious. After a stint in the Navy during World War II, he bid St. Louis adieu and moved to the West Coast, making his recorded debut for the Globe logo with "Miss Mattie Left Me" in 1945. On that platter, J.D. Nicholson played piano; most of McCracklin's output found him handling his own 88s. McCracklin recorded for a daunting array of tiny labels in Los Angeles and Oakland prior to touching down with Modern in 1949-1950, Swing Time the next year, and Peacock in 1952-1954. Early in his recording career, McCracklin had Robert Kelton on guitar, but by 1951, Lafayette "Thing" Thomas was installed as the searing guitarist with McCracklin's Blues Blasters and remained invaluable to the pianist into the early '60s. By 1954, the pianist was back with the Bihari Brothers' Modern logo and really coming into his own with a sax-driven sound. "Couldn't Be a Dream" was hilariously surreal, McCracklin detailing his night out with a woman sent straight from hell, while a 1955 session found him doubling credibly on harp.
Music Revelation Ensemble - Elec. Jazz
Essentially James "Blood" Ulmer's band, the Music Revelation Ensemble both harks back to his early recorded history with saxophonist David Murray and seeks to update the guitarist's unique fusion of funk, out jazz, and hardcore blues. Ulmer's compositions (all of the pieces are his) are under the strong influence of his former teacher and employer Ornette Coleman; indeed, "Big Top" almost sounds lifted from the latter's songbook, which is strong praise. He also shows a surprising deftness of touch in the penning of a piece like "No More," a beautiful, haunting blues ballad that recalls Hendrix at his best. The music actually is more successful the closer it steers to jazz forms in this case. Murray often sounds fettered in funk settings and seems to require more expansive structures to fly freely and, sticking to tenor for this date, he does so to good effect on tracks like "Inter City." Bassist Amin Ali balances split-second funk popping with thoughtful, delicate playing, providing just the right accents and levels of spice. If anything, one might only carp about Cornell Rochester's drumming which, in several instances, is more leaden than one might wish. Ulmer, of course, is sui generis, and his playing here, in all its raggedness, grit, and clarity, is arguably some of the best he ever put to disc. Forget the insipid album title. Elec. Jazz contains some fine, tough music and is well-worth seeking out.
Ramones - End of the Century
Road to Ruin found the Ramones stretching their signature sound to its limits; even though there were several fine moments, nearly all of them arrived when the group broke free from the suddenly restrictive loud-fast-hard formula of their first records. Considering that the Ramones did desire mainstream success and that they had a deep love for early-'60s pop/rock, it's not surprising that they decided to shake loose the constrictions of their style by making an unabashed pop album, yet it was odd that Phil Spector produced End of the Century, because his painstaking working methods seemingly clashed with the Ramones' instinctual approach. However, the Ramones were always more clever than they appeared, so the matching actually worked better than it could have. Spector's detailed production helped bring "Rock 'n' Roll High School" and "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" to life, yet it also kept some of the punkier numbers in check. Even so, End of the Century is more enjoyable than its predecessor, since the record has stronger material, and in retrospect, it's one of their better records of the '80s.
Muhal Richard Abrams - Mama and Daddy
This was a first-rate big band/large group session from 1980, with Muhal Richard Abrams' compositions being played by a masterful ensemble which included French horn and tuba in its instrumental mix. There were wonderful solos, dashing arrangements and fiery rhythm support from Thurman Barker on drums, marimba and percussion, with Andrew Cyrille adding additional percussive assistance. The group also featured Baikida Carroll on trumpet and flugelhorn, Wallace McMillan on various reeds, violinist Leroy Jenkins, bassist Brian Smith, Abrams on keyboards, trombonist George Lewis, Bob Stewart on tuba and Vincent Chancey on French horn. They presented adventurous, disciplined, frequently exciting music.
