The Kinks came into their own as album artists -- and Ray Davies fully matured as a songwriter -- with The Kink Kontroversy, which bridged their raw early British Invasion sound with more sophisticated lyrics and thoughtful production. There are still powerful ravers like the hit "Till the End of the Day" (utilizing yet another "You Really Got Me"-type riff) and the abrasive, Dave Davies-sung cover of "Milk Cow Blues," but tracks like the calypso pastiche "I'm on an Island," where Ray sings of isolation with a forlorn yet merry bite, were far more indicative of their future direction. Other great songs on this underrated album include the uneasy nostalgia of "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?," the plaintive, almost fatalistic ballads "Ring the Bells" and "The World Keeps Going Round," and the Dave Davies-sung declaration of independence "I Am Free." Some mediocre filler detracts from the disc's overall punch, though the CD reissue adds the great swinging London satire hit "Dedicated Follower of Fashion," as well as previously unissued alternate takes of "When I See That Girl of Mine" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion."
The Kinks - The Kink Kontroversy
Eric Dolphy with Booker Little - Far Cry
Charlie Parker's influence permeates this 1960 session. Beyond the obvious acknowledgment on song titles ("Mrs. Parker of K.C. ['Bird's Mother']" and "Ode to Charlie Parker"), his restless spirit is utilized as a guiding light for breaking bebop molds. Far Cry finds multi-reedist Eric Dolphy in a transitional phase, relinquishing Parker's governing universal impact and diving into the next controversial phase that critics began calling "anti-jazz." On this date Booker Little's lyrical trumpet and Jackie Byard's confident grasp of multiple piano styles (though both steeped in hard bop) were sympathetic to the burgeoning "avant-garde" approach that Dolphy displays, albeit sparingly, on this session. Far Cry contains the initial performance of Dolphy's future jazz classic "Miss Ann," along with his first recorded solo alto sax performance on "Tenderly," in which Dolphy bridges the gap between the solo saxophone performances of Coleman Hawkins and Anthony Braxton.
Magic Slim & The Teardrops - Highway Is My Home
Magic Slim's style is a full-speed-ahead, hard-edged, ragged one, with a deep, sometimes sloppy vocal approach and an equally cutting guitar approach. It is not pretty, flashy, pop-oriented, or even particularly appealing, but it is genuine. The stripped-down Slim sound was mostly on target throughout the 10 tracks (one bonus cut) on this late '70s date originally recorded for Black and Blue. This Evidence CD features Slim being assertive, as close to romantic as he can get, and otherwise powering straight ahead. Only on Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying" does he sound overwhelmed, more by the song's litany (Albert King's equally transcendent version also looms in the background). Otherwise, blues for the non-crossover set.
AC/DC - Back In Black
The first sound on Back in Black is the deep, ominous drone of church bells -- or "Hell's Bells," as it were, opening the album and AC/DC's next era with a fanfare while ringing a fond farewell to Bon Scott, their late lead singer who partied himself straight to hell. But this implies that Back in Black is some kind of tribute to Scott, which may be true on a superficial level -- black is a funeral cover, hell's bells certainly signify death -- but this isn't filled with mournful songs about the departed. It's a more fitting tribute, actually, since AC/DC not only carried on without him, but they delivered a record that to the casual ear sounds like the seamless successor to Highway to Hell, right down to how Brian Johnson's screech is a dead ringer for Scott's growl. Most listeners could be forgiven for thinking that Johnson was Scott, but Johnson is different than Bon. He's driven by the same obsessions -- sex and drink and rock & roll, basically -- but there isn't nearly as much malevolence in his words or attitude as there was with Scott. Bon sounded like a criminal, Brian sounds like a rowdy scamp throughout Back in Black, which helps give it a real party atmosphere. Of course, Johnson shouldn't be given all the credit for Back in Black, since Angus and Malcolm carry on with the song-oriented riffing that made Highway to Hell close to divine. Song for song, they deliver not just mammoth riffs but songs that are anthems, from the greasy "Shoot to Thrill" to the pummeling "Back in Black," which pales only next to "You Shook Me All Night Long," the greatest one-night-stand anthem in rock history. That tawdry celebration of sex is what made AC/DC different from all other metal bands -- there was no sword & sorcery, no darkness, just a rowdy party, and they never held a bigger, better party than they did on Back in Black.
