A live N.Y.C. radio broadcast by Bill Bruford and his band in July 1979, The Bruford Tapes features material from his Feels Good to Me and One of a Kind albums. Although the mix is shaky, the playing is not. Bruford rules the roost with his inimitable "pong" rim-shot sound and droll stage patter, and Dave Stewart's keyboards especially benefit from a heavier, slightly overdriven stage sound. Stewart gets "Hell's Bells" off to a rousing start, and his piano and Hammond sounds nicely embellish "Fainting in Coils"; not to be outdone, Jeff Berlin blazes across "Five G" with some wonderfully frenetic bass playing. This is one of the best Bruford albums of this period; those who found the studio releases of these songs to be too cold will be won over by the improvisational intensity of this live show.
Bill Bruford - The Bruford Tapes
Pharoah Sanders - Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun)
After Karma was issued and Sanders had established himself -- to himself -- as a musician who had something valuable and of use to say, he was on what this critic considers to be a divinely inspired tear. Deaf Dumb Blind is an example of that inspiration. Beginning with the title cut, a suite of over 21 minutes, Sanders brings in the whole of his obsession with rhythm and R&B. Using African percussion, bylophones, shakers, cowbells, and all manner of percussion, as well as drummer Clifford Jarvis, Sanders brought in Cecil McBee to hold down the bass chair and Lonnie Liston Smith back in on piano, and added a three-piece horn section that included Gary Bartz on alto and Woody Shaw on trumpet in addition to himself. Whew! Here the Latin and African polyrhythms collide and place the horns, as large and varied as they are, in almost a supplementary role. The horns check counterpoint in striated harmony, calling and responding over the wash of bass and drums and drums and drums! It evolves into a percussion orgy before the scary otherworldly multiphonic solos begin. And Shaw and Bartz are worthy foils for Sanders. And no matter how out it gets, those rhythms keep it rooted in the soul. "Let Us Go Into the House of the Lord" is almost 18 minutes in length. It has a long soprano intro, covered in shimmering bells and shakers with a glorious piano fill by Smith, who becomes more prominent, along with some excellent arco work by McBee, until the piece becomes a meditation on lyricism and silence about halfway through. The entire band eventually rejoins for a group ostinato with very little variation, except in timbre and subtle accented color work by Sanders and McBee. It is a stunningly beautiful and contemplative work that showcases how intrinsic melodic phrasing and drones were to Sanders at the time -- and still are today. This piece, and this album, is a joyful noise made in the direction of the divine, and we can feel it through the speakers, down in the place that scares us.
Go Bo Diddley
Legendary guitarist, gifted songwriter, master of rhythm, snappy dresser -- Bo Diddley is all these things and more -- and Go Bo Didley offers a solid introduction to this man's special brand of musical innovation. The album was Bo's first studio album and his first LP for Checker Records. Between Diddley's hypnotic, rhythmic guitar lines; the implacable rattle of Jerome Green's maracas; the spacy echo that threatens to envelop everything around it; and the borderline surrealism of the lyrics this man's music existed in a world of its own. Bo Diddley is a musical icon. While he didn't have many hits, the music that he produced throughout the 50s and 60s was crucial in the evolution of rock 'n' roll. Best known for popularizing what became known as "the Bo Diddley beat," Bo created a varied catalog of music that blends Blues, R&B and Rock into something unique. This album only adds a go to his classic debut, refining his trademark square guitar and crazy-distorted amplification to create new sounds (anticipating the innovations of 60s rock icons like Jimi Hendrix) and his rumba-sounding, hambone-styled Bo Diddley beat. The album was ranked #214 on The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine.
The World of Cecil Taylor
From the opening patterns of Denis Charles' drums on the title cut, the listener knows he/she is in for something special. One can only imagine what the reaction of the average jazz fan was in 1960 when this session was recorded. This is a wonderful document from early in Taylor's career, when he was midway between modernist approaches to standard material and his own radical experiments that would come to full fruition a few years hence. The quartet, rounded out by the youthful Archie Shepp (playing only on "Air" and "Lazy Afternoon") and bassist Buell Neidlinger, is already quite comfortable at pushing the boundaries of the period, giving an almost cursory reading of the themes before leaping into improvisation. The standard "This Nearly Was Mine" is explored gorgeously and with strong romanticism by Taylor, giving perhaps an indication of the source of the brief, blissful encores he would offer up to end his solo concerts in coming decades. "Port of Call" and "Eb" are both utter masterpieces showing Taylor already maintaining an unheard of mastery of the piano, musical ideas darting like sparks from his fingertips. What's extra amazing is how deeply entrenched the blues feel and pulse are in this music, already bound for the further reaches of abstraction. They never left Taylor, although many listeners have difficulty discerning them. This session, which has been released under numerous guises, is an especially fine introduction to his work, keeping enough of a foot in "traditional" jazz forms to offer one purchase while dangling breathtaking visions of the possible within one's reach. A classic recording that belongs in anyone's collection.
