The World is Yours, Part 1

Caravan has bn 1 of my fave rock bands since 1978, when the guys in my fave record store (which I later worked at) slapped on a copy of the single-disc BEST OF CARAVAN (on London Records) -- & by the time I got 2 the slammin finale of the "live" version of "For Richard," I was hooked. I bot it & took it home, & was back 4 more the next day.
That single-disc BEST OF wasn't even that good. It was sorta a cross-section of the Canterbury group's best ("For Richard," "Memory Lain/Hugh/Headloss") & silliest work ("Golf Girl," "If I Could Do it All Over Again I'd Do it All Over You," "Love to Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)"), with maybe the bouncy & charming "Aristocracy" covering the middle ground.
But I went back 4 more NEway, stumbling over an 8-track(!) copy of the amazing FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT in the cutout bin 4 $3.99. That album proved perfect 4 screaming along with later as I rolled down the freeway on the way to work at the record store. Crank-up "Memory Lain" or "The Dog, the Dog, He's at it Again" or "Be All Right" or "A Hunting We Shall Go" & just screech along as the car rolled past the Idaho cornfields....
Tho FOR GIRLS was at times a pretty big production job, what grabbed me -- along with the nice vocal harmonies & the silly lyrics -- was the jazzy, swinging big-band sound that Caravan had, & that they seemed to be able to get even when there were only 4 instrumentalists playing.
I found more later -- the nearly-as-good BLIND DOG AT ST. DUNSTAN'S, the jazzy WATERLOO LILY, the seriously disappointing CUNNING STUNTS & the even-worse BETTER BY FAR & THE ALBUM -- & a 2-record best-of called CANTERBURY TALES that really did seem 2 include mosta their best stuff.
There R at least 4 Caravan best-of's by now, but the recent THE WORLD IS YOURS (2010) seems 2 get it right, pretty much, & covers a LOT of ground -- 4 CDs tracing the group's work from their 1st album in 1968 thru the end of their classic period in 1976, closing with BLIND DOG's "All the Way With John Wayne's Single-Handed Liberation of Paris" -- 1 of the prettiest lovesongs you'll ever hear. The set includes halfadozen trax from their very 1st album, & all of what was apparently their most popular release, 1971's IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK.
The set ain't perfect -- there R some trax that Rn't here that I think otta B, but it all sounds great & Caravan fans should love the handful of previously-unreleased trax, BBC sessions, live versions, etc. I'm gonna split this review in2 2 parts since the set is 2 huge 2 tackle all at 1nce. Here's what I listened 2 offa the 1st 2 discs onna recent Friday:

Place of My Own/Love Song with Flute/Where But for Caravan Would I?/A Day in the Life of Maurice Haylett/And I Wish I Were Stoned/Asforteri/With an Ear to the Ground You Can Make It/Golf Girl/In the Land of Grey and Pink/Winter Wine/I Don't Know its Name (The Word)/Feelin' Reelin' Squealin'/The Love in Your Eye (original version without overdubs)/The World is Yours/Aristocracy.

"Place of My Own" sounds a little "bassier" than the version previously released on the 2-CD CANTERBURY TALES best-of, but it's still a great song with terrific singalong choruses & the 1st of many great organ solos by Dave Sinclair -- who group leader Pye Hastings rightly points out in the liner notes was right up there with Keith Emerson & Rick Wakeman among the great keyboardists of '70s prog. Sinclair took the Soft Machine organ sound & made it more melodic on Caravan's 1st few albums, & later on he sounds like no1 else on his own "Davoli" synthesizer.
"Love Song with Flute" has some nice overlapping vocals in the middle -- a trick these guys would use often later. In fact the middle section sounds a lot like "And I Wish I Were Stoned".... "Where But for Caravan" rocks a bit more than their stuff usually does, & makes 4 a rather short 9 mins. Clearly these guys needed more room.... "A Day in the Life" is a previously-unreleased 5-min Nothing, but with some nice keyboards.
"And I Wish I Were Stoned" perhaps has a slightly diffrent mix than earlier versions -- U can hear Pye's backing vocals more clearly here. But the main attraction is another Xcellent organ solo, & some nice guitar work later on.... "Asforteri" is a brief, trancelike vocal round, something they'd master on the later "The Dog, The Dog".... "Ear to the Ground" is a 9-min medley that I wish rocked a bit more. The Nding would B stronger if it rocked out like the middle of the piece.
"Golf Girl" is silly & charming, & there's some nice flute by Pye's brother Jimmy Hastings at the Nd. "Grey and Pink" has more of bassist Richard Sinclair's silly, charming lyrics. The middle section of his "Winter Wine" has melancholy lyrics reminiscent of the "Disassociation" section of Caravan's epic "Nine Feet Underground": "Life's too short to be sad/Dreaming of things that you'll never have...." The previously-unreleased "I Don't Know it's Name/The Word" has another nice flute solo by Jimmy Hastings & summa the jazzy feel the band would follow on WATERLOO LILY.
From that album, the version of "The Love in Your Eye" included here is "unsweetened" -- there R no strings or horn overdubs. It sounds pretty stark compared 2 the version on the album, but there R good vocals by Pye & some nice keybs by the British Steve Miller. The mix of "The World is Yours" included here moves Pye's vocals in2 the background, as they were on the original album. The version released previously on the CANTERBURY TALES package moved Pye's vocals up-front with the gtr & keybs. It's still a great song -- I always thot the problem w/ the original was Pye seemed 2 far away.... "Aristocracy" is still bouncy & charming.
I have saved the best 4 last. Included on the 2nd disc here is a May 1971 BBC session that features a 9-min cover of Kevin Ayers' old Soft Machine tune "Feelin' Reelin' Squealin'," which is probly the loudest, most obnoxious thing these guys have ever done. It's rockin, screeching, noisy, hilarious -- a nod 2 their roots, I assume. (The members of Caravan & Soft Machine all started out in the same R&B/soul/jazz ensemble, Canterbury's legendary '60s band Wilde Flowers.) Pye sounds like himself 4 about 30 seconds -- the rest of the time he & Richard Sinclair R busy channeling the original Soft Machine lineup. I swear it sounds like Ayers is singing mosta this -- & then somebody apparently starts making fun of the manic out-of-control muttering that Daevid Allen(?) contributed 2 the original Softs' recording. It's all a scream. I'll havta compare the 2 some more, but talk about a suprise -- Caravan was NEVER this loud & obnoxious NEwhere else in their recording career. They were always pretty smooth. I don't think U could play this track 4 Njoyment, Xactly ... but 4 clearing your house of unwanted guests it'd B unbeatable. EZily their most SCREAMINGLY LOUD track ever....

Coming Soon: Part 2, & Camel's RAINBOW'S END best-of....

Grumpy Jazz-Rock Friday!

Currently it's 20 degrees & windy, in the middle of a rather nasty snowstorm here, this winter's 1st -- but cast your mind with me back 2 last Fri afternoon, when it was gray & overcast & rainy & in the 40s, & snow was just rumored 2 B "on the way" -- a perfect setting 4 Grumpy Jazz-Rock Friday!
Believe me, if I could actually FIND some grumpy jazz-rock, I'd B listening 2 it. Instead, here's The List, some of which I actually LIKED....