City of Glass: Stan Kenton Plays Bob Graettinger
Bob Graettinger was arguably the most radical arranger to ever work in jazz. In fact, it is doubtful if any other big-band leader other than Stan Kenton (who always encouraged adventurous writers) would have used his very complex charts during this era. Graettinger's works, which were influenced by aspects of modern classical music (but were not at all derivative) are all included on this fascinating, if difficult, CD reissue. The four-part "City of Glass," the pieces that comprised This Modern World, and a variety of shorter works (including the remarkably dense "Thermopylae") make for some very stimulating listening. This is avant-garde music that still sounds futuristic in the 21st century.
The Complete Recordings of T-Bone Walker 1940-1954
Fifteen years after his death at age 64 from a stroke, Walker's name remains synonymous with Texas blues. Growing up in Dallas, Walker often served as the eyes, or "lead boy," for guitarist Blind Lemon Jefferson. At 14, Walker ran away from home to tour with blues singer Ida Cox and in the years that followed, relied on his skills as a dancer as well as his talents as a musician to earn his keep with various jazz and dance bands. Along with his friend Charlie Christian, Walker was one of the first to explore the full potential of the guitar as an amplified instrument. This six-disc boxed set documents the evolution of Walker's lean, string-popping style on guitar during a period when he was packing black audiences around the country into dance halls on what musicians referred to as the chitlin circuit. Listen to Walker backed by a swing jazz band on the 1945 recording "T-Bone Boogie" and you'll discover where Chuck Berry copped some of his trademark licks. A down-and-dirty alternate take of Walker's signature tune, "Call It Stormy Monday," is paired with the frenetic party-time rendition originally released in 1947. With his 1950 version of his showstopping instrumental "Strollin' with Bone," it helps to imagine Walker in live performance bringing the tune to an abrupt close by doing gymnastic splits.
Lennie Tristano - Crosscurrents
Even though the music on this LP has yet to be made available on CD, it gets the highest rating because the performances are so unique. Pianist Lennie Tristano is heard with his finest group, a sextet with altoist Lee Konitz, tenor-saxophonist Warne Marsh, guitarist Billy Bauer, bassist Arnold Fishkin, and either Harold Granowsky or Denzil Best on drums. Their seven selections include some truly remarkable unisons on "Wow," memorable interplay by the horns on "Sax of a Kind," and the earliest examples of free improvisation in jazz: "Intuition" and "Digression." In addition, the set features clarinetist Buddy DeFranco with vibraphonist Teddy Charles in a sextet on three numbers and backed by a big band for two others. "Intuition" represents the first collective improvisation in the history of recorded jazz. Only the order in which the instruments would enter was determined beforehand. Everything else was created on the fly. Tristano had been experimenting with this type of total improv in private, and now put it on record at this path-breaking 1949 session. This song was a radical move in the 1940s, and still sounds futuristic today. Put this up on the shelf with other Tristano breakthroughs, including the first recorded example of atonal piano jazz, and that earth-shattering version of "I Can't Get Started" from 1946. But this artist's recorded legacy is more than a matter of being first. The sheer brilliance of Tristano's conception is evident time and time again on these seminal recordings. Why this artist doesn't figure more prominently in the jazz history books remains one of the great mysteries of 20th-century music.