Janis Joplin - Pearl
Janis Joplin's Pearl, from 1971, is a bluesy, organ-drenched benediction for the flower-child sound of the free-and-easy 60's. It is also one of great singer's most consistent and representative efforts. Gone are the ear-shattering sonics of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Full Tilt Boogie, the backing band here, steps in to offer a degree of polish and control that frames Joplin's vocals nicely. Yet the band still grooves hard with the fierceness her voice demands. Guitarist John Till's riffs, chords, and solos, in particular, are exciting and tightly executed. "A Woman Left Lonely" and Bobby Womack's "Trust Me" are rain-on-the-windows ballads that come alive with Joplin's gritty vocal brilliance, while the burbling "Move Over" and "Half Moon" are among her funkiest, most driving cuts. The dramatic "Cry Baby" is offset by the tongue-in-cheek a cappella number "Mercedes Benz," while Joplin's version of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" went on to become her signature song. Joplin died during the sessions for Pearl, making these tracks the final word on her towering talent and a superb addition to her enduring legacy.
The Duke Plays Ellington
At the time of its release this was a true rarity, a full album of Duke Ellington featured with a trio sans his orchestra. Although his talents at the piano sometimes have been overshadowed by his many accomplishments as a composer, arranger, and bandleader, Ellington was actually one of the very few stride pianists (along with Mary Lou Williams) to effectively make the transition into more modern styles of jazz without losing his own musical personality; in fact Duke was an early influence on both Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor. Throughout this CD (which contains one previously unissued track), Ellington sounds modern (especially rhythmically and in his chord voicings) and shows that he could have made a viable career out of just being a pianist.
Scott Holt - Dark of the Night
Give Scott Holt credit for trying to breathe life into the modern electric blues with his second album, Dark of the Night. He is clearly indebted to tradition -- he spent over a decade as a sideman for Buddy Guy, and he performs not only with his band but with Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble and the Jimi Hendrix Experience as backing bands -- but he never mimics his predecessors, even if he's covering "Crosstown Traffic." His guitar is lively and vibrant, projecting more of synthesis of various styles rather than duplication. Holt also chooses some unusual songs, opening the album with Prince's "Five Women" and the Clash's "Train in Vain (Stand By Me)." All of these departures from the norm are quite welcome, as is Holt's strong musicianship, but the record is occasionally bogged down by his strained, bluesy vocalizing, which unfortunately comes to the forefront on such interesting choices as "Train in Vain." Even with this weakness, however, the record has a considerable amount of life and style -- enough to make it a satisfying step forward from Holt.
The Beach Boys - Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) was a bit of a regression from the success of Today!, lapsing back into that distressing division between first-rate cuts and lightweight also-rans that characterized their pre-1965 albums. The difference is that the very best tracks were operating on a more sophisticated level than the 1962-1964 classics. "Help Me, Rhonda" was a number one single and would be their last Top 40 exercise in sheer fun for a while. More impressive was "California Girls," with its symphonic arrangement, glorious harmonies, and archetypal statement of Californian lifestyle. On the other hand, subpar efforts like "Amusement Park U.S.A." and "Salt Lake City," throwbacks to the empty-headed summer filler of previous days, will necessitate that the CD remote button remains close at hand. The answer song "The Girl From New York City" and the cover "Then I Kissed Her" are well done but don't break new ground. Yet a couple of cuts are among their most essential LP-only efforts. "Let Him Run Wild" is a soulful ballad with a great Brian Wilson falsetto vocal. "Girl Don't Tell Me," with its gorgeous melody, fine lead vocal debut from Carl Wilson, and subtle depiction of romantic rejection and disappointment, may be the best obscure pre-Pet Sounds Beach Boys track.