Synergy -- Icarus.
Pat Metheny Group -- Eighteen/Barcarole.
Pat Metheny & Ornette Coleman -- Song X.
John McLaughlin -- Don't Let the Dragon Eat Your Mother.
Mahavishnu Orchestra -- Birds of Fire/Miles Beyond/Celestial Terrestrial Commuters/Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love/Thousand Island Park/Hope/Sanctuary/Open Country Joy/Resolution/The Noonward Race/A Lotus on Irish Streams/Awakening.
David Sancious -- Suite Cassandra/Dixie: March of the Conditioned Souls/Civil War of the Soul.
Weather Report -- Vertical Invader/T.H./Dr. Honoris Causa.
Pentangle -- Haitian Fight Song/Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.
Ian Carr's Nucleus -- Gone With the Weed/Out of the Long Dark.
Miles Davis -- In a Silent Way.

"Icarus" is something of a jazz classic, but Synergy's synthesized version of its haunting melody is the best version I can find. Both the Winter Consort & composer Paul Winter's solo versions R a little 2 mushy. At least Synergy's version has some 4ce 2 it -- it sounds really good 1nce U 4get the fact that it's totally synthesized. From SEQUENCER. Haven't heard Oregon's version of the tune, tho....
"Eighteen" isn't bad -- it's got some nice lite&bouncy guitar, & is EZily the best thing on OFFRAMP, near as I can tell, tho it's far from Metheny's best work. It's not Xactly distinctive -- lite jazz that's perfect 4 throwing out the household trash. "Barcarole" is noisy & has no tune -- it's as bad & painful in its way as "Forward March" off Metheny's FIRST CIRCLE album ... but nowhere near as funny. But 4 some REAL noise....
...There's "Song X." There's 2 much of Ornette Coleman here -- he's squeaking & squalling all OVER the place. There isn't enuf of Metheny. There's no melody whatsoever -- which I know was Coleman's whole point 2 Bgin w/. Jazz critics said SONG X was supposedly 1a Metheny's more "legitimate" albums, closer 2 "real jazz." I'd prefer something more illegitimate. & this track's only 6 mins long; summa the trax on the album R over 11 mins -- how the hell am I sposta get thru them?
McLaughlin's "Dragon" is loud but kinda spacey, w/ some nice gtr runs from McLaughlin & equally nice sorta-rain-droppy organ tones from Larry Young. OK, but over 2 soon. From DEVOTION.
"Birds of Fire" -- Wow, a tune! Mostly carried by Jerry Goodman's viola. Good riffage goes a long way w/ me. "Miles Beyond" hasa cool close-miked gtr (bass?) solo that un4tun8ly is over 2 quick. "Commuters" is also over 2 fast, w/ another good riff & some nice synth & gtr work. The 22-second "Sapphire Bullets" just made me laff -- Rastro got a whole write-up outta this? "Thousand Island Park" sounds like David Sancious (C below), w/ some nice piano from Jan Hammer. "Hope" is brief & anticipatory -- makes U wanna turn the record over.
"Sanctuary" is also pleasant & over way 2 fast. "Open Country Joy" features some very nice quiet keyb&violin sections & is over 2 soon. "Resolution" Cms 2 B building up 2 a big finish -- another good riff ... that just Nds.... "Noonward Race" is more noise from lightning-fingers McLaughlin -- I couldn't finish it. "Lotus" is a quiet piece 4 violin, gtr & keybs that again sounds like David Sancious -- or now I know where he got his sound from. Mahavishnu's quieter, more reflective pieces (like this 1) R pretty good. They shoulda done more stuff like this. "Awakening" is another furious rave-up, a lightning-fast riff w/ more screeches & smears. Overall, not bad. From BIRDS OF FIRE & THE INNER-MOUNTING FLAME. I'll listen 2 the 10-min "One Word" sometime in the future. MayB listening 2 King Crimson 4 so many yrs made it so I can finally hear these guys summa the time....
I heard "Suite Cassandra" 1nce a coupla yrs ago & still remembered the theme this time around. Sancious's melodies R sometimes pretty memrable. His 1976 TRANSFORMATION (THE SPEED OF LOVE) album is utterly brilliant in places, & where the melodies work they really stick with U. These trax from Sancious's 1975 debut FOREST OF FEELINGS Rn't quite as brilliant -- "Cassandra" lays-out his method: a sometimes-striking piano-theme statement followed by variations, w/ a return 2 that striking theme at the Nd. "Dixie" really does take-off from the Civil War standard; the 2nd section has some OK spacey synth effects toward the Nd, but that's about all.
Weather Report's live medley from I SING THE BODY ELECTRIC features some pounding, relentless drumming from Eric Gravatt & some good squawking sax from Wayne Shorter. There's some of the same feel here as on their classic "Boogie Woogie Waltz" medley from their later live album 8:30, tho this isn't as tuneful & there's nowhere near as big a finish.
I don't have NE Charles Mingus in the house, so I thot I'd try 2 Mingus pieces by Pentangle, a late-'60s British folk group known 4 their instrumental interplay. "Haitian Fight Song" gets a nice bouncy riff going, but both trax R pleasant but 4gettable.
Nucleus was a horn-based '70s British jazz-rock band. "Weed" gets funky in places, "Dark" was quieter & I couldn't finish it.
I closed w/ "In a Silent Way," which I've bn playing every now&then since I was in my 20s. Nice raindroppy piano & organ tones, soothing gtr by McLaughlin, Miles's trumpet cutting thru, perfect 4 a rainy afternoon....

Guilty pleasures....