Twink - Think Pink
As far as overlooked geniuses of the U.K. psychedelic underground go, the man known as Twink certainly belongs on the shelf alongside Kevin Ayers, Kevin Coyne, Syd Barrett, and Robert Wyatt. As drummer for the Pretty Things and, later, the Deviants, as well as being one-half of Shagrat with Steve Peregrin Took, Twink was integral in the creation of some of the U.K. psychedelic underground's most brilliant artifacts. His Think Pink session contains the classic Twink tracks "The Sparrow Is a Sign" and "The Coming of the Other One," which were cut with Steve Peregrin Took of Tyrannosaurus Rex fame. Incidentally, both tracks appear on the Shagrat album that was only officially released in 2001: Pink Jackets Required, which plays the sister album to the Twink solo outing in question. Think Pink is an incredibly varied album with no two songs resembling each other, but then one assumes an acid masterpiece like "Ten Thousand Words in a Cardboard Box" will stay on high rotation for at least a week on the stereos of most psychedelia fans, so overall album flow may not be such an issue. This is pure psychedelic acid rock of the highest order. If one can imagine a fusion of the Incredible String Band, Deviants, early Pink Floyd, and a fair dose of Twink's heredity as a member of Tomorrow and the Pretty Things, you get an idea of what he was up to. Not known for doing things in halves, he shows little restraint in the assembly of a group designed to tear the roof of the psychedelic scene. The band was made up of the Deviants guitarist Paul Rudolph -- the U.K. equivalent of Fred "Sonic" Smith -- who provides the most astonishing fuzz freak-outs and arrangements on the album. Other players included Viv Prince; Wally Waller; John Povey; Victor Unitt; Deviants bassist Honk; John Wood of Tomorrow; and, of course, the not-to-be underestimated contributions from Steve Peregrin Took. Regardless of the connotations the term "psychedelic" carries with it, it's not all Pink Fairies and Tolkien. Things get ominous and dark on "Fluid" and "I Remember Nothing"; then, by the first half of the album, the mind is expanded enough to take in side two, where the presence of Steve Took really starts to come into play. His brilliant "The Sparrow Is a Sign" is a psychedelic anthem that is worth acquiring the album for alone. Essential stuff, not to be missed by those following the U.K. underground psychedelic scene circa 1968-1972.
Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants
Including sessions recorded the same day as those on Bags Groove, this album includes more classic performances from the date that matched together trumpeter Miles Davis, vibraphonist Milt Jackson, pianist Thelonious Monk, bassist Percy Heath, and drummer Kenny Clarke. Davis and Monk actually did not get along all that well, and the trumpeter did not want Monk playing behind his solos. Still, a great deal of brilliant music occurred on the day of their encounter, including "The Man I Love," "Bemsha Swing," and "Swing Spring."
Taj Mahal - Señor Blues
Señor Blues is one of Taj Mahal's best latter-day albums, a rollicking journey through classic blues styles performed with contemporary energy and flair. There's everything from country-blues to jazzy uptown blues on Señor Blues, and Taj hits all of areas in between, including R&B and soul. Stylistically, it's similar to most of his albums, but he's rarely been as effortlessly fun and infectious as he is here. Won the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
The Beach Boys Today!
Today! was the first Beach Boys album released after Brian had retired from the touring Beach Boys group. It is unusual in that it is split into an up-tempo Side A and a Side B filled with romantic ballads. Both sides show a major advance in production, compared to the group's previous work, and indeed, when compared to the current work of the Beatles and other rock groups of that era. With the hindsight of forty years, Today! should now be seen as work, standing in good company with other classics of that era. The first half of the album consists of three big USA hits, Dance, Dance, Dance, Do You Wanna Dance? and When I Grow Up (To Be A Man), the last of these being the highlight with its reflective lyric and powerful production. The real meat on this album is on the ballads side, where the theme seems to be someone leaving the hedonistic teenage and realising that love is more than just a game, as well as their own deep emotions. Mike Love's lyric on Please Let Me Wonder reflects all of this very well. The album has two weak points- the early version of Help Me Ronda doesn't have the same power as the hit single, with the volume fades at the end somewhat offputting, while the album ends with another "talk" track of little consequence-Bull Session With Big Daddy..Had these two tracks been stronger, this would have been a "perfect" album- even despite them, it is still very, very good.