Matthew Shipp's New Orbit
As one of the most daring and original pianists in jazz, Matt Shipp continues to cover a wide spectrum of musical concepts and methods as artistic director of the Blue Series for Thirsty Ear Recordings. From avant-garde atonal textures to classical music textures and reams of cosmic consciousness and free expressionism, Shipp has been positioned in a lineage between Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor. As the fourth release in Thirsty Ear Recording's Blue Series, New Orbit finds Matthew Shipp at peace with himself in his attempt to unite the many experiences he has had as an Afro-American composer and the "various strands of the modern music world that are relevant to him." Shipp is joined on New Orbit by a great ensemble that includes Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet, bassist extraordinaire William Parker, and the dynamic Gerald Cleaver on drums. Shipp retains his distinctive sonics and musical lexicons on such songs as "Paradox X" and "U Feature" but raises the bar on the previous series' releases with the inclusion of a four-part suite consisting of the title track, "Orbit 2," "Orbit 3," and "Orbit 4." By virtue of Shipp's creative powers, the suite strips away conventional interpretations and immerses the talents of his ensemble in new imagining and jazz abstracts. New Orbit is an excellent delivery of avant-garde and free jazz that remains uncompromising, unrelenting, and totally individual.
Chuck Berry Is on Top
If you had to sweat all of Chuck Berry's early albums on Chess (and some, but not all, of his subsequent greatest-hits packages), this would be the one to own. The song lineup is exemplary, cobbling together classics like "Maybellene," "Carol," "Sweet Little Rock & Roller," "Little Queenie," "Roll Over Beethoven," "Around and Around," "Johnny B. Goode," and "Almost Grown." With the addition of the Latin-flavored "Hey Pedro," the steel guitar workout "Blues for Hawaiians," "Anthony Boy," and "Jo Jo Gunne," this serves as almost a mini-greatest-hits package in and of itself. While this may be merely a collection of singles and album ballast (as were most rock & roll LPs of the 1950s and early '60s), it ends up being the most perfectly realized of Chuck Berry's career.
Introducing... The Black Cat Pack
I have the pleasure to offer everyone the first work of a young jazz band from Huddersfield (West Yorkshire). What we have here is their debut recording first EP, done by Jonathan Taylor at Blacksail studios, Bradford UK. On the record we find four tracks in which these five young musicians show their good work. The first track, "Jerry Weintraub," is a correct version of the title track from producer and songwriter Waldeck. In the second cut draws attention to the voice of singer Tom Savage, playing a version of the classic Madeleine Peyroux "Don't Wait Too Long". "Catgroove" is a song that recalls the best swing written by the composer Parov Stelar, included in electroswing and downtempo styles. Finally found a version of the immortal "16 Tons" by Merle Travis to close a first job full of contrasts and nuances, because as they recognize their influences range from soul and rhythm & blues from Earl Van Dyke to the piano of Herbie Hancock . This young jazz band is made up of Tom Savage (vocals, guitar), Ben Brezinski (keyboards, percussion), Greg Walewski (saxophone), Adam Medlock (double bass) and Sam Speak (drums). From this modest blog I wish you the best of luck in the world of jazz. I hope you all link to download this album.
Japan - Gentlemen Take Polaroids
The last album with Rob Dean, Gentlemen Take Polaroids was also unquestionably the album in which Japan truly found its own unique voice and aesthetic approach. The glam influences still hung heavy, particularly from Roxy Music, but now the band found itself starting to affect others in turn. Even the back cover photo says as much -- looking cool in glossy, elegant nightwear, the quintet had a clear impact on Duran Duran, to the point where Nick Rhodes obviously was trying to be Sylvian in appearance. Musically, meanwhile, the swooning, hyper elegant Euro-disco sheen of Quiet Life was polished to an even finer edge throughout, the title track and the obvious descendant of "Quiet Life" itself, "Methods of Dance," in particular sheer standouts. Sylvian's sighing, luscious croon is in full effect on both, and the arrangements are astonishing, Karn's fretless purring between Jansen's crisp, inventive, and varied drumming, Barbieri's icy keyboards filling out the corners. What makes Gentlemen Take Polaroids even more of a success is how the group, having reached such a polished peak, kept driving behind it, transforming their exquisite pop into something even more artistic and unique. "Swing," in particular, is an astounding showcase for the Karn/Jansen team; snaky funk at once dramatic and precisely chilled, brass section blasts adding just enough wry, precise sleaze, Sylvian delivering with focus and intensity while not raising his voice at all. "Nightporter," meanwhile, is a hyper ballad and then some; a slow-paced semi-waltz with Barbieri's piano taking the lead throughout with wonderful results. Further hints of the future come with the album closing "Taking Islands In Africa," which Sylvian co-wrote with future regular collaborator Ryuchi Sakamato, and which wraps up the whole experience with a gliding, supple grace.