Whole Lotta Blues: Songs of Led Zeppelin
Whole Lotta Blues: The Songs of Led Zeppelin gathers blues artists young and old to either a) perform the original versions of classic blues songs later adapted to fit the Led Zeppelin repertoire, or b) cover Zep originals in traditional blues style. The performances are pretty consistently strong, making this an enlightening collection for any Zep fan curious about the group's roots (even if it doesn't compile the original/definitive versions of these tunes). Artists present include Otis Rush, Magic Slim, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Otis Clay, Robert Lockwood Jr., Eric Gales, Chris Thomas King, and more.
The Doors - Absolutely Live
While this double disc (later combined with Alive, She Cried and Live at the Hollywood Bowl for CD release under the title In Concert) is valuable in that it contains material the Doors didn't release on their studio albums, it's also tilted toward some of their more boorish aspects. Recorded at concerts in 1969 and 1970, this was an era in which Jim Morrison was becoming increasingly dissolute and increasingly disinterested in the whole rock machine. During much of this set, he seems not to be taking himself or the songs too seriously, tossing flippant asides to the audience that seem to treat the whole exercise as a charade. As for the music, the haunting "Universal Mind" and the basic blues-rocker "Build Me a Woman" are originals that are not found on their proper albums; "Close to You" is a dull Muddy Waters cover sung by Ray Manzarek; "Who Do You Love" is a fair cover of the Bo Diddley standard; and the controversial "The Celebration of the Lizard" is a drawn-out opus that is as much poetry recitation as music. There are also extended versions of "Soul Kitchen," "Break On Through," and "When the Music's Over" that flag considerably in comparison to the sleeker studio versions.
Herbie Hancock - Mwandishi
With the formation of his great electric sextet, Herbie Hancock's music took off into outer and inner space, starting with the landmark Mwandishi album recorded in a single session on New Year's Eve. Ever the gadgeteer, Herbie plays with electronic effects devices -- reverb units, stereo tremelo, and Echoplex -- which all lead his music into spacier, open-ended directions very much influenced by Miles Davis' electric experiments, rendering it from post-bop conventions. There are just three tracks: the insistent 15/4-meter Afro-electric-funk workout "Ostinato (Suite for Angela)," the inquisitive "You'll Know When You Get There" with its ethereal Hancock voicings, and trombonist Julian Priester's "Silent Way"-influenced "Wandering Spirit Song," which eventually dips into tumultuous free form. Eddie Henderson emerges as a major trumpet soloist here, probing, jabbing, soliloquizing; Bennie Maupin comes over from Lee Morgan's group to add his ominous bass clarinet and thoughtful alto flute; and Buster Williams' bass and Billy Hart's flexible drums propel the rhythm section. Santana's José Chepitó Areas and Leon "Ndugu" Chancler also add funky percussive reinforcement to "Ostinato," along with guitarist Ron Montrose. The group's collective empathy is remarkable, and Hancock had only begun to probe the outer limits with this extraordinary music.
Chuck Berry Twist
Chuck Berry’s ‘Twist’ is a greatest hits/cash in on the twist phenomenon record – which sounds like a recipe for a slow death, but in this case that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead we find the best offerings from an artist that helped shape an entire genre all on the one record and in an order that feels like a natural track list progression rather than falling into the common trap of many best of’s wherein it becomes blatantly obvious that you aren’t listening to a purposeful album but to more of a scatter gun of material from different time periods and recording sessions that’s all aimed at the fair weather listener who just wants to hear the hits and not sit through any of the b-sides. Well Chuck’s definitely got the hits. Just about all the tracks from ‘Twist’ sit in that relentlessly twistable 120-130 bpm range and move along to standard upbeat blues rock chord progressions. There’s no doubt that Berry had a formula that was pretty strictly adhered to and that this meant his work never really crossed broad terrain in terms of dynamic, but what he had was a method