Wynton Marsalis - All Rise
Originally conceived for Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic in 1999 as a new millennium piece, this outlandishly scaled, exuberantly eclectic, 106-minute monster work for chorus, symphony orchestra, and jazz big band soon became known as a symbol of something completely different. Just two days prior to a scheduled performance by Marsalis, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in 2001, the terrorists of September 11 struck -- and the performance (and subsequent recording with these forces) became a memorial, almost a catharsis, to a terrifying event. Yet "All Rise" would have been a special work in Marsalis' output even without the historical context. Though not quite as lengthy as "Blood on the Fields," "All Rise" nevertheless is the most ambitious thing that Marsalis had written up to this time, a piece that brazenly tries to embrace the whole world (to cite Gustav Mahler's definition of a symphony) and succeeds better than one thought it might. It is also the most fascinating and enjoyable of Marsalis' concert pieces, where the listener shares the composer's delight in opening himself up to new sonic experiences that his highly debatable pronouncements on jazz have long ignored. Cast in 12 movements, the piece is supposed to have been built upon the example of the humble 12-bar blues, but actually, as in other Marsalis concert pieces like "Fields" and "Big Train," the primary driving force is Duke Ellington -- and, to some extent, Charles Mingus. Yet Wynton also throws his classical experiences into the mix, including neo-classical Stravinsky and neo-Baroque brass. He even attempts a string fugue in "Movement 4"; it's stillborn, running in place, but you end up admiring his moxie and his deflating wit in the movement's subtext ("We discover we can do wonderful things, get the big head, and get lost in a labyrinth of our own magnificence"). He mines Cuban and Argentinean rhythms, he includes gospel strains, and he doesn't forget to include stretches of the straightforward neo-bop style that brought him to the world's attention in the first place. He is also very generous with the solos, handing them out to his colleagues in the LCJO while taking one extended coruscating turn himself in "Movement 5." Ultimately, the resonances between this work and September 11 are uncanny. In "Movement 5," following a sequence of war-like drumming, the chorus screams and sings the words, "Save us, O Lord" -- which hit painfully close to home to the Bowl audience. And in the end, the sudden coda -- played in Marsalis' most joyous Dixieland manner -- was a release, like the close of a wake. Even if you have resisted Marsalis' more pretentious concert music in the past, this two-CD set may well make you a believer.
The Holmes Brothers - Simple Truths
The return to disc of New York's favorite sons, the Holmes Brothers, is a welcome one. Indeed, while fans know what to expect -- a killer mélange of soul, blues, gospel, and funk -- those combinations are always surprising. Sherman and Wendell Holmes and drummer/vocalist Popsy Dixon have opted to work with producer Craig Street (Cassandra Wilson, Joe Henry, Me'Shell NdegéOcello) this time out and enlist a few guests in the guise of pedal steel boss Greg Leisz, bassist David Pilch from the Bill Frisell Band, guitarist Chris Bruce, and the inimitable Patrick Warren on pump organ. The program is one of the most adventurous the band has ever attempted on record, but all of these songs become vehicles for the rootsy, sweet, and deeply emotional Holmes Brothers treatment. The covers are revelatory in scope, including easily the most moving read of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You" ever committed to tape. But it doesn't stop there; they give a similar -- albeit rowdier -- treatment to Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." In addition, the band covers Willie Nelson's classic "Opportunity to Cry" and Gillian Welch's "Everything Is Free" in a late-night fireplace version that makes the songwriter's version sound clinical. But before one gets the idea that this is the Holmes Brothers' alt.country disc, a Delta blues-styled reading of Bob Marley's "Concrete Jungle" and a smoking, roiling, bluesed-out two-step version of the Smith and Dixon R&B stalwart "Big Boss Man" should put those assumptions to rest. But it's Sherman and Wendell's songs that bring the most satisfaction. Wendell's "We Meet, We Part, We Remember" is the greatest pure soul tune recorded thus far in the 21st century. With its Impressions-styled chorus and its James Carr cadence it rips the skin off. His rollicking electric country blues number "You Won't Be Livin' Here Anymore" sounds like an urban garage version of "Big River," and the deep blue Mississippi Delta chamber song "I'm So Lonely" by Sherman closes the record on a mournful whisper that underscores the transcendent message in all Holmes Brothers outings: that no matter who they are and what their circumstances are, people share one great desire, to be loved just for who they are. Sound syrupy? Sound hopelessly out of touch with the times? Then maybe the times need to change, because music like this deserves to be played from every open window. This is the first great record of 2004.
Michael Formanek - Wide Open Spaces
Bassist Michael Formanek, who contributed all 15 selections to this album (some of which are quite brief), utilizes an adventurous quintet also including Greg Osby on alto and soprano, violinist Mark Feldman, guitarist Wayne Krantz, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. The very distinctive voices of Osby and Feldman, the quirky melodies (some of which sound as if they could have been written by Ornette Coleman), and the consistent surprises make this memorable set highly recommended to open-eared listeners.