Lawrence Butch Morris - Dust to Dust
Lawrence "Butch" Morris' conduction technique, a form of directed improvisation whereby musicians follow a variety of live hand signals by the conductor to shape and reshape both notated and non-notated music, has not taken on the revered status of Ornette Coleman's harmolodic method of free improvisation, but has produced equally exciting music. In fact, mirroring the keen mix of composition and improvisation found in both Anthony Braxton's and John Zorn's work, Morris' relatively structured music at times surpasses Coleman's more free-form output. If his conceptions were amateurish, Morris' "songs" would pale in comparison to any of the high-end work Coleman has produced, but, as is the case with Dust to Dust, the pieces come out sounding whole and refined, enhanced greatly by a variety of impromptu musical twists. Enlisting a stellar cast of 12 musicians including, among others, drummer Andrew Cyrille, pianist Myra Melford, harp player Zeena Parkins, clarinetist Marty Ehrlich, and keyboard player Wayne Horvitz, Morris works through a varied program of seven numbers, mixing electronic and acoustic elements to produce constantly shifting ambient soundscapes. The pieces range from the spacious and pastoral-sounding "Via Talciona" and "Othello A" (with the harp parts faintly evoking Japanese koto music) to the more tightly wound, atonal-minimalist "Bartok Comprovisation," which is insistently moved along by repetitive figures played on the piano and a variety of electronic instruments. For the duration of all these cuts, a multitude of sound fragments drift in and out as original themes progressively turn more diffuse, broken up by a variety of rhythmic shifts. Some sound contrivances don't come off, like a few awkward guitar bits on "Via Talciona," but considering the amount of improvisation going on here and the mostly seamless result, these indiscretions end up as attractive aberrations. Taking in Webern's 12-tone brevity, Far Eastern music, jazz, Brian Eno's ambient work, and a load of his own compositional ideas, Morris creates a sophisticated and satisfying mix on Dust to Dust.
Leadbelly - In the Shadow of the Gallows Pole
There seems to be some kind of unwritten rule against giving exact session dates on most Tradition CD reissues, although at least one of the tracks on In the Shadow of the Gallows Pole comes from 1939. The sleeve does note that the material "is digitally remastered directly from rare, mint condition 78s contained in Leadbelly's first full album, Negro Sinful Songs, and from 78s released on the Stinson label." There's some interest in the variety of instrumentation -- Leadbelly uses not only his 12-string guitar, but also piano and button accordion (the last of which is used to unusual effect on the version of "John Hardy"). "The Bourgeois Blues" is also a bit unusual in that its lyric derives not from folk traditions, but from an incident in Washington, D.C. in 1935 in which Leadbelly encountered segregation. This can't be recommended as one of his more essential releases, however, particularly as the running time is a mere 28 minutes.
An Evening With Wild Man Fischer
Much sought after by an ever-increasing body of dedicated fans, this is the famous first album by an unforgettably unique and tragically misunderstood vocalist. Recorded and released in 1968, this album tells as much about the producer -- Frank Zappa -- as it does about the singer himself. Cal Schenkel's cover art ties it in with Zappa's own releases from that period. Considering the fact that Fischer appeared with the Mothers of Invention on several occasions, it is a shame that only two selections allow listeners to savor the interesting combination of Zappa's guitar and Wild Man's total-release vocalizing. "The Taster" sounds a bit like Paul Anka's "My Home Town," while a very psychedelic tantrum called "The Circle" has Zappa's best lysergic fuzz guitar up in front alongside the screams of the Wild Man. When he sings his theme song "Merry-Go-Round," Fischer is accompanied by the Bizarre Percussion Ensemble. Their expertly executed clunks and clangs and rattles and squeaks were also layered over live location recordings of Wild Man Fischer on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, as he sang songs for loose change in front of the Whisky A Go Go and the Hamburger Hamlet. There is also a humorous poetry performance ("The Madness and Ecstasy") by Kim Fowley and Rodney Bingenheimer, who rant about the historical and social importance of Wild Man Fischer. But the real gold in this album is an extended series of unaccompanied short songs. These are masterpieces of private whimsy. "I'm Working for the Federal Bureau of Narcotics" ends with a wonderful emotional outburst, as Fischer runs around the room screaming "stay away from me!" His surrealistic magnum opus, "The Leaves Are Falling," sounds almost like "Papa Oo Mow Mow," but employs a strange noise that Fischer seems to have made by clucking his tongue against his upper palette. Other highlights include "Think of Me When Your Clothes Are Off" and "Jennifer Jones," an outrageously funny epic tale of competitive serial killing. Fischer periodically describes his own life, what it was like to be different, how he thought up original songs and tried to share them with the world. Especially powerful is "The Wild Man Fischer Story," whereby the singer carefully reenacts his adolescence, describing how his mother actually had him committed to a mental institution twice for singing in his room. It is a mean story, a succession of misunderstandings that set the stage for a lifetime of being misdiagnosed, misrepresented, and misunderstood. Fischer quarreled with Zappa, frightened the Zappa family, and plunged this amazing record into limbo, as none of the surviving Zappas want anything to do with him. Negotiations are underway, and true Fischer devotees are wistfully waiting for the day when his first album will make its first legitimate appearance on compact disc.