Due 2 Technical Difficulties, there will B no Mostly New Music Friday write-up 2day. But that's OK cos I had Something Else planned NEway.
Can't Blieve I haven't written about this stuff B4 -- mayB I have in other contexts. Ghod knows I've looked.
NEway, mayB it's something about the holidays approaching, but whenever I stop 4 a min 2 think about all the things I have 2 B Thankful 4, that automatically Cms 2 lead 2 Confessing My Sins. So here's a list of my all-time faverite musical Guilty Pleasures, some of which I still slap on the stereo now&then when the moon is full & all the planets R lined-up wrong....
& after I've Mbarrassed myself in public, it'll B YOUR TURN 2 Confess All. Don't B scared....
* The Partridge Family -- Go ahead, laff. I don't care. The Truth is the Partridges' group-chorale vocal style has continued 2 influence pop music up 2 the present day, coming down 2 us thru acts like Fleetwood Mac, Clannad & Enya, among others. Their 1st album (1970) is a solid, consistent set of pop songs including classics like "Singing My Song" & "I'm on the Road." UP TO DATE (1971) was patchy but included the gorgeous "I'll Meet You Halfway" & Keith Partridge's almost-rockin' "Lay it on the Line." SOUND MAGAZINE (1972) rebounded w/ their best work, including 2 side-closing masterpieces, "Love is All I Ever Needed" & "I'm On My Way Back Home." Their producer Wes Farrell really Knew His Stuff. But of course if U can't take Keith's huge ego....
* The Osmonds, 1st album (1971) -- NOT "One Bad Apple" or "Sweet and Innocent," both of which made me gag even back then. But this 1st album includes the startling social-protest song "Think," the dramatic "Catch Me, Baby," a version of "Most of All" that beats B.J. Thomas, & a closing medley of 4 Motown hits ("Motown Special") that definitely MOVES & is almost ... funky. & their group-vocal version of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" beats the Hollies & Neil Diamond.
* Helen Reddy -- I could go thru life happy if I never hear "Delta Dawn," "Ruby Reddress," "Angie Baby" & "I Am Woman" ever again. But "I Don't Know How to Love Him" has a great vocal that starts out very hesitant & gets stronger & more dramatic as it goes, & "Peaceful" has a breathtaking string arrangement that clearly evokes fresh air & relaxation. Around '72 Helen also did a vicious Carole King-written death-of-a-ladies'-man song whose title escapes me & that I can't find NEwhere. NE ideas?
* Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass -- THE BEAT OF THE BRASS (1969) is an Xcellent late-'60s pop album w/ 3 classic trax: the best-ever version of The Mamas & The Papas' "Monday Monday," with horns & bells & lotsa other stuff, brilliant cos it sounds NOTHING like the original -- they coulda spaced it out 4 20 mins. "A Beautiful Friend" is more like Herb & the TJB -- a mellow, laid-back horn piece w/ a great hook. & then there's Herb's modest vocal debut on "This Guy's in Love With You," which was a #1 hit single....
* Carpenters -- They've gained some dorky-cool over the yrs. "Goodbye to Love" (great guitar!), "Hurting Each Other" & "Rainy Days and Mondays" R all Prime Melodrama, "Solitaire" only slightly less great, & "For All We Know" is a brief but charming wedding song written by 2 of the guys from Bread. I'll even put on "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" 1nce in awhile -- it's really sorta a companion piece 2 Rush's "Mystic Rhythms," ain't it?
* Bread -- Grab their 2 GREATEST HITS albums & count the classics: "Been Too Long on the Road," "Mother Freedom," "Guitar Man," "Let Your Love Go," "Everything I Own," "It Don't Matter to Me" -- & summa their album trax R stunning: "Too Much Love," "Down on My Knees," "Look What You've Done," "Take Comfort," "He's a Good Lad"....
* Neil Diamond -- His mid-'60s stuff ("Kentucky Woman," "Solitary Man," "Cherry Cherry," etc) has gained in cool over the yrs, but his late-'60s/early-'70s stuff is really great & pretty strange -- "Holly Holy," "Soolaimon," "Walk on Water," "Done Too Soon," the goofy "I Am the Lion," "Crunchy Granola Suite," & much more! 4 yrs I thot Neil could do no wrong, then about '76 or so he went 2 Show Biz 4 me. Still, I've worn out a coupla copies of his CLASSICS: THE EARLY YEARS, & I still have a copy of his fairly-wretched JONATHON LIVINGSTON SEAGULL soundtrack in the house -- I'm also 1 of the 12 people in the world who paid $$$ 2 C the movie back at Xmas '73.
* Linda Ronstadt -- MAD LOVE (1979) is about 1/2 of a good New Wave album: Her cover of Elvis Costello's "Party Girl" is intense & dramatic, "How Do I Make You" does the job, & "I Can't Let Go" is gorgeous. & her cover of EC's "Talking in the Dark" is pretty silly. Summa her singles were pretty great 2: "Long Long Time," "Someone to Lay Down Beside Me," "Poor Poor Pitiful Me," etc.
* The Bee Gees -- Speaking of melodrama, these guys always had it. I'm a sucker 4 the crashingly dramatic "First of May," thru classics like "Lonely Days" & "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," 2 later stuff like "Fanny," "Nights on Broadway," & "Tragedy." Not a big fan of the disco stuff. But "Spirits (Having Flown)" is a gorgeous calypso piece that shoulda bn a huge hit....
* Janis Ian -- She's also gained some cool over the yrs. Jeez, a few yrs back there was a science fiction anthology published based on her songs, which I think is a 1st. BETWEEN THE LINES (1974) is about 1/2 brilliant, w/ the gorgeous "When the Party's Over," the brutally honest "From Me to You," & masterpieces like the stark, brief "In the Winter" & "Watercolors." AFTERTONES (1975) isn't as strong, but includes the Xcellent title song & "Love is Blind."
* Lobo -- MayB it was my age, back in '71. Not much I can't listen 2 on his BEST OF, & he did a string of brilliant pop singles. MayB my fave now is "A Simple Man," which was never a hit but shoulda bn. & if U can find a copy of his 1st album, INTRODUCING, it's priceless. Hardly a bad track on the whole thing....
* Nik Kershaw -- HUMAN RACING is a classic, w/ the hit "Wouldn't it be Good" & LOTS of other silly stuff. My absolute fave is the loopy "Gone to Pieces," in which Nik bids goodbye 2 the human race & The Chipmunks chime-in on the choruses. Brilliant & hilarious.
* Tracey Ullman -- YOU BROKE MY HEART IN 17 PLACES shows she coulda had a whole diffrent career. U probly know the hit "They Don't Know," but "Breakaway," "I'm Always Touched by Your Presence, Dear," "I Close My Eyes and Count to Ten" & others R all great fun, & they're not played 4 laffs, either.
* Weird Al Yankovic -- U know the song satires, but how bout the brilliant "Nature Trail to Hell," "Polkas on 45," "One More Minute," "Christmas at Ground Zero," "Dare to be Stupid"....
* Go-Go's -- Their 1st 3 albums R fulla 4got10 gems: "Can't Stop the World," "Fading Fast," "Lust to Love," "This Town," "Worlds Away," "The Way You Dance," "You Thought," "Capture the Light," "Forget That Day," "I'm With You"....
* Bangles -- Shoulda been bigger. Their 1st album ALL OVER THE PLACE has a 4-star 2nd side & the 1st side ain't no slouch neither. & the overlooked stuff on their later albums still sounds great: "Dover Beach," "Restless," "Silent Treatment," "September Gurls," "Angels Don't Fall in Love," "Following," "Not Like You," "Return Post," "I'll Set You Free," "Glitter Years," "Everything I Wanted," "Where Were You When I Needed You."
Now it's YOUR turn....

Throw something at the wall....

...and see if it sticks!
(Mostly New Music Friday #3)

B.J. Thomas: Rock and Roll Lullabye.
Split Enz: Poor Boy.
Spooky Tooth: Feelin' Bad.
Yes: No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed/Clear Days.
It's a Beautiful Day: Soapstone Mountain.
Jade Warrior: Dark River/Obedience/Borne on the Solar Wind.
Alan Parsons Project: The System of Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether/You Don't Believe.
Leo Kottke: Whine/Embryonic Journey/Losing Everything/Drowning.
Ike and Tina Turner: River Deep, Mountain High.
Turtles: Lady-O/Sound Asleep.
Nilsson: Remember (Christmas).
The Move: Tonight.
The Kinks: Victoria.
Van Morrison: Wavelength/St. Dominic's Preview/Listen to the Lion.