Peter Gabriel 3
Generally regarded as Peter Gabriel's finest record, his third eponymous album finds him coming into his own, crafting an album that's artier, stronger, more song-oriented than before. Consider its ominous opener, the controlled menace of "Intruder." He's never found such a scary sound, yet it's a sexy scare, one that is undeniably alluring, and he keeps this going throughout the record. For an album so popular, it's remarkably bleak, chilly, and dark -- even radio favorites like "I Don't Remember" and "Games Without Frontiers" are hardly cheerful, spiked with paranoia and suspicion, insulated in introspection. For the first time, Gabriel has found the sound to match his themes, plus the songs to articulate his themes. Each aspect of the album works, feeding off each other, creating a romantically gloomy, appealingly arty masterpiece. It's the kind of record where you remember the details in the production as much as the hooks or the songs, which isn't to say that it's all surface -- it's just that the surface means as much as the songs, since it articulates the emotions as well as Gabriel's cubist lyrics and impassioned voice. He wound up having albums that sold more, or generated bigger hits, but this third Peter Gabriel album remains his masterpiece.
Eberhard Weber - The Following Morning
The absence of a drummer deprives "The Following Morning" of some of the drive and rhythmic shadings of other Weber releases. In some ways this is a more contemplative work, lingering longer upon the tones of the individual instruments. The title track opens with backwards piano and slides into a pensive rumination between the piano and Weber's bass. There is only the tentative presence of orchestral instruments, and the album is quite subtle and slow to unfold. You might not pick up this album as often as some other Weber releases, but it can reward close listening.
Ray Charles - The Birth Of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings, 1952-1959 [Box Set]
The title isn't just hype -- this absolutely essential three-disc box is where soul music first took shape and soared, courtesy of Ray Charles' church-soaked pipes and bedrock piano work. Brother Ray's formula for inventing the genre was disarmingly simple: he brought gospel intensity to the R&B world with his seminal "I Got a Woman," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Leave My Woman Alone," "You Be My Baby," and the primal 1959 call-and-response classic "What'd I Say." There's plenty of brilliant blues content within these 53 historic sides: Charles' mournful "Losing Hand," "Feelin' Sad," "Hard Times," and "Blackjack" ooze after-hours desperation. No blues collection should be without this boxed set, which comes with well-researched notes by Robert Palmer, a nicely illustrated accompanying booklet, and discographical info aplenty.
Kraftwerk 1
What might have been simply seen as an agreeable enough debut album has since become something of a notorious legend because Kraftwerk, or more accurately the core Hütter/Schneider duo at the heart of the band, simply refuses to acknowledge its existence any more. What's clearly missing from Kraftwerk is the predominance of clipped keyboard melodies that later versions of the band would make their own. Instead, Kraftwerk is an exploratory art rock album with psych roots first and foremost, with Conny Plank's brilliant co-production and engineering skills as important as the band performances. Still, Hütter and Schneider play organ and "electric percussion" -- Hütter's work on the former can especially be appreciated with the extended opening drone moan of the all-over-the-place "Stratovarius," combined with Schneider's eerie violin work. But it's a different kind of combination and exploration, with the key pop sugar (and vocal work) of later years absent in favor of sudden jump cuts of musique concrète noise and circular jamming as prone to sprawl as it is to tight focus. Having never been given an authorized CD re-release, and long since out of print on vinyl, Kraftwerk only came to wider notice again in 1993 as part of the bootleg series that also resulted in the appearance of the early Neu! albums. The connection is important, given that Neu!'s Klaus Dinger is one of the two drummers; the roots of the motorik trance and tripped-out ambient wash of the later band can clearly be heard throughout. "Ruckzuck," with its repetitive flute mantra from Schneider and the initial groove suddenly turned into a stuttering, nervous freakout, is merely one demonstration, as is the steady rise-and-fall of feedback and flute at the end of "Megaherz." As a smart reference, there's an actual picture of a "kraftwerk" -- a power station -- in the gatefold art.
Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays - As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls
The regrettable title aside, this joint solo effort by Metheny and regular pianist and collaborator Lyle Mays is an impressive outing. In the process of stretching out away from the confines of the quartet setting of prior albums, Metheny and Mays presage the sleeker and more ethereal sound of the band's Geffen years on portions of the title track. And while this side-long number has some dreamy moments, it also bogs down in a trite climax or two; one gets the sense of a jazz fusion and prog rock marriage Metheny luckily never fully explored. Minor flaws, really, since the piece holds together in spite of the worrisome lapses of taste. The balance of the album is just fine, with the highlight being the Bill Evans remembrance, "September Fifteenth" (the date of Evan's passing, which occurred while the album was being recorded). Metheny and Mays appropriately opt for a serene and slightly elegiac piano and acoustic guitar duet. The set is balanced out by the fleet Americana of "Ozark" and the streamlined swinger "It's for You." Topped off by integral and tasteful percussion by future band regular Nana Vasconcelos, this 1981 Metheny date is certainly a worthwhile disc for fans to seek out, while not being essential.
Free Live!
Although Free made excellent studio records, Free "Live" is perhaps the best way to experience the band in all its glory. Led by singer-guitarist Paul Rodgers and lead guitarist Paul Kosoff, the band swings through nine songs with power, clarity, and a dose of funk. Of course, the hit single "All Right Now" is gleefully extended, much to the audience's and listener's delight. Superbly recorded by Andy Johns, this is one of the greatest live albums of the 1970s. With the exception of one song, all performances are versions of album tracks. It begins with "All Right Now", which lasts for over six minutes. You can hear the Kossof guitar's present some technical flaws.Is followed by "I'm a Mover". Rodgers's voice also noticeably falters for a second during this song, showing how the album has not been altered in any way to remove such glitches as many modern live albums are. These are followed by loud, guitar-driven versions of "Be My Friend", "Fire and Water", "Ride on a Pony" and "Mr. Big". The live part then closes with one of the band's most popular tracks, "The Hunter" which receives a greater reaction from the crowd than any other song, including "All Right Now". Only the initial arrival of the band on stage at the very beginning causes a louder cheer. The album then closes with the last of four studio tracks recorded by the band before they split (the other three songs surfaced in some form on Highway and information on them is contained in that album's article). It is a slow, mellow, acoustic song much like a large part of Highway was, and sounds completely unlike any of the live songs on this album. Although being written as "Ride on a Pony" on the back of the CD reissue, on the cover of both the original LP and the CD it is written as "Ride on Pony".
Lester Young - The Jazz Giants' 56
Even critics who feel (against the recorded evidence to the contrary) that little of tenor saxophonist Lester Young's postwar playing is at the level of his earlier performances make an exception for this session. Young was clearly inspired by the other musicians (trumpeter Roy Eldridge, trombonist Vic Dickenson, pianist Teddy Wilson, guitarist Freddie Green, bassist Gene Ramey, and drummer Jo Jones), who together made for a very potent band of swing all-stars. The five songs on this album include some memorable renditions of ballads and a fine version of "You Can Depend on Me," but it is the explosive joy of the fiery "Gigantic Blues" that takes honors. This set, a real gem, is highly recommended.
Lee Hazlewood - The N.S.V.I.P.'s
First, of all, the album is a product of the mind of Lee Hazlewood, who is impossible to explain. Basically a writer, Lee has created a number of great rock-and-roll smashes of the past decade. But at heart Lee's still a country-type fella. He chews straw a lot, stuff like that. He's also one of the funniest guys ever. So, finally, Lee has put together an album just the way he feels an album should be put together. To say the least, it's different. On each band, Lee begins telling a tale. It's usually a gentle tal, usually about a soul that, if not lost, is at least pretty widely overlooked (hence, the album title).After a minute or so of winsome verbal wanderings, Lee then launches into another Hollywood product: a song., usually less winsome and more pointed, and satirical. Kooky, funny, but surprisingly insightful songs and stories about small-town weirdos -- a companion album to Trouble. A quirky anomoly, this album is easily one of the seven wonders of the pop music world.