World Saxophone Quartet - W.S.Q.
There is plenty of variety to the third album by the unique World Saxophone Quartet. The music ranges from nearly free improvisations to the four-part "Suite Music," which was almost completely written out. Rather than being a screamfest for the four innovative saxophonists (baritonist Hamiet Bluiett, altoists Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake and tenor saxophonist David Murray, all of whom double on other reeds), this is a well constructed and sometimes surprisingly accessible (although always explorative) program.
Bernard Allison - Across the Water
Rock, funk, and straight-ahead blues are all covered with ease on Across the Water, guitarist Bernard Allison's first release on the Tone-cool label. Allison is the son of blues guitarist Luther Allison and while the blues was a constant in his early listening, the rock and funk influences of his generation also played a natural part in his musical upbringing. Allison employs producer Jim Gaines who has worked with Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Albert Collins, helping to achieve the right blend of musical influences without getting away from the blues focus.
Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass
The Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass was recorded in a Paris studio in 1970. The band had been gigging regularly in the city and this session offered an intimate view of the live material including "How Strange" which appeared later on Live in Paris. "How Strange" is part of a suite with "Ole Jed," comprising nearly 22 minutes. Bass, an R&B and gospel singer by trade and Lester Bowie's wife at the time, adds a wonderful theatrical and sonic dimension to the Art Ensemble's creative juggernaut. "How Strange" begins with an African chant by Joseph Jarman and Bass. As the instruments enter in earnest, one can hear traces of "Round Midnight" waft through the background and then the musical reality play is off an running. Bass sings, roars, growls, chants and spits poetry, becoming another fiery instrument in the band's arsenal. On "Horn, Webb," Don Moye kicks it with a trap drum solo. For nearly four minutes before the tack comes to a standstill and the horns of Jarman, Bowie and Roscoe Mitchell come in, blaring in unison before the work becomes a long, spacious textural study with many dynamic and colorful shifts along the way. Thirty-six years later, this piece still sounds fresh, new, full of inquiry and excitement. This set stands the test of time beautifully.
The Beatles - Rubber Soul
While the Beatles still largely stuck to love songs on Rubber Soul, the lyrics represented a quantum leap in terms of thoughtfulness, maturity, and complex ambiguities. Musically, too, it was a substantial leap forward, with intricate folk-rock arrangements that reflected the increasing influence of Dylan and the Byrds. The group and George Martin were also beginning to expand the conventional instrumental parameters of the rock group, using a sitar on "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," Greek-like guitar lines on "Michelle" and "Girl," fuzz bass on "Think for Yourself," and a piano made to sound like a harpsichord on the instrumental break of "In My Life." While John and Paul were beginning to carve separate songwriting identities at this point, the album is full of great tunes, from "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)" and "Michelle" to "Girl," "I'm Looking Through You," "You Won't See Me," "Drive My Car," and "Nowhere Man" (the last of which was the first Beatles song to move beyond romantic themes entirely). George Harrison was also developing into a fine songwriter with his two contributions, "Think for Yourself" and the Byrds-ish "If I Needed Someone."
Randy Weston - Uhuru Africa
A social awareness swept through the jazz community around 1960. African-American jazz artists began to assert their heritage, embarking on a cultural quest in an atmosphere of racial and social unrest. Between 1958-1961, albums addressing the African-American social landscape included Art Blakey’s Africaine, John Coltrane’s Africa Brass, Oliver Nelson’s Afro-American Sketches, Dizzy Gillespie’s Africana, Max Roach’s Freedom Now, and Sonny Rollins’ Freedom Suite. In addition to these albums, Randy Weston asserted his African Heritage with the 1960 recording of Uhuru Afrika, an inspired, historic statement from the pianist/composer. Weston titled the work Uhuru Afrika, or Freedom Africa, in celebration of several new African nations gaining their independence. Uhuru Afrika is one of the finest (and earliest) combinations of African rhythms with advanced jazz and it features Weston utilizing a 24-piece big band that includes 14 horns, one guitar, two bassists, three drummers, and three percussionists; Martha Flowers and Brock Peters take vocals on "African Lady," the best known of the four movements.