and sound that worked for him and was somewhat before it’s time, and this allowed him to use his guitar style and sense of melody to create some of the most enduring rock n’ roll classics. ‘Maybellene’, ‘Roll Over Beethoven’, ‘Sweet Little Sixteen’ and ‘Johnny B Goode’ are simply some of the greatest rock tunes ever written. Take ‘Johnny B Goode’ specifically – the intro alone is arguably one of the most iconic pieces of music ever recorded, and the subsequent hand in hand energy of both the vocal and the instrumentation not only form a brilliantly hooky track, but also create something uniquely Chuck Berry. He did then go on to use this exact hook in a bunch of other tunes but so what, the man was onto a great thing. I’d even go as far as saying that the recycling of the ‘Johnny B Goode’ guitar line only serves to bolster the whole concept behind Chuck Berry’s music: stick to the innocent idea of simplicity and if they’re all still twistin’ don’t change a thing. When you think about it, perhaps more than any other worthwhile artist; Chuck Berry’s material suits the greatest hits format. Although brilliant, his music is relatively one dimensional in terms of sound, song structure, and time signature, and this in turn means that his tunes, no matter what record or time period they are from, seem to flow together as a whole mashed up body of work as is the case on ‘Twist’. Whereas, say The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Dylan, Captain Beefheart etc etc., how do you put together an artistically valid best of record from these artists that doesn’t just sound like a cash grab when you are moving from ‘Twist and Shout’ through to ‘I Want You(she’s so heavy)’? It’s near on impossible. However, when looking at Chuck Berry – the greatest hits equation becomes a much more workable one, to the point where just about the whole scope of his music can be covered without sacrificing the crucial element of continuity.
Jimmy Giuffre - Piece for Clarinet and String Orchestra / Mobiles
A strange record that was made for Verve Records in 1959. It was a very nice surprise to hear Giuffre in this context with a string orchestra - of high quality. The pretext for the two compositions is quite simple Piece for Clarinet and Strings is written and Mobiles is improvised. In both cases they use the Südwestfunk Orchestra of Baden-Baden, conducted by Wolfram Röhrig, as you can imagine the recording is excellent and the music really benefits from this. The first piece is reminiscent of Bartok meets Copland and as the liner notes say ....... ' the third movement swings in a way Copland couldn't manage. The music is of course what nowadays is called Third Stream.
Four Tops
The Four Tops' story is one of longevity and togetherness: these Motown legends teamed up in high school and spent over four decades without a single personnel change. In between, they became one of the top-tier acts on a label with no shortage of talent, ranking with the Temptations and the Supremes as Motown's most consistent hitmakers. You'd be hard pressed to find two better singles on a debut album than "Ask the Lonely" and "Baby I Need Your Loving." These were the cornerstones of The Four Tops' first LP, and besides netting them one Top Ten and Top 20 pop single each, as well as a Top Ten and Top 20 R&B single, it established Levi Stubbs' resounding voice as another unforgettable one at Motown. Even the tunes that didn't do so well, like "Left with a Broken Heart" or "Without the One You Love (Life's Not Worth While)," were marvelously sung. It was a debut to remember.
Chet Baker Sextet
Chet Baker Sextet features tracks recorded by trumpeter Chet Baker in 1954 and 1957 for the Pacific Jazz label and released over the years on various albums, including the original Playboys date. These are stellar "West Coast"-style tracks reminiscent of the small group work Baker did with saxophonist Jerry Mulligan and featuring first class arrangements by Jack Montrose and Bob Zieff. However, the Zieff cuts feature an unusual for the period chamber-style group with French horn, bassoon, cello, bass clarinet, and bass. The result was softly angular and very modern for the time. Interestingly most of the tracks have remained largely unavailable until this collection. While there are far more influential Baker albums from the '50s, Sextet is a beautiful album and a must-hear for Baker aficionados.