Nils Landgren & Esbjörn Svensson - Layers of Light
A poetically conceived and beautifully recorded album, Layers of Light finds Swedes Landgren and Svensson exploring more of the traditional material which made their previous Act release, the 1998 Swedish Folk Modern, a special album for anyone interested in the jazz-meets-folk area associated with such stellar names of the old Swedish scene as saxophonist Lars Gullin, pianist Jan Johansson and trumpeter Bengt-Arne Wallin. Although there is the occasional flurry of rhythmic excitement, the accent here is very much upon cool moments of meditative reflection, with Landgren's formidable trombone technique and Svensson's quicksilver pianistic firmly tempered and set in the service of the quietly haunting, minor-hued material. Two affecting originals--one by Svensson, and one by Wallin, whose classic early-1960s Folk Meets Jazz session was reissued by Act a couple of years ago--increase the measured appeal of an album that would seem to have been recorded in a vast, pine-framed panorama of nurturing silence.
Ten Years After - Positive Vibrations
There's not much happening here. By the time Positive Vibrations was released, Ten Years After had run out of gas. Leader Alvin Lee had already released two solo albums, "On the Road to Freedom" and "In Flight," and the band was simply going through the motions on this album. The band broke up following its release. "Going Back To Birmingham", "You're Driving Me Crazy", "Look Me Straight Into The Eyes", "I Wanted To Boogie", "Look Into My Life" and "It's Getting Harder" are all stand outs in the great tradition of earlier Ten Years After releases. But the band had set the bar so high by the time of this set that it was close to impossible to reach on a consistent basis. The remaining four songs are not quite up to the standards these guys had set for themselves, which is not to say they are bad songs. If they had been recorded by any other band of the time, they may very well have been considered album highlights. Yes, the band was getting tired by '74 (and tired of each other). Even so, they come through hard enough on this release for it to be considered a rock classic and an essential entry into any serious rock collection. Positive Vibrations? The title almost invokes visions of a softer, gentler Ten Years After, but make no mistake, this cd rocks. The album peaked at #81 in the US Billboard 200 chart.
Daryl Hall - Sacred Songs
In what must be the most bizarre coupling ever, Hall is accompanied by none other than King Crimson figurehead Robert Fripp on production and, of course, on guitar. This record suffered at the hands of record company mismanagement. Originally recorded in 1977, Sacred Songs wasn't granted a release until 1980. RCA worried about Hall's lack of commercial vision. However Hall and Fripp's creativity strangely works. Sure, there are pieces that wouldn't do as singles, but for an album regarded as being so uncommercial, there are plenty that could have been: the wacky title song, "Something in 4/4 Time," "Farther Away," and "Why Was It So Easy" (the latter being one of Hall's best ballads). Most bonkers of all is "Babs and Babs," a straight-ahead Daryl Hall track until a Fripp soundscape kicks in from nowhere! Fripp's own "Urban Landscape" shows him having withdrawal symptoms from Bowie's infamous Heroes sessions. The onward march of studio technology means that the sound here is slightly dated. Still, it's a must-have purchase, ending with another killer ballad "Without Tears" -- Earth magic indeed.
McCoy Tyner - Extensions
This album has an interesting combination of players. It may be the only recording to include both pianist McCoy Tyner and his successor with the John Coltrane Quartet, Alice Coltrane (who adds atmosphere with her harp). This set also matches the young altoist Gary Bartz with Wayne Shorter (doubling on tenor and soprano), who he succeeded in Miles Davis' group, and has reunions between Shorter and bassist Ron Carter and between Tyner and drummer Elvin Jones. The all-star sextet stretches out on lengthy renditions of four of Tyner's modal originals, and there is strong solo space for the leader and the two saxophonists. Wayne Shorter in particular is often quite intense. Stimulating music.
Albert King - New Orleans Heat
The king of modern electric soul-blues, Albert King joined Tomato Records in 1976 following his spell with the Stax label. Recording for Tomato in 1979, King luxuriates in the Vieux Carre' soul production of Allen Toussaint. The guitarist and singer takes to the local climate well-not that he and the funkmeisters about town (including rhythm guitarist Leo Nocentelli and drummer Charles Williams) break a sweat kindly or are above sometimes coasting on cliche's. On the album, King redoes several of his earlier Stax sides, including the classic “Born Under A Bad Sign”, which is given a good ride by drummer June Gardner and the band. This foray into the heat and damp of the Deep South was one of Albert King’s last studio projects, although he continued to perform until his death in 1992.