The Flamingos
The Flamingos comprised a very good R&B vocal group from Chicago that recorded for years before reaching the pop top forty, with their own version of a hit from a previous decade. The group formed in Chicago in 1952. The original lineup consisted of lead singer Sollie McElroy, Earl Lewis, cousins Johnny Carter and Paul Wilson, and another set of cousins, Zeke & Jake Carey. They sang on street corners on the South Side of Chicago and got a break when they signed with their first label, Chance Records, in 1953. They performed at local clubs such as Club DeLisa and won a talent show. The first single the Flamingos recorded was If I Can't Have You, on Chance in 1953. The following year Sollie left and was replaced by Nate Nelson, the first of other changes to come in the group's lineup. Zeke Carey and Johnny Carter left and joined the Army, and were replaced by Tommy Hunt and Terry Johnson in the summer of 1956. The Flamingos mixed well together musically. They had good harmony and a pleasing style, but no real hits as time moved on. They went from Chance to Parrot in 1954, to Checker in 1955, and to Decca in 1956. The lone exception was their recording of I'll Be Home on the Checker label, which went to number 10 on the R&B chart in 1956 (and was a top ten hit on the pop chart for Pat Boone). They had signed with George Goldner's End label in New York City and things started to pick up for the Flamingos. They appeared in the 1956 Alan Freed film Rock, Rock, Rock and had a minor hit with Lovers Never Say Goodbye, at #52 pop and #25 R&B. The Flamingos were now led by Nate Nelson and Zeke Carey, who had returned from the service. Johnny Carter returned home also and joined the Dells, with whom he would perform for nearly fifty years. Real pop success finally arrived for the Flamingos with their first top forty pop hit I Only Have Eyes For You (#11 pop, #3 R&B) on End Records in the summer of 1959, with Nelson on lead vocals. The song was a #2 hit for Ben Selvin in 1934, and it would return to the pop top forty in a recording by Art Garfunkel, similar to the Flamingos' version, in 1975. They made another appearance in a 1959 Freed film, Go, Johnny, Go! From 1959 until 1961 the Flamingos had a other hits with Love Walked In, Your Other Love, and Time Was. Their second and last top forty pop hit came on End in 1960 with one that was written for them by Sam Cooke, Nobody Loves Me Like You. They recorded some albums for End as well, including Flamingos Serenade and Requestfully Yours. Nate Nelson joined the Platters in 1966 (he suffered a heart attack and died in 1984, at the age of 52). The Flamingos carried on, continuing to record in the ensuing years with some other minor hits, such as Boogaloo Party in 1966 and Buffalo Soldier in 1970. There were numerous other personnel changes in the makeup of the group over the years. Some believe the Flamingos to be one of the best of the doo wop groups. They took their place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Their most memorable hit came in 1959 with the old 30's standard I Only Have Eyes For You.
Barnes & Barnes - Voobaha
Barnes & Barnes, fictional twin brothers Art Barnes and Artie Barnes (Bill Mumy and Robert Haimer, respectively), are a comedy rock duo based in "Lumania", a fictional mythological civilization (similar to Lemuria or Atlantis). Most of their music is standard rock or pop with heavy comedic elements. They are best known for their 1978 song "Fish Heads." For most of the early '80s, Barnes & Barnes were the kings of Dr. Demento novelty rock, and Voobaha was their definitive album, a collection of wacky, off-kilter pop ditties that are either laugh-out-loud hysterical or nerve-shatteringly irritating, depending on your point of view. As much as any of their collections, Voobaha is the definitive Barnes & Barnes experience, containing not only the notorious "Fish Heads," but also "Sewey Hole," "Boogie Woogie Amputee," "I Hope She Dies," "Gumby Jaws Lament," "De Pumped Out Blues," and "Party in My Pants." If you found the titles funny, or if you liked "Fish Heads," you'll find the songs funny. If the titles seemed stupid to you, you're not gonna like this.
Gerry Mulligan Quartet
This was the 10" LP that launched the Pacific Jazz label. In fact, producer Dick Bock originally started his label specifically to record the popular Gerry Mulligan Quartet. Baritonist Mulligan, trumpeter Chet Baker, bassist Bob Whitlock, and drummer Chico Hamilton made for a classic team, as can be heard on the eight numbers that comprise this album. All of the music has since been reissued many times, but they are still worth hearing, particularly such performances as "Soft Shoe," "Aren't You Glad You're You," "Bernie's Tune," "Walkin' Shoes," and "Nights at the Turntable." Classic music.