Jean Jacques Milteau - Soul Conversation
Born in Paris in 1950, blues harmonica player Jean Jacques Milteau first discovered the harmonica in the mid-'60s while listening to rock albums by artists such as Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. A heavy interest in the blues ensued and, later on a trip to America, Milteau became enthralled with the traditional blues of artists such as Little Walter, Charlie McCoy, and others. In the late '70s, Milteau decided to devote his entire career to performing music and began making various gigs around Paris, performing with such high-profile artists as Charles Aznavour, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Yves Montand, and others. It wasn't until 1989 though that Milteau released his solo debut, Blues Harp. Since then, Milteau added writing to his resumé, including various harmonica method books, and released his share of albums in Europe and toured extensively. Milteau released the Tennessee-recorded Memphis in 2003. The "Soul Conversation" project revisits blues, soul, folk and rock sounds with flair and originality. JJ Milteau’s new album introduces two first-class African-American vocalists, Michael Robinson and Ron Smyth, with the added attraction of JJ’s long time guitar associate, Manu Galvin, bass player Gilles Michel and drummer Christophe Deschamps. In addition to several original compositions penned by various members of the group, this set showcases unconventional readings of classics by the likes of Curtis Mayfield, J.B. Lenoir, Stephen Stills and the Jagger/Richards duet.
Jackson Browne - Hold Out
If Jackson Browne had convincingly lowered the bar set by his first three albums on his fourth and fifth ones, his sixth, Hold Out, found him once again seeking some measure of satisfaction, albeit in reduced circumstances. His songs were less philosophical, but they were also more personal. In "Of Missing Persons," he once again took on a eulogy as his subject, but unlike "Song to Adam" or "For a Dancer," there the song was directed to his late friend's daughter and encouraged her recovery: it was more a song for the living than for the dead. Newly aware of the world around him ("Boulevard"), he was also newly sensitive to others, notably on the mutual dependency song "Call It a Loan." But the personal tone sometimes made him less sure-footed as a performer; "Hold on Hold Out," the traditional big, long, last song on the album, was awkwardly, not winningly, intimate, just as the attention-grabbing lead-off track, "Disco Apocalypse," was merely foolish instead of whatever it may have been intended to be (satire? drama?). If Browne was still trying to write himself out of the cul-de-sac he had created for himself early on, Hold Out represented an earnest attempt that nevertheless fell short.
Mack the Knife: Ella Fitzgerald in Berlin
Ella Fitzgerald was at the peak of her form during her 1960 tour of Europe. Her Berlin concert is most remembered for her hilariously inventive version of "Mack the Knife," during which she forgot the words and substituted ones of her own that somehow fit, amazing herself in the process. With fine support from her quartet (pianist Paul Smith, guitarist Jim Hall, bassist Wilfred Middlebrooks, and drummer Gus Johnson), Fitzgerald is brilliant throughout the well-rounded set, with highlights including "Misty" (a version very different from Sarah Vaughan's), "The Lady Is a Tramp," "Too Darn Hot," and a scat-filled "How High the Moon." This is essential music.
Memphis Slim's Tribute to Big Bill Broonzy, Leroy Carr, Cow Cow Davenport, Curtis Jones, Jazz Gillum
Blues pianist Memphis Slim, harmonica wizard Jazz Gillum, and guitarist Arbee Stidham assembled in a New York City recording studio on January 16, 1961, under the supervision of Nat Hentoff to track an album session for Candid Records. That they did, but what began to emerge was a loose, musical "trialogue" on departed blues artists that the trio had either known or been influenced by, a list that included Big Bill Broonzy, Leroy Carr, Cow Cow Davenport, Curtis Jones, Walter Davis, Roosevelt Sykes, Blind Blake, Washboard Sam, and Big Maceo, each of whom is given a tip of the hat in one song or another. Slim's piano is a bit out of tune throughout the proceedings, as is Stidham's guitar, which makes this less than a perfect recording, but the respect and reverence and wonderfully loose, intimate, and ragged delight these three veteran blues performers bring to these tracks offset the technical defects. Highlights include a sparkling and upbeat version of Cow Cow Davenport's "Cow Cow Blues," a crisp take on Roosevelt Sykes' "Forty-Four Blues," and a vigorous tip of the hat to Blind Blake on "Diggin' My Potatoes." The end result isn't a perfect album, mostly due to the tuning problems, but it has a very real intimacy to it, and it unwinds like an easy musical reminiscence between three old friends. This tribute from Slim, Jazz, and Arbee may not be essential, but it sure is honest, and true to the name of the record label, it is indeed candid. There's something to be said for that.