Opened this session w/ a beat-up old vinyl copy of B.J. Thomas's "Rock and Roll Lullabye," from a GREATEST HITS album found at Goodwill 4 $1 -- & Dspite the scratches, Duane Eddy's twangy guitar & the gorgeous backing vocals by Carl Wilson & Darlene Love still did their magic. The best & most comforting thing ol' Beej ever did.
Split Enz's "Poor Boy" is 1 of the best things they ever did -- Tim Finn's song about falling in love w/ an alien. Along w/ the spacey/cheesy gtr & keyboards (like something strait outta some '50s sci-fi B movie -- or probly something more like a D-), summa the lyrics R pretty funny: "I've never seen her face/Between us there's too much space...." From HISTORY NEVER REPEATS/THE BEST OF, & TRUE COLOURS.
Spooky Tooth's "Feelin' Bad" is (2 me) classic late-'60s goodtime British rock, especially great 4 the ragged almost-gospel-ish group-vocal choruses, impossible not 2 screech along w/. From SPOOKY TWO.
4 me, Yes's "No Opportunity Necessary" is 1 of the great mismatches of all time, great silly fun as 1 of the un-funkiest groups ever covers a Richie Havens song. & how bout those TOTALLY over-the-top orchestrations? The strings&horns middle section sweeps along like something from an old Marlboro cigarettes commercial -- U can almost C the Marlboro Man riding boldly across the plains.... The great thing is, it pretty much works -- the later remastered version on YESSTORY clears up the musical chaos & is a lot punchier, boosting the band's instrumental work & Jon Anderson's kinda ballsy(!) vocal. Brave & silly, whatta band. The orchestra actually works kinda well toward the end of Jon's brief solo-vocal "Clear Days." Both these R from TIME AND A WORD.
"Soapstone Mountain" has some kinda nice gtr toward the Nd. Other than that, pretty dull.
Jade Warrior helped invent New Age -- way back in 1971. All these trax R instrumentals from LAST AUTUMN'S DREAM: "Dark River" is rather Mike Oldfield-ish, mixing tribal drums, flute & acoustic gtr -- pretty in spots, but not rock&roll. "Obedience" has lotsa loud electric gtrs, which was always The Other Side w/ this band (at least in its early days), the loud boogie always waiting 2 escape out from under the placid stuff, leading 2 ugly #'s like "Snake Bite." "Solar Wind" is a big, stately, metallic gtr theme repeated over&over w/ few variations 4 3 mins....
"Dr. Tarr" is 1a Parsons' early singalongs -- I'm a sucker 4 the backing vocals & choruses. "You Don't Believe" apparently outlines summa the creative strain Btween Parsons & his partner, lyricist & vocalist Eric Woolfson. Kinda compelling no matter what it's based on, tho there R no real suprises.
"Whine" really does start out with a catchy & whiny gtr theme, which unfortunately gets lost B4 the Nd. "Embryonic Journey" is a solid cover of Jorma Kaukonen's old Jefferson Airplane tune. The other 2 R vocals, 1 about relationships breaking up, w/ some kinda clever lyrics. I can't even remember what the other 1's about, Xcept that w/ titles like these, they Rn't the kinda things I otta B listening 2 on an overcast, rainy aft when it's so obviously November outside. Kottke mayB sang 2 much on this album (BALANCE) when his gtr spoke more than well enuf.
Blame "River Deep" on my buddy Crabby. In his recent Top 10 he talked about a late-'60s Ronettes song that didn't chart but should've, & it occurred 2 me that I hadn't played NE of Phil Spector's stuff in awhile. I'm sure I musta heard this at least 1nce B4 a few yrs back, but even w/ the overcast & rain outside, Phil's Wall Of Sound did its magic. I had tears in my eyes, man. I don't know if I love this more than "Be My Baby" or "Baby I Love You" -- Tina screeches a little -- but it shoulda at least charted. It shoulda sold a million. It woulda sounded great on the radio next 2 "Good Vibrations".... From Phil's GREATEST HITS.
Needed a break after that. The Turtles' version of Judee Sill's "Lady-O" is gorgeous & also shoulda bn a hit. "Sound Asleep" is the other Xtreme -- pure laffs. & how bout that chorus of quacking ducks at the Nd? From their Dutch-import 20 GREATEST HITS.
"Remember (Christmas)" is a heartbreaker, the essence of nostalgia.
"Tonight" is more silliness. Whatever happened 2 Roy Wood?
I predict an upcoming Xplosion of Kinks music Bing discussed here. "Victoria" is a screamer that sounds almost dignified in its original studio version compared 2 later "live" versions as on say TWO FOR THE ROAD. But the original has great gtr sound & some nice horns, + brother Dave Davies whooping it up in the background. From ULTIMATE COLLECTION, & ARTHUR. I'm also a sucker 4 "Apeman," "Shangri-La," "Dead End Street," "Village Green Preservation Society," "Sunny Afternoon," "David Watts," "Celluloid Heroes," "Misfits"....
1nce it gets going, "Wavelength" is pretty good. But it coulda gotten there quicker. "St. Dominic's Preview" is an OK rolling, relaxed sorta-jam track. "Listen to the Lion" is a pretty amazing vocal performance from Van as it slowly gains intensity & mutates over 11 mins. Involving & hypnotic, tho I'm not sure about Van's growling in the middle. & again, this coulda bn cut by a coupla mins. I'm wondering if Van needed an editor or a producer (other than himself) who might notta indulged him quite so much. Xcellent instrumental work on all these, all from STILL ON TOP/THE GREATEST HITS.

Mostly New Music Friday #2!

Camel: In the Arms of Waltzing Frauleins/Cloak and Dagger Man/Stationary Traveller/Long Goodbyes/Pressure Points (live).
Jefferson Airplane: Mexico/Wooden Ships/Eskimo Blue Day/Pretty As You Feel/Third Week in the Chelsea/Have You Seen the Saucers?/The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil/Martha/Greasy Heart.
ELP: Jerusalem/Toccata/Benny the Bouncer/Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression (Part 1).
Be-Bop Deluxe: Blazing Apostles.
Keith Jarrett: Pyramids Moving.
Laurie Anderson: From the Air/Big Science/Sweaters/Walking & Falling/Born, Never Asked/O Superman.
Spirit: Fresh Garbage/I Got a Line on You/Prelude -- Nothin' to Hide/1984/Mechanical World/Ice/New Dope in Town/Cold Wind.