Lightnin' Hopkins & The Blues Summit
An official issue of a much bootlegged studio and live session, Lightnin' Hopkins & the Blues Summit was recorded in Los Angeles on July 6, 1960. Along with Hopkins, in town at the behest of John Lomax Jr., the participants were Big Joe Williams, Sonny Terry, and Brownie McGhee, who were all completing a residency at the Ash Grove nightclub. The first half of the album is a well-lubricated studio jam session, while the even wilder second half takes place at the Ash Grove later that night. Like most straight jam sessions, this is loose to the point of messiness most of the time, with every song but one running well past the five-minute mark, with the foursome trading choruses and solos seemingly at random. Frankly, the whole thing sounds like it's on the verge of collapse three-quarters of the time, which makes moments like the sharp interplay of Terry's harp and Hopkins' finger-picked acoustic in the middle of a rave-up version of "Blues for Gamblers" that much more impressive. However, newcomers to these artists should probably start elsewhere; this is strictly for fans.
Bob Belden Presents Strawberry Fields
Jazz artists have tried intepreting the songs of Lennon and McCartney ever since the Beatles caught on in 1964; remember Ella Fitzgerald's "Can't Buy Me Love?" Although this particular effort by arranger Bob Belden is a bit hipper (the singers grew up listening to the Beatles), the treatments are just as unsatisfying. Despite the presence of a few jazz players, this is essentially a showcase for R&B-ish interpretations of Beatles hits with the focus on singers Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Holly Cole, Jahilsa, Penny Ford and Sylvia Shemwell on various tracks. Rather than casting the familiar songs in new settings with fresh ideas (such as Belden's recommended Sting tribute of a few years earlier), the treatments come across as modernized rehashes. True, the music has not often been sung by female vocalists, and none of these renditions are note-for-note recreations, but neither are the melodies and lyrics uplifted or transformed into anything worth remembering. Cassandra Wilson (who sounds as bored as ever) and Dianne Reeves take a duet, but unfortunately their talents are wasted on "Come Together." Reeves, with her glorious long tones, comes across best out of the singers (she interacts with Javon Jackson a bit on "The Fool on the Hill"), but this date can only be recommended to her greatest fans. And as for Jahilsa's "Hey Jude" and Sylvia Shemwell's "Let It Be," why bother?
Paul Kantner & Jefferson Starship - Blows Against the Empire
Paul Kantner's debut solo album actually was credited to "Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship," the first use of the "Starship" billing, predating the formation of the group with that name by four years. Kantner used it, extrapolating on the name of his current band, Jefferson Airplane, to refer to Blows's science fiction concept: A bunch of left-wing hippies closely resembling his San Francisco Bay Area compatriots hijack a government-built starship and head off to re-start the human race on another planet. Kantner had presaged this post-apocalyptic colonization idea on "Wooden Ships" on the last Airplane album, Volunteers, and here he expanded it out to album length with the help of members of The Airplane, the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Crosby, Stills and Nash, plus assorted others, a shifting supergroup informally known as PERRO, The Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra. (Kantner later would borrow that name for a subsequent solo album.) Blows actually was a little loose as concept albums go, seeming as concerned with the arrival of Kantner and Grace Slick's baby as with the departure of the starship. Kantner employed often dense instrumentation and complex arrangements, but there were enough hooks and harmonies to keep things interesting. Blows eventually went gold, and it was even nominated for a science fiction award usually reserved for novels.
Charlie Haden & The Liberation Music Orchestra - Dream Keeper
Dream Keeper is the third Liberation Orchestra recording from Charlie Haden. This time out he pairs orchestra alumni Carla Bley (who wrote all the arrangements), drummer Paul Motian, and tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman with additional jazz heavyweights, like trumpeter Tom Harrell, tenor saxophonists Joe Lovano and Branford Marsalis, trombonist Ray Anderson, and pianist Amina Claudine Myers. Taking the racial and political strife in South Africa and El Salvador as their spiritual focus, Haden and Bley deftly blend South American and African music, jazz, and gospel over the album's five selections. Bley's opening suite, "Dream Keeper," features a particularly effective alternation of somber, sometimes ethereal-sounding choral parts (performed by the Oakland Youth Chorus) and Central American motifs and rhythms (Harrell deserves special mention for his beautiful trumpet work throughout this extended piece). The other lengthy number in the program, "Nkosi Silelel'I Afrika," is an arrangement of "The Anthem of the African National Congress"; it's a fluid, hard swinging piece, which features standout solos by Redman and alto saxophonist Ken McIntyre. Shorter, more whimsically swinging numbers, like "Rabo de Nube" and "Sandino," balance out the set and include fine statements by Lovano and guitarist Mick Goodrick. Haden closes the record with his New Orleans jazz/gospel hybrid tune "Spiritual." An excellent album and one of Haden's best.