Brad Mehldau - The Art of the Trio, Volume 5: Progression
Virtuoso pianist Brad Mehldau continues his Art of the Trio series with a two-CD set titled Art of the Trio, Vol. 5: Progression. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard in New York City, this volume is his most satisfying triad outing yet. The trio opens disc one with a swinging up-tempo rendition of "The More I See You" and, for over ten minutes, Mehldau improvises his swinging instincts with his well-organized rhythmic partners, drummer Jorge Rossy and acoustic bassist Larry Grenadier. His original "Dream's Monk" features an extended variation on his profoundly introspective bebop. This composition is the centerpiece of disc one, which otherwise features covers of such standards as "Alone Together," "It Might as Well Be Spring," and "The Folks Who Live on the Hill." Disc two is evenly programmed with three originals by Brad Mehldau and three by Great American Songbook composers George & Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Sammy Fain, and Paul Francis Webster. On the nearly 15-minute rendition of the Gershwin/Kern composition "Long Ago and Far Away," Mehldau's rhythm section plays fervent bop lines over his brilliant piano arpeggios after a virtuosic introduction. Grenadier's bass solo remains one of the most memorable on this recording, with Mehldau delicately comping it with light piano chord voicings. Rossy deftly adjusts and readjusts his brushwork to provide just the right textures and musical accompaniment. Whereas The Art of the Trio, Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and Vol. 4 provided Mehldau's listeners with rich documentation of his piano mastery that often includes altered root motion and meter on standard tunes, blazing swing tempos, and poetic piano lines that can hover intensely in a ballad, his intrinsic musical signature is more substantial on Progression due to several stunning piano solos, ethereal vamps, and successive thematic transformations.
Black Widow - Sacrifice
Black Widow may have enjoyed a reasonably long and defiantly varied career. But to anyone who cares, they will be remembered for just one song, "Come to the Sabbat" -- not a hit single, but a standout on a cheapo label compilation in the early '70s, and destined to live on for decades after the band. Naturally, the accompanying Sacrifice album has bounced along in its wake, first as an increasingly expensive vinyl collectors' item, more recently as a regular on the CD reissue circuit, and here it comes again, this time bearing more primal Black Widow than you could ever have dreamed of hearing. Ultimate Sacrifice: One opens, naturally, with the original seven-song album. More fascinating, however, is the chance to hear five of the seven ("Way to Power" and "Attack of the Demon" are absent) in their original demo form, where they are revealed, if anything, to be even more dramatic than on the final vinyl. "In Ancient Days" in particular profits from the looseness of the performance, while "Come to the Sabbat" packs a feel of abandonment that makes the familiar version seem quite sedate. Of course, the bonus tracks are really only of interest if you truly worship the original record, and, once past "Come to the Sabbat," there probably aren't many people who feel that strongly. But the liners tell the band's tale well, the remastering is impressive, and if you're not doing anything next weekend, you might well want to drop by Black Widow's house. They've got somebody visiting, you know.
David Liebman - The Tree
Saxophonist and educator David Liebman is a forward-thinking artist whose advanced improvisational style and association with trumpeter Miles Davis in the '70s combined to make him one of the most influential and successful jazz musicians of his generation. Heavily influenced by John Coltrane, Liebman has moved from tenor saxophone to soprano and flute throughout his career and more often than not played in a progressive, post-bop style that touched on fusion and avant-garde jazz. This rather interesting set of solo soprano saxophone explorations by David Liebman (one of the greats on that instrument) has an odd concept that works. Liebman plays a six-part suite that has titles of "Roots," "Trunk," "Limbs," "Branches," "Twigs," and "Leaves" and then does a second version, playing the sections in the opposite order. The sections farthest from "Roots" are the most advanced, although all of these movements are fairly free. It's well worth several listens.