A little better selection of new stuff this time, + a few old favorites I couldn't resist playing....
I rather stupidly traded-off Camel's import-only STATIONARY TRAVELLER a coupla yrs back after only a listening or 2, thinking that none of it grabbed me that much, it was a little 2 Alan Parsons Project-ish (not that there's NEthing wrong w/ that), & that I already had the best 2 trax off of it ("West Berlin" & "Refugee") on Camel's ECHOES best-of.
But thanx 2 the recent release of Camel's RAINBOW'S END best-of, I now have over 1/2 of STATIONARY TRAVELLER back in the house 4 another listen. "Cloak and Dagger Man" DEFinitely sounds like the Parsons Project, as does "Long Goodbyes," possibly cos both have vocals by APP's Chris Rainbow. The title track has some nice guitar & a pleasant pan pipes solo by Andy Latimer. "Frauleins" is a German period piece & the live "Pressure Points" opens big & then Dgenerates in2 OK gtr-background music -- it had a bigger impact in the studio version. Dspite this, RAINBOW'S END has a lotta good stuff on it, well worth looking in2 if yr a Camel fan. Course I coulda assembled a better box, but don't get me started....
Ah, the Airplane. Bless its pointed little head. Always Xcellent gtr from Jorma Kaukonen, & summa the vocal blends R AMAZING. "Mexico" is so grabby I played it 2wice -- a brief dope anthem from '70 w/ complex vocal interweaves & a LOT goin on & Grace Slick's marvelous angry singing -- she sure could project. "Wooden Ships" is a ragged after-the-bomb anthem, an intresting contrast w/ Crosby, Stills & Nash's much smoother version (which I know much better). "Eskimo Blue Day" is a Green anthem w/ occasional great lines ("the human crowd don't mean shit to a tree") & another Xcellent Grace vocal.
The jazzy & stupid "Pretty As You Feel" was a single? "Third Week in the Chelsea" has a nice folky tune & funny lyrics -- it sounds like Kaukonen's farewell 2 the Airplane. I like almost all of Paul Kantner's sci-fi epics 4 Jefferson Starship, but 1970's "Saucers" doesn't quite have the formula down yet. "Pooneil" is pretty loud 2 B a ballad, but there R occasional neat lines among the ragged vocals ("Will the moon still hang in the sky when I die?"). "Greasy Heart" has some neat lyrics about sex & more great singing by Grace. All these R from ESSENTIAL.
At the risk of ruining my reputation as a Prog "expert," I hereby admit that I've never listened 2 Emerson, Lake & Palmer's BRAIN SALAD SURGERY -- supposedly their best album -- all the way thru. I don't know why that is. I'd of course heard "Still, You Turn Me On" & the 2 parts of "Karn Evil 9, 1st Impression" (I think the 1st section is WAY better & more dramatic than the "Welcome Back My Friends...." part -- in fact, it's probly my all-time fave of their works) -- but after seeing my buddy Rastro had played "Jerusalem" recently, & after reading Emerson's autobio, I thot I'd try 2 take care of this blank spot. & I'm glad I did.
Talk about over the top. Lake's singing on "Jerusalem" is pretty solid -- almost dignified. But how 'bout Emerson? He's already burbling away. Then there's "Tocatta," in which E makes every possible bubbling, burbling, roiling, farting noise his synthesizers R capable of -- this is hysterical, pyrotechnic entertainment, but is it music? "Benny the Bouncer" is silly, but there's some neat barrelhouse piano in it.
So the reason BSS is ELP's best album is Bcos of the over-the-top-ness of it, the non-stop juggernaut of energy & sheer sound, yes? ...Wonder if I'll survive Side 2...?
Hadn't heard "Blazing Apostles" in years. Great fluid gtr, great choruses -- but Be-Bop's leader/gtrist Bill Nelson sings his rather good lyrics like he was taught English as a 2nd language. His Bryan Ferry-ish voice seemsta have trouble getting the words out. This track's from SUNBURST FINISH, which has a pretty good 1st side -- best thing on it's the glorious "Sleep That Burns," & the thunderstorm of gtr at the end of "Crying to the Sky."
I could C pyramids Bing built 2 music like that conjured up by Keith Jarrett & his saxophonist Dewey Redman. A screechy Egyptian horn, groaning sounds of great weight being rolled up a ramp, wood blocks & gongs & scattered percussion, & U can hear seagulls in the background. Suprised U can't hear flies in the 4ground. From Impulse's GREAT MOMENTS WITH KEITH JARRETT best-of.
Laurie Anderson's "From the Air" is repetitive & hypnotic, w/ some nice sax & Laurie's warm voice & funny lyrics. "Big Science" has some great driving directions that had me laffing. "Sweaters" is silly but has a great kazoo orchestra. "Walking" & "Born" R kinda 4gettable, but "O Superman" takes all the tricks in the previous songs & strips them 2 the bone, making 4 a pretty gripping 8 mins of Minimalism. There R some similarities 2 Philip Glass here, but Anderson is much warmer, not as icy & creepy. & I can't Xplain how a change in her tone of voice can make me laff. All these trax R from BIG SCIENCE, found 4 $1 at Goodwill -- I might even keep it.
Spirit's "Fresh Garbage" has some nice jazzy piano. & 1nce I got started playing their BEST OF I got sucked in. "Line" is brilliant, 2 bad it's only 2-1/2 mins long. "Nothin' to Hide" is nearly as good, but along w/ all the good things in it from the delicate opening 2 the sour vocals, it also has a really neat laff at the end that I never noticed B4.... "1984" is a paranoid rocker about the Men In Black, 1969-style. "Mechanical World" is a dark dirge I couldn't finish. "Ice" is a jazzy keyboard-based instrumental. "New Dope in Town" warns that "too much business is bad for you baby" -- seems obvious enuf. "Cold Wind" is mournful. These last 3 R from CLEAR, a soundtrack album 4 a 4gotten movie, which 1 reviewer at the time called "mood music." Sounds like it'd B right up my alley. Not sure I can buy CBS's claim that these guys were America's answer 2 Pink Floyd, however. Need more evidence....
I was gonna end this session w/ Split Enz's "Poor Boy" cos I haven't heard it in awhile, but I FORGOT. Next time....

Whadda ya wanna know?