Look! It's the Moonglows
The Moonglows were always among the classiest acts in the field of R&B harmony vocals -- the regular crossover of their own work to the pop charts, and the appeal of their repertory (most notably "Sincerely") into vocal pop in others' hands both speak to that point. It should, thus, come as no surprise that their first (and only official) album places a strong emphasis on elegant harmonizing, often with tasteful string arrangements -- not that there aren't some hot rhythm numbers here, especially "Kiss Me Baby" from early 1956 (and we'd love to know who the guitarist and sax-man were on that song); and "Mean Old Blues," a jaunty, swaggering dance number. But mostly the music here comes from the other end of doo wop music spectrum than, say, the work of the Cadillacs or the Coasters; it's no less valid, and equally alluring, just mostly with more emphasis on harmony than rhythm -- and it is blues, to be sure, even if the rhythm isn't always appropriate for anything other than slow dancing. Ironically, the most mainstream number here, "Cold Feet," comes at the end of the album and almost seems like an after-thought, just to show that this group could do a by-the-numbers rock & roll dance piece, and do it well. Mostly though, lead singers Harvey Fuqua and Bobby Lester delivered the R&B equivalent of a Sinatra album, in terms of sheer seductiveness. "Ten Commandments of Love," which was the hit off the album, will be the most familiar number here, but everything else is of the same quality, itself an amazing feat when one considers that, as with most early Chess Records LPs, the material here wasn't recorded with an album necessarily in mind. Rather, it was assembled from across three full years of singles sessions. And that speaks well for Leonard and Phil Chess who, on "This Is Love," "Don't Say Goodbye" and "I'll Stop Wanting You," pulled out all of the stops (and must have emptied their production budget) with the strings backing up Fuqua, Lester and company. It all holds up amazingly well five decades later, and is a part of the group's legacy that is well worth owning.
Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction
"Eve of Destruction" was so present on the airwaves at its height in 1965 that as it ended play on one station, it would start up on another, a dominating hit single which charted higher than any protest song written by Bob Dylan, the man whose own "Masters of War" must have inspired P.F. Sloan's classic protest song. Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" came close, stalling under the upper reaches of the Top 40 two weeks before McGuire grabbed the brass ring. McGuire even cut "Master's of War," appearing on his 1994 One Way Records Anthology album and evidence of the typecasting which decimated what should have been a huge radio presence beyond this title track and first and only hit. Five years before Ricky Nelson would chart with Dylan's "She Belongs to Me," McGuire makes it the first of two Dylan covers, throwing the similarities right in the listener's face. A Steve Barri/P.F. Sloan title, "You Never Had It So Good," follows that, and the theme and model becomes a bit redundant. Sure, people had commercialized the songs of Bob Zimmerman, but not to the extent where the man behind Carole King's eventual solo success, Lou Adler, along with the Grass Roots' initial production team of Sloan and Barri, would take a former New Christy Minstrel and turn him into a radio-friendly copy of the world-famous protest singer. Engineer Bones Howe, P.F. Sloan, Barri, and McGuire redesign the traditional "Sloop John B," a version that is much different from the Beach Boys', and it's a wise move which backslides and is eradicated as they go after Dylan's "Baby Blue," truly branding the innovative soul that is Barry McGuire. At least his reading of Sylvia Fricker's "You Were on My Mind" is original enough, though McGuire can't hit the notes the We Five's Beverly Bivens easily reached. The pulsating cover of the Ian & Sylvia tune doesn't come close to the We Five's arrangement and majesty which charted simultaneous with "Eve of Destruction," but it works so much better than the "imitation Bob" which permeates this package. The Beach Boys took the traditional "Sloop John B" Top Three in 1966, but McGuire did it first, and he also pre-dated Gladys Knight with a version of the standard "Try to Remember" ten years before she brought the title to popular radio. It is these three notable other covers which succeeded for Barry McGuire and indicated his potential. The man has tons of talent, as witnessed on his Christian albums like Lighten Up, and the dark sounds of his classic moment in the sun and gravelly voice (which probably influenced Alex Chilton) deserved much more success.