The Very Best Of Diana Krall
The Very Best of Diana Krall collects a nice cross-section of tracks the pianist/vocalist recorded beginning with her 1996 breakthrough album, All for You, and moving through to her 2006 effort From This Moment On. These are largely urbane and stylish recordings that range from her intimate and swinging trio work with guitarist Russell Malone and bassist Christian McBride to her lush orchestral and big-band numbers. While this is primarily a compilation for fans of the sophisticated, jazz standards-oriented Krall, Verve does earn some kudos for including at least one cut from her deeply personal and subsequently not as popular effort The Girl in the Other Room. Also featured are cuts from her stellar 2002 concert album Live in Paris. If you're a fan of straight-ahead jazz with a heavy dash of romance and haven't checked out Krall's work, The Very Best is superb place to start.
Sandy Bull - E Pluribus Unum
Sandy Bull's third and most experimental album is his weakest, comprised of a pair of extended tracks (17-minutes and 21-minutes each) that rely on an electric guitar output split four ways, plus the oud and finger cymbals. The results sort of resemble the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's East-West, except that it's dull and enervating. The quality of Bull's playing is undeniable, and his mid-tempo ramblings on "No Deposit -- No Return Blues" sometimes threaten to become interesting, especially when it passes through a Bo Diddley-like beat for a few moments, but this is an illusion -- it never justifies its own length. "Electric Blend" is one of those ambitious psychedelic experiments with extended noodling that doesn't have much purpose except to show off Bull'd prowess. Back in 1968 when it was recorded, this probably seemed like a great idea, but it hasn't held up as well as, say, "In A Gadda Da Vida."
George Russell - Jazz in the Space Age
George Russell's third release as a leader combines two adventurous sessions. The first features two pianists, Bill Evans and Paul Bley, and a large ensemble including Ernie Royal, Dave Baker, Walt Levinsky, Barry Galbraith, Milt Hinton, and Don Lamond, among others. The three-part suite "Chromatic Universe" is an ambitious work which mixes free improvisation with written passages that have not only stood the test of time but still sound very fresh. "The Lydiot" focuses on the soloists, while incorporating elements from "Chromatic Universe" and other Russell compositions. The second session adds trumpeter Marky Markowitz, valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer, alto saxophonist Hal McKusick, and drummer Charlie Persip to the earlier group, in the slow, somewhat mysterious "Waltz From Outer Space," which incorporates an Oriental-sounding theme, and "Dimensions," described by its composer as "a sequence of freely associated moods indigenous to jazz." Previously available as an LP and as a two-LP set combined with New York, NY, this CD represents some of George Russell's greatest achievements.
John Lee Hooker, Jr. - Cold As Ice
John Lee Hooker, Jr. hasn't shied away from his father's immense legacy, and he always features some of Hooker, Sr.'s signature songs in concert; he included three of them on his debut album, 2004's Blues with a Vengeance, but anyone expecting him to replicate that legacy is mistaken, for Hooker is after something else again, a true synthesis of the old with the new, and his sound is much closer to contemporary urban R&B or funk than his father's raw, Delta-derived blues style. Still, the most immediately memorable song on Hooker's second album, Cold as Ice, at least on first listen, is a straight out tribute to his father, the moving "Do Daddy (Requiem for John Lee Hooker)," and another of the best tracks, "Oh Baby," works clearly out of a blues template. Most of the rest of album is a kind of funky, neo-jump blues blend, however, full of horns and a kind of urbane, good-natured humor that is in striking contrast to what passes for contemporary blues thus far in the 21st century. Unfortunately, nothing here works the synthesis between the old and the new quite as well as "Blues Ain't Nothing but a Pimp" from Hooker's first album, which leaves Cold as Ice feeling a bit like a transitional outing, however memorable. One gets the sense that Hooker has an even better album in him, and it could well be right around the corner.