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters - Language of the Soul
Language of the Soul is a wonderful change of pace for guitarist Ronnie Earl. The record is the first all-instrumental album Earl has recorded and, if anything, it's even more successful than his full-fledged, band-oriented records. Working without vocals has given him the freedom to try all sorts of new things, whether it's the jazzy interludes of "Indigo Burrell" or the gospel-flavored "I Am With You." Earl's compositions aren't memorable in and of themselves (he wrote all but two of the cuts), yet they give him the opportunity to play freely. He comes up with some truly remarkable solo passages, offering definitive proof that he's one of the best contemporary blues guitarists of the '90s.
Sonny & Cher - Look at Us
For their first album-length excursion in the wake of "I Got You Babe," Sonny & Cher don't tread too far outside the influence of Phil Spector, including covers of "Unchained Melody," "Then He Kissed Me," and "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love," of which the latter shows off the most appealing elements of each singers' voice. "It's Gonna Rain," which Ahmet Ertegun favored over "I Got You Babe," is a sub-Rascals attempt at white electric soul, while "500 Miles" is Spectorized folk-rock that Sonny carries for one verse and a chorus longer than he should have. The three bonus cuts are as valuable as anything off the original album -- "It's the Little Things" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" (not the Beau Brummels tune) are both throwbacks to a slightly older Spector sound, without as much concession to the folk-rock influences of 1965 as the album material. "Hello" is a B-side on which they simply talk, George Burns & Gracie Allen-style, in a distant precursor to the between-song patter that helped get them a television series and a second career.
Compact Jazz: Chet Baker
Chet Baker's entry in the Compact Jazz series is essentially an odyssey between two continents, chronicling his wanderings through Europe and America over the span of a decade. The disc begins with some of his 1955 Paris sessions, and then skips over to Baden-Baden for an eerie duo encounter with pop singer/guitarist Caterina Valente that is rhythmically close to a premonition of bossa nova. On to Chicago in 1958, where Chet communes and races with Stan Getz for 15 often thrilling minutes on "Halfbreed Apache." Two New York tracks from 1965 catch Chet nonchalantly blowing at ballad tempo with a section of reeds and rhythm section. Finally the disc backtracks a year with four tracks from a New York sextet and quartet (whose personnel includes the young Bob James or Hal Galper on piano) where Chet is in prime bop form; no limp tones here. Although these are not his most famous sessions, you'll get a better impression of Chet's work here than with some other single-disc samplers that come to mind.
Phillip Walker - I Got a Sweet Tooth
Phillip Walker takes his brand of Louisiana-via-Texas blues for a thoroughly contemporary ride on this release. With two hand-picked bands recording in New Orleans and Austin, TX, Walker's sensuous and languid vocals, and his economical and taut guitar work both shine through brightly. There's only one original aboard, but Walker's interpretive skills are evident on a wide variety of material by Junior Parker and O.V. Wright. Highlights are bountiful, but his work is especially impressive on the low-down funky title track (shades of Lightnin' Hopkins, for sure) and its atmospheric kindred-spirit track, "Laughin' and Clownin'" (a slow blues that's anything but as jolly as the title implies). Strong, uncluttered production also plays a big role in making this disc such a delight on repeated listenings.
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis - A Love Supreme
Few arrangers have attempted to score John Coltrane's landmark suite A Love Supreme for good reason: it is very difficult to stand up to the emotional impact of the composer's original recording. But Wynton Marsalis ambitiously dove into scoring it for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra for this Palmetto CD. The results are rather uneven. In spite of the best efforts of the participating musicians, the solos often prove to be a distraction, leaning more toward humor than sticking to Coltrane's message. The most ridiculous section occurs in the opening movement, "Acknowledgement," when the baton is passed from one player to the next as they take turns playing the brief cadence of the well-known A Love Supreme vamp, which quickly grows tedious. "Resolution" works somewhat better, though there are sections which sound as if more rehearsal time was needed. Drummer Herlin Riley makes a strong effort with the transitional solo into "Pursuance," but his work pales next to that of Elvin Jones on the original album. "Psalm" comes the closest to achieving what Coltrane might have envisioned had he chosen to record his suite with an orchestra. One noticeable improvement is the omission of the vocal chant included by Coltrane. In any case, die-hard fans of Marsalis will want to pick up this CD, while others should consider themselves forewarned of the potential for disappointment.