Been readin some rockstar autobiographies lately. Bill Bruford's recent AUTOBIOGRAPHY (reviewed previously here, see "Still alive and ... well....") is well worth the $$$, showing what seems 2 B YEARS of Deep Thot B4 he ever started writing, + mayB a few 2 many Deep & earnest conversations w/ Robert Fripp about the Meaning Of Music & its connection 2 the Meaning Of Life. The book reveals a lot about the drummer, it's pretty funny in places, U'll learn a lot about the bands he's been in, & my only real complaint was that it was 2 short....
The 2 books up 4 review 2day R an Ntirely diffrent can of worms. Both Keith Emerson's PICTURES OF AN EXHIBITIONIST (2004) & especially Rick Wakeman's GRUMPY OLD ROCK STAR (2008) R much less earnest & thotful than Bruford's book, even tho Emerson's book attempts 2 fairly seriously cover his Xperiences in The Nice & ELP.
From his Bginnings in Gary Farr & the T-Bones, thru his star yrs w/ The Nice & ELP, thru soundtrack work & hand surgery & a painful return 2 live performing, PICTURES covers a lotta ground, but not necessarily in much depth. U'll probly learn a lot about The Nice (Emerson didn't like Andrew Loog Oldham's muddy unfinished production job on "America"), & remain confused about a lotta ELP's history.
Emerson doesn't always Xplain which ELP songs he contributed firey Moog & keyboard work 2 (1 long section Dscribes work on 1 track on ELP's 1st album, which I assume from the description is "Lucky Man," but Emerson never sez so, & there's no index). He sometimes gets the names of his own compositions wrong ("Abaddon's Bolero"), & ELP's 3-yr layoff isn't really Xplained in NE depth -- that's just the way things worked out. U'll also learn summa the inspiration Bhind E's Piano Concerto -- a fire that Dstroyed his country house. U'll also learn what a handful Greg Lake can B 2 work w/....
U'll also learn what it was like 2 B a superstar rock musician touring the UK, America & Europe at the Nd of the '60s & thru the '70s, drinking a lot, blowing lotsa $$$, indulging every whim, & making sure 2 mention how many women he bagged along the way. (No wonder E's wife finally divorced him -- he never sez specifically why, but by the Nd of the book U'll know why....)
Now, I don't Xpect NE deep inner thots 2 B revealed by a writer if he's not really the type -- & I wouldn't Xpect it from Greg Lake's autobio either! Tho an Xtrovert on-stage, E admits in the book that the only thing that finally got him talking 2 people was his use of cocaine in the mid-'70s. If U're a big ELP fan, E's reminiscences may work fine 4 U -- there IS a lotta good stuff here, especially the recording Dtails & E's run-ins w/ summa the composers whose work he "borrowed" (Bernstein, Copland, Ginastera). But overall I thot it was kinda thin, & as usual I wanted 2 know more. & I wish some1 had proofread the book 4 him....
Speaking of thin.... Reading Rick Wakeman's GRUMPY OLD ROCK STAR is Xactly like having Rick pull up a chair in yr living room & telling U the funniest, wildest stories from his career. Even tho some of them Rn't funny at all. Like Rick having 2 heart attacks at age 23, then taking another 15 yrs 2 stop drinking & smoking 2 Xcess -- after he was given 6 mo's 2 live & Dcided 2 quit cold-turkey so he could B around 4 the imminent birth of his newest son.
This is absolutely not a career retrospective. There R some funny stories here, tho: Like Rick's adventures performing KING ARTHUR & THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE and JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH live (ARTHUR on ice, JOURNEY w/ giant inflatable dinosaurs), or the time Rick threw artist Salvador Dali offstage when Rick & The Strawbs were playing at a circus....
This stuff is absolutely not introspective -- Byond saying he Njoyed "every minute" of live performances, Rick has very little 2 say about NE of the music, Xcept 4 how much he disliked Yes's TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS & the direction Yes was headed at that time.
This book is strictly 4 laffs. It's short. Kick back w/ a beer or 12 (as Rick woulda done 1nce -- or many times) & U can read it in an hr. There's at least 1 sequel, FURTHER ADVENTURES OF A GRUMPY OLD ROCK STAR.
I'm still waiting 4 Bob Fripp's autobio. He's 64, the time is right, & I KNOW he's got the diary notes 4 it....

ALL NEW OLD MUSIC!!!

We here at KTAD, in our ongoing effort 2 find great rockin new (old) sounds, spent this past Fri aft playing music that was (almost) completely new to us, in an attempt 2 find something worth adding 2 The Permanent Collection.
For an inaugural effort, this attempt 2 Find Something New (2 us) was an almost complete success. At least the turntable kept working.
But as for finding some great new previously-overlooked tunes ... not so much. We still have a pretty-good-sized pile of stuff gathering dust here, so these "New (old) Music Fridays" will likely continue 4 awhile.
Here's the inaugural playlist:

Mannheim Steamroller: Toccata/Small Wooden Bach'ses/Fantasia: Chorale/Door 1/Door 4/Door 5.
John McLaughlin: Devotion.
Mahavishnu Orchestra: Sister Andrea/Be Happy.
ELP: Abaddon's Bolero.
Procol Harum: The Devil Came from Kansas.
Focus: Sylvia/House of the King.
Todd Rundgren's Utopia: Utopia Theme.
Spirit: The Great Canyon Fire in General/Elijah.
It's a Beautiful Day: Don and Dewey/The Dolphins.
The Dregs: Bloodsucking Leeches/Up in the Air.

Notes: I heard a little of Mannheim Steamroller's work 30 yrs ago in my Record Store Daze & I remember wondering what all the fuss was about, when groups like Jethro Tull, Gentle Giant, Amazing Blondel & Gryphon were all doing similar things -- taking classical & folk sounds & rocking them up. Sure the Steamroller's work was well-produced, but....
"Tocatta" is OK, but it doesn't really go anywhere, being mostly a showcase 4 kinda-showoffy keybs & drums. "Door 4" is pleasant, & "Door 5" almost rocks -- w/ a harpsichord. But these guys cut their themes 2 short sometimes, & when they're not being showoffy they can B overly delicate. I guess I'm saying this chamber-rock doesn't rock enuf. Some of it isn't rock&roll, & some of it isn't 2 gripping. It's also a little thin on the bass. But "Tocatta" was the only tune that stuck in my head all afternoon.... From FRESH AIRE III & II.
The 1st thing I thot while listening 2 "Devotion" was ... Hendrix lives! The track is a sorta aimless, kinda downbeat droning w/ McLaughlin's ultra-fast guitar runs played over the top. Thru most of the 14 mins I was wishing I could hear more of Larry Young's organ work -- & then Young got a little solo space toward the Nd. It didn't help much. I'm about 2 give up on most jazz-rock -- I need TUNES. This left me as cold as NE bad jazz-rock I've heard. From DEVOTION.
Mahavishnu's "Sister Andrea" isn't bad -- starts out w/ a kinda funky theme, then goes in2 a sorta atonal gtr-jam midsection that sounds a little like middle-period Gong, then back 2 the funky theme. Composer Jan Hammer does some nice keyboard work toward the Nd. "Be Happy" is very quiet & I'm not much of a fan of the singer, whoever she is. Both from BEST OF.
"Abaddon's Bolero" is a little more like it -- a theme w/ variations, repeated over & over & getting progressively louder. I was suprised it didn't get louder & wilder, & it coulda gone on longer.... Part of this sounds like the Air Force Song ("Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...."), or like some old TV show theme -- "Dragnet," mayB? From TRILOGY.
"The Devil Came From Kansas" sounded like kinda a muddy production 2 me, but it might B my cheap, tinny turntable & speakers.... From A SALTY DOG.
Here's 2 4 my new friends in Holland: I don't think I'd heard "Sylvia" in 35+ yrs. Good gtr riff -- it's missing only some yodeling or something 2 set it off. "House of the King" has some nice acoustic gtr & flute. I guess this was a minor hit in some countries. From FOCUS 3.
The "Utopia Theme" has LOTSa nice keybs & synths & of course Todd's gtr. It mighta bn a little over the top, but I didn't mind. Suprised they could keep it going 4 14 mins. From Utopia's 1st.
Spirit did some great stuff ("I Got a Line on You," "Nature's Way," most of 12 DREAMS OF DOCTOR SARDONICUS), & I would like 2 get in2 them more. But. "Canyon Fire" is another 1 of their odd little songs. "Elijah" is an 11-min jazz instrumental that sure coulda used a sax or something over the top of the lite-jazz riffing. I made it thru the bass solo. But I gave up in the middle of Ed Cassidy's drum solo. They needed something else 4 some contrast. From Spirit's 1st.
Beautiful Day's "Don and Dewey" is a sorta violin-led hoedown. Fred Neil's "The Dolphins" could almost B a country love ballad. They show some talent, but.... No wonder everybody 4got them after their 1st album. I'll havta play Side 2 of that 1st album again someday.... From MARRYING MAIDEN.
How do U mess up a song w/ a great title like "Bloodsucking Leeches"? EZ! -- make sure there's no tune. This & "Up in the Air" continue my opinion that the Dregs only had about 4 tunes total. "Leeches" is their flashy lotsa-changes #, & "Up in the Air" is a sorta rustic acoustic gtr showcase. Yes's Steve Howe is credited w/ gtr on "Air," recorded in England, but I only hear 2 gtrs, & he didn't add much. Did he guest just Bcos co-producer/engineer Eddy Offord had the connections? Pleasant but 4gettable. From INDUSTRY STANDARD.

