NEVER PAY TAXES AGAIN!!!

...Just kidding, IRS, really.
(The Blogger "Stats" Xperiment continues.... So far there's absolutely no evidence that my "ANGELINA JOLIE NAKED!!!" headline led 2 a massive upsurge in page views. So far. Dammit. ... It's so great 2 B out here in the blogosphere where you can write almost ANYTHING & it doesn't really matter because hardly NE1 actually notices....)

Meanwhile, in Btween Xhausting nites at work & occasional torrential downpours, here's what KTAD's "More Music Friday" playlist looked like:


Wigwam: Do or Die/Simple Human Kindness/Bless Your Lucky Stars.
Camel: Unevensong/Wait/Eye of the Storm/Who We Are.
Weather Report: Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz (live).
ELO: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle/Can't Get it Out of My Head/Boy Blue.
Monkees: Tapioca Tundra.
Joan Armatrading: Persona Grata/Temptation.
Caravan: Place of My Own/Where But for Caravan Would I?
Fairport Convention: A Sailor's Life.
Genesis: Counting Out Time/Firth of Fifth (studio version).
Nektar: Fidgety Queen/Unendless Imaginations.
Jethro Tull: Dun Ringill/Jack-A-Lynn/Farm on the Freeway/Steel Monkey.
Strawbs: On Growing Older/Keep the Devil Outside.
Ciggy Barlust and the Tits from Venus: Backside.
Clannad: Second Nature/Closer to Your Heart.
Procol Harum: Repent, Walpurgis/Shine On Brightly/A Salty Dog.


Notes: Wigwam's "Do or Die" is bouncy, fairly straightforward rock w/ Xcellent guitar, "Simple Human Kindness" is full of silly advice, & "Bless Your Lucky Stars" is a rolling, rumbling, ominous, faintly menacing masterpiece -- the ultimate vocoder song. All are from Wigwam's Xcellent 1975 album NUCLEAR NIGHTCLUB.
Camel's "Unevensong" & "Wait" R fairly similar -- both start out kinda pushy & impatient & then settle in2 Andy Latimer's soaring gtr lines. "Unevensong" also has a long, gorgeous gtr/keyboard finale. "Eye of the Storm" is a beautiful flowing keyboard piece written by Kit Watkins & previously recorded by his prior band, Happy the Man. "Who We Are" is a superb moody lovesong w/ more great gtr from Latimer. "Unevensong" is from 1977's RAIN DANCES, the other 3 R from 1979's underrated I CAN SEE YOUR HOUSE FROM HERE.
Weather Report's "Badia/Boogie Woogie Waltz" is the best thing I've ever heard by them, from their 1980 2-record "live" album 8:30. In it, we follow an NYC commuter from his apartment in Chinatown -- leaving 4 work as his wife chatters honey-do's out the window at him -- & follow him as he catches the subway downtown, the music speeding up as he nears his destination.
This thing shifts gears & speeds up at least 3x, & each time U think it can't get NE faster it DOES, until the commuter arrives breathlessly at his destination -- & the subway train barrels across the stage and sprawls across the tracks in a steaming heap of wreckage. It's brilliant. Bassist Jaco Pastorius & drummer Pete Erskine hammer away thruout the whole last 1/2, & saxophonist Wayne Shorter screeches as the subway train thunders downtown out of control. Composer/keybsguy Joe Zawinul is a friggin genius.
ELO's "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is of course the 1st of Jeff Lynne's songs of praise 2 the telephone co. His other 1 was "Telephone Line," of course. Rumor or legend has it that Marc Bolan of T. Rex played gtr on "Ma Belle" -- I only hear 1 gtr but LOTS of strings. I couldn't finish "Boy Blue." These trax R from the OLE best-of.
Joan Armatrading's pretty brilliant at times. Both "Persona Grata" & "Temptation" gain lotsa dramatic impact from Mike Howlett's huge, booming production. These R from her 1985 album SECRET SECRETS.
Caravan's "Place of My Own" features great singalong choruses & a marvelously shrill organ solo from Dave Sinclair. "Where But for Caravan Would I?" is a sorta dirge about good times, but 1nce it gets rolling it rocks rather harder than they usually did, making 4 a VERY short 9 mins. I'll B playing it again. Both these R from Caravan's 1968 1st album & also from their recent THE WORLD IS YOURS best-of.
Fairport's "A Sailor's Life" was a disappointment. It started off very stark & dramatic, & there is a tragedy in the tale -- but I was hoping 4 a repeat of the opening w/ more drama, & instead there was just a long dull instrumental fade. MayB I missed something. From their MEET ON THE LEDGE best-of.
"Counting Out Time" is the only Peter Gabriel-era Genesis song I've ever been able 2 get into, mayB Bcos of the funny lyrics about sex. "Firth of Fifth" opens w/ some nice keyboards from Tony Banks, but Gabriel's declaiming voice stopped me -- I'm 2 used 2 hearing these old non-hits as sung by Phil Collins on later Genesis live albums like SECONDS OUT & THREE SIDES LIVE.
Nektar's "Fidgety Queen" is a rockin' classic, w/ great loopy gtr choruses from Roye Albrighton. "Unendless Imaginations" opens HUGE w/ a choir & a whole lot more -- but then thins down 2 a long, dull instrumental fade. Both these R from their DREAM NEBULA best-of.
Tull's "Dun Ringill" is a brief, ghostly classic from 1979's STORMWATCH. I couldn't finish the other 3, & I LIKE Tull. They won a Grammy 4 the CREST OF A KNAVE album w/ "Farm on the Freeway" & "Steel Monkey"? These trax R all from the 1993 2-CD BEST OF.
"Keep the Devil Outside" is a classic B-side from Strawbs' HALCYON DAYS best-of. "Backside" is the Strawbs in disguise, poking fun at David Bowie & his Spiders from Mars, w/ some hilarious, paranoid lyrics: "The spiders from Uranus/Climbing up the wall...."
Clannad's "Second Nature" is a flashy, modern, California-ized shoulda-bn-hit from SIRIUS. The rather more natural & moody "Closer to Your Heart" is from MACALLA. Both R included on ROGHA/THE BEST OF.
Procol's "Repent, Walpurgis" is a sorta bluesy instrumental workout 4 piano, organ & gtr. "Shine On Brightly" features some wacko Keith Reid lyrics, great piercing gtr work by Robin Trower, shoulda bn a hit & is 1 of my fave Procol songs, right up there w/ "Wreck of the Hesperus."
"A Salty Dog" is an amazing vocal performance from Gary Brooker, & tho I know it's 4 dramatic purposes I think the pace is 2 slow -- but the sense of resolution at the Nd is pretty great NEway. I'm reminded of Richard McKenna's short-story "Fiddler's Green," in which a group of sailors in a lifeboat create an island paradise out of their group fantasy longings. Keith Reid's lyrics & the gorgeous music paint a vivid picture. All 3 trax R from Procol's 1996 GREATEST HITS.


COMING SOON: In R continuing search 4 new sounds, we here at KTAD plan 2 hold at least 1 complete session in which we play NOTHING BUT ALL-NEW-2-us previously-ear-unheard music, w/ nothing but the artist's reputation 2 go on B4 listening. This should lead 2 some small suprises & possibly big disappointments, + help us tackle some music that's bn lying around the house unheard 4 awhile now. Coming late next wk. Hope U'll tune-in. (Hey, if we could do this "live," we would....)