Roky Erickson & the Aliens
Like Syd Barrett and Robyn Hitchcock, Roky Erickson is one of rock & roll's genuine crazies, and this album does nothing to dispel that image. As the song titles accurately suggest, the lyrics here all draw their subject matter from satanic and horror-movie subjects. Musically, the album is quite appealing. If the ghouls in the 1960s song "Monster Mash" were really hip, they'd be partying down to "Don't Shake Me Lucifer," a rollicking 1950s-inspired number with clear nods to Little Richard, and they'd be slow-dancing to "I Walked With a Zombie," a demented early-'60s ballad update. A number of other songs here suggest a drier, mid-tempo version of the garage psychedelia of Erickson's legendary 1960s band 13th Floor Elevators, especially "I Think of Demons," "Cold Night for Alligators," and the feedback-laden anthem "Two-Headed Dog." "Night of the Vampire" and "Stand for the Fire Demon" are ominously effective slow-tempo production numbers. The sound quality on this album is a bit trebly, but not bad. In general, this is an excellently listenable album. Note that this release's title as it appears on the disc label and jacket spine is five runic symbols unreproducible with a standard typewriter keyboard; other review sources give the eponymous title which has been listed above.
Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and Han Bennink - The Topography of the Lungs
Along with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble's Karyobin and Tony Oxley's 4 Compositions for Sextet, The Topography of the Lungs is one of the landmark early albums of English free improvisation (despite the presence of Dutch percussionist and multi-instrumentalist Han Bennink), featuring guitarist Derek Bailey and saxophonist Evan Parker in positively coruscating form. This album launched the legendary Incus label in style, and original copies still contain the photocopied typewritten letter announcing the label's manifesto: "The bulk of the revenue from any Incus recording will go directly to the musicians....Once the basic cost of each record is recovered, thus providing the finance for the next, the vast bulk of all income will be paid in royalties to the artists. Incus has no intention of making profits in the conventional sense." (Back in Holland, Bennink had adopted a similar strategy for the ICP label he co-founded with saxophonist Willem Breuker and pianist Misha Mengelberg.) The same sense of commitment is to be found throughout the album, whose ultra-concentrated force marked a clear boundary line between the emerging European free music and its immediate precursor, American free jazz. Despite the music's furious energy -- verging at times on the downright violent, thanks in no small part to the irrepressible Bennink -- proceedings do not lack a sense of humor. Nor does the record's back cover, an almost Monty Pythonesque collage of pages from an old encyclopedia interspersed with brief, enigmatic phrases like "Frederick Rzewski writes about free improvisation and makes sense" and "If you like to draw or paint, this booklet could help change your life." If the booklet doesn't manage it, the music on the album certainly will.
John Lee Hooker Plays and Sings the Blues
It's hard to go wrong with Hooker's Chess material. With nothing but his raw, surging electric guitar, intensely soulful vocal delivery and his foot banging on a wooden board to keep rhythm, Hooker a creates thrilling, visceral atmospheres through which his songs travel like dark, haggard shadows. From "The Journey," a tale of lovers accompanied by a gritty, loping guitar line, to the tortured vulnerability of "Apologize" and the propulsive, walking jerk-tempo of "Dreamin' Boogie," Hooker lays deep, stripped down and nasty grooves. Plays and Sings the Blues, like most of Hooker's outstanding Chess recordings, is an utterly satisfying shot of classic blues. Chess originally bought "Mad Man Blues" and "Hey Boogie" from the Gone label; the rest first came out on Chess during Hooker's frenzied early days of recording, when his platters turned up on nearly every R&B indie label existant at the time.