Not much here that I can't live w/o. But this New (old) Music Friday thing will likely B continuing 4 awhile. Next time I'll just try 2 pick better....

500 NYMPHOS AND A MULE!!!

C'mon Blogger, you're making it all up!
I don't really BELIEVE that 42 people viewed this blog on Wednesday, Oct. 20.
Nor do I believe that 39 people from Holland suddenly, almost overnight, started visiting this blog. That's almost 1/2 as many viewers as I've had from the US in the last week!
What attracted them? (Have I been writing about Focus? Does "tad" translate into "dick" in Dutch?) They couldn't all be visiting to read my theories about whether rock critics killed prog-rock -- at least not according 2 Blogger's stats ... & if that's why they swung by, why didn't any of them comment?
I know -- they visited so they could see ANGELINA JOLIE NAKED!!!
Sorry, guys. It was a bad joke. I personally apologize 2 the Ntire nation of the Netherlands -- most of whom apparently visited this blog in the last 24 hours.... But Ghod knows WHY.
If anything, Blogger's "Stats" info doesn't tell me ENOUGH!
All you folks from the Netherlands out there, WELCOME!
Same goes for you Americans, & my handful of buddies from the UK, & any1 else silly enuf 2 wanna C what kind of weirdness I'm up 2 here. Not that I know....
Right now there's just 1 thing I wanna know:
Is anybody else hooked-up-2 Blogger getting any kinda weird stats like these?
...& if U really R viewing this blog from 1/2way across the planet, could U mayB leave a comment, lemme know who U R & what brot U here & if it was worth it?
I'd appreciate it....

Did the critics kill Prog Rock?

Well, no. I've been reading a lotta prog-rock histories over the past coupla yrs, & sooner or later they all discuss how much impact the negative reviews of mainstream rock critics had on the demise of prog.
Jerry Lucky in his PROGRESSIVE ROCK FILES spends sevral pgs defending prog from rock critics who just didn't "get it." Rather late 4 this sorta thing, I think, & defending yr favorite genre from critics doesn't win U new fans -- far better & more productive 2 point-out the Good Stuff, I would think.
Even Bill Bruford in his recent AUTOBIOGRAPHY accuses the rock crits of "chipping away at the edifice" until prog rock simply collapsed.
Hmmm. I agree more w/ Bob Fripp's theory that in the mid-2-late '70s there arose a whole new generation of rock fans who wanted heroes closer 2 their own age 2 cheer 4. These new heroes (Clash, Ramones, Sex Pistols, etc.) hadda lot more in common w/ younger fans than the art-rockers who'd bn performing since the late '60s & were more in2 living well, appearing stylish & mayB stashing away a few bucks.
Of course my own theory at the time was that the demise of prog was due 2 a bunch of REALLY weak albums all released very close 2 1-another over a 2+ yr period. I'll come back 2 this....
& while it's true that critic Dave Marsh never heard a prog band he actually LIKED, he DID include Roxy Music's "Over You" in his HEART OF ROCK AND SOUL book about his choices 4 the 1,001 greatest rock singles of all time.
& while Robert Christgau could B noticeably condescending about most prog bands, he was also a sucker 4 some arty stuff -- Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Mahavishnu Orchestra ... & he gave King Crimson's RED an "A-" rating in a review....
& even Lester Bangs -- champion of all unpolished, informal, loud, noisy & spontaneous music -- gave a grudging rave 2 Emerson, Lake and Palmer's PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION in the pages of ROLLING STONE magazine, where Bangs admitted he played the album twice in 1 nite, pounding his fists on the floor in enjoyment & getting his kicks.
Well, there's no accounting 4 taste....
Tho the criticism could B sneering & vicious in the pages of CREEM, CIRCUS, NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS & MELODY MAKER, prog perhaps got away most EZily in the pages of ROLLING STONE, where many of the mag's critics seemed pretty open-minded about prog, no matter what the perceptions of the past may B.
While RS's Ed Ward slammed the Moody Blues' DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED & IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD, Stu Werbin was pretty positive about the later EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR, calling the Moodies "the Sistine Chapel of Rock and Roll."
RS also boosted the early work of Yes, w/ Richard Cromelin raving about FRAGILE & CLOSE TO THE EDGE.
The RS crits were also open-minded & supportive about out-there work by David Bowie (HUNKY DORY & ZIGGY STARDUST), The Move (MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY), some of the Kinks' more Xperimental work (VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY, ARTHUR, LOLA VS. POWERMAN AND THE MONEY-GO-ROUND), Procol Harum (LIVE WITH THE EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA), Jethro Tull (AQUALUNG & THICK AS A BRICK), even the Beach Boys (PET SOUNDS, SUNFLOWER, SURF'S UP).
Later, Charley Walters even gave a mostly-positive review 2 ELP's mostly-awful WORKS VOLUME 1 -- mainly for "Fanfare for the Common Man."
Some of this open-mindedness even continued in2 the mostly cynical & sarcastic 1st ROLLING STONE RECORD GUIDE, where albums like Caravan's WATERLOO LILY, the Moodies' DAYS & SEVENTH SOJOURN, Pink Floyd's MEDDLE & ANIMALS, & King Crimson's COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING all received 4-star ratings. Pink Floyd's DARK SIDE got 5 stars, along w/ Procol Harum's 1st & A SALTY DOG.
I'm probly forgetting a lot, but this recap should at least indicate that the critics weren't as uniformly negative as it sometimes seemed.
Besides, some prog releases deserved 2 get slammed. From about '78 thru '80 or so there were a series of prog albums that were way weaker than they shoulda been. Whether this was due 2 record company meddling -- pushing 4 a more commercial approach in the face of declining sales -- nevertheless, summa these albums deserved 2 bomb: The Moodies' OCTAVE (& some much-later albums that were even worse), Genesis's DUKE (which actually sold a coupla million offa couple hit singles), Yes's TORMATO, U.K.'s DANGER MONEY, Asia's 1st (VERY popular), Gentle Giant's GIANT FOR A DAY, Mike Oldfield's QE2, Renaissance's A SONG FOR ALL SEASONS & AZURE D'OR, others that were so hideous I'm sure I've blocked them out or at least TRIED 2 ... & others I've heard about but never actually HEARD: ELP's LOVE BEACH, Renaissance's 2 albums of the early '80s, the Giant's CIVILIAN....
No wonder music fans preferred 2 listen 2 Punk or New Wave when faced w/ summa this.
& even while all this was happening, Pink Floyd was selling millions of copies of THE WALL. & ROLLING STONE's Kurt Loder called the Floyd's next album, the grim & mostly-weak THE FINAL CUT, something like "the pinnacle of British art-rock."
At the time I thot prog's demise could B blamed Ntirely onna series of really weak albums. Now I think it was that + changing audiences & styles, a contracting economy, record company meddling, & Fripp's theory about fans wanting new heroes 2 cheer 4. I can also back Charles Snider's theory in THE STRAWBERRY BRICKS GUIDE TO PROGRESSIVE ROCK that mayB the style had simply run its course, like other musical styles do.
But I don't think we can just blame the critics on this 1. It's their job 2 criticize.
Your thots?

What's in a name?

A list of forgotten singles by a cast of unknowns is up 4 review tonite, as we prepare 4 R ALL NEW MUSIC review-session later this week. Any1 who can guess the true identities of all of the following "unknowns" will win the usual free CDs we have lying around the house collecting dust. We'll start w/ the EZ 1's & they'll get more obscure as we go. Good luck & good listening!

* Jethro Toe: "Back to the Family" -- Sorta understated, catchy, funny song-story about the +'s & -'s of having strong family ties. I like the sly way the lead singer & flutist sings the lyrics. These guys might have a future.
* Reginald Dwight: "Ego"/"Teacher I Need You" -- "Ego"'s an affectionate, nostalgic, slightly bitter # about all the "childish, foolish, immaturish" things the singer & lyricist did while growing up, apparently while pursuing an acting career prior 2 taking-up music -- & how their current Xperiences reflect back on their adolescence. Catchy, great lyrics, marvelous choruses. "Teacher I Need You" is a rollicking rocker about a schoolboy stuck on his teacher; not introspective at all. Xcellent piano all over both of these trax.
* Johnny & the Moondogs: "Thank You, Girl"/"There's a Place" -- "Thank You" is a rather downbeat lovesong w/ ragged harmonies & some nice harmonica. The lyrics R a puzzle, perhaps saying less than they mean -- mayB the girlfriend helped the singer get over some kinda sexual problem? The ragged harmonies & harmonica return 4 the altogether more effective & more introspective "There's a Place," which has echoes of the Beach Boys' "In My Room." Could B the start of something big.
* Hollow Notes: "How Does it Feel to Be Back?"/"Diddy Doo Wop (I Hear the Voices)" -- "How Does it Feel" is a strong, smooth modern R&B piece straight outta the '70s, w/ a punchy production, good guitar & Xcellent smooth vocals by a coupla white guys from Philly. "Voices" is something altogether darker & more mysterious -- possibly about the shadowy inspirations 4 '50s doo-wop music.
* Paul Ramon: "Love in Song" -- Big heartfelt ballad w/ a huge production, great vocals & solid gtr & keyboards. This singer/songwriter could have a future.
* Mabel Greer's Toy Shop: "Every Little Thing"/"Something's Coming" -- "Every Little Thing" is a marvelous cover of an old Beatles tune, enthusiastically performed by a band that obviously really enjoys updating this old #. & stealing the gtr riff from "Day Tripper" during the long instrumental intro is hilarious. "Something's Coming" is a remake of the old Bernstein/Sondheim # from WEST SIDE STORY, also enthusiastically done, but a bit less of a song to start with. Still, who woulda thot of doing this in 2010? It's so kitsch!
* Carl and the Passions: "Feel Flows"/"It's About Time" -- "Feel Flows" is retro-hippy, strait outta 1972, w/ marvelous warped gtr, a phased flute solo, & some very warm vocals. The lyrics R a bit over the top. "It's About Time" is a driving rocker, riveting in its impact but still a little high-falutin' -- its lyrics R about The Meaning Of Life. Despite the lyrics, marvelous performances.
* J. Eddy Fink: "In the Winter"/"From Me to You" -- "Winter" is a stark portrait of lost love, brief & haunting. "From Me to You" is advice from the singer/songwriter 2 the man she's leaving; some of the lyrics seem etched in acid. & this woman can SING.
* The Paramounts: "Wreck of the Hesperus"/"Long Gone Geek" -- "Wreck" is a rockin' shipwreck-at-sea tale, w/ a rolling piano, good gtr & Xcellent orchestrations. The vocal coulda been stronger. "Geek" is another rocker w/ some nice gtr & great closing group-vocal choruses.
* White Clover: "Back Door"/"Can I Tell You?" -- "Back Door" is an underplayed ballad w/ some nice drama & Xcellent synthesized bagpipes at the end. "Can I" sounds like a demo, but rocks a bit & has some nice rudimentary violin work & above-avg. lyrics. A name 2 watch 4.
* Group X: "You'd Better Believe It"/"Lost Johnny" -- "Believe" is a driving wall-of-sound rocker w/ lotsa chattering synthesizers. "Johnny" is a stripped-down, menacing rocker w/ eerie lyrics, a mix of metal & punk.
* Giles, Giles and Fripp: "Cat Food"/"Groon" -- "Cat Food" has hilarious lyrics & a pianist who sounds like a cat tiptoeing across the piano keys. Amusingly off-kilter; you'll laff. "Groon" is a warped, reverberating gtr/bass/drums instrumental with the tones bouncing off in all kinds of diffrent directions. This will stretch your speakers & possibly your ears as well.
* Soft White Underbelly: "Morning Final" -- Keyboard-led horror story set in the NYC subways. Great choruses & some very nice gtr at the end.
* Bartley Butsford, Daniel Dust, Wilton Carpet & The Beak: "Doctor Diamond" -- Gtr-led horror story set in the NYC subways. Marvelous vocals, superb lyrics.
* The Architectural Abdabs: "Flaming" -- Marvelous fake-psychedelia, strait outta 1967, w/ tape-loop gtrs, harps, cuckoo clocks, phased vocals, & terrific work by the singer/gtrist & organist.
* Roger, Roger, Rick and Nick: "Jugband Blues" -- Spooky.
* Brew: "Manic"/"Spirit of the Water" -- "Manic" is a driving rocker about schizophrenia, frustrated & angry w/ some screamingly intense gtr in the middle. "Spirit" is a brief, ghostly mood piece, hazy & watery. Haunting.
* Simon Dupree and the Big Sound: "Think of Me With Kindness"/"Knots" -- "Kindness" is a gorgeous tho downbeat, mournful lost-love ballad, let down only by a kinda lame acapella midsection. "Knots" is the confusing, overly-complicated acapella sound of a relationship falling apart. These guys show some real talent.