Nost-Algae

RIP holywarbles

2012-01-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Apparently the Owl got shut down. That's sad, he made killer mixtapes and shared some really good stuff.
I won't get into what was right and what was wrong, but his was definitely one of the more enjoyable blogs out there... it was a labor of love and he obviously spent way more time on it than I do on this one!!!
Who's making the rules out there? Burn in hell.

Comus - "First Utterance" 1971

2011-12-04T04:06:00.000-08:00

Autumn into winter.... an album of brooding darkness... and brilliance!

Comus - First Utterance
Dawn, 1971

"Another one of those albums that just amaze me. COMUS managed only two albums and then disappeared. "First Utterance" was their debut, originally released in 1971 on the Dawn label. They are often thought of as a folk-rock band, but there are major difference between COMUS and well-known acts as FAIRPORT CONVENTION or STEELEYE SPAN. Neither of those groups would create music so sinister, both in atmosphere and in lyrics. Neither would they have a vocalist who at times brings to mind Roger Chapman of FAMILY, or he decides to sing at a higher pitch, brings to mind Jerry Samuels (Napoleon XIV). And COMUS never touched on centuries old British Isles folk music or Celtic folk jigs and reels. The music of COMUS features way too many creative, twisted, and sometimes experimental passages to be called folk-rock, it's definately progressive enough to please prog rock fans. The band consisted of Roger Wootten on vocals and acoustic guitar, Glen Goring on guitar, Andy Hellaby on bass, Colin Pearson on violin, Rob Young on flute, and Bobbie Watson providing female vocals. Most everyone provides percussion (particularly bongos).

Not sure how to get about describing the songs. "The Herald" is by far the most mellow piece on the album, dominated by the vocals of Bobbie Watson. The song features extended use of electric guitar. "Drip Drip" is definately one of the album's high-points with extended and creative passages. "Song to Comus" is a bit shorted, but stuffed with lots of great violin and flute. This particular song reminds me of Family, especially because Roger Wootton sounds so much like Roger Chapman on this cut. The same goes for "The Bite" which is very much in a similar vein. "Bitten" is the only instrumental piece, basically an experimental cut that reminds me of what many Krautrock bands were doing at the same time. "The Prisoner" closes the album, another incredible piece. The British rock critics of the time hated the album. A postal strike in the UK at the time the album was released made it a bit difficult to hit the record stores. Even with David BOWIE giving this band support, didn't help. But still an amazing and twisted album. Not for everyone, but recommended for the more adventurous." --PROGHEAD (from ProgArchives)

The cover is a ballpoint pen drawing by Comus' singer and songwriter Roger Wootton. Inner painting by their guitarist Glenn Goring. (click below for large image)

FILL YOUR EARS

Gong - "Live Etc" (1977)

2011-11-23T06:13:00.000-08:00

Gong will always be one of my favorites no matter what anybody says. So here´s an excellent live double LP spanning 1973 to 1975. I have one more Gong LP to post, but I thought this would be a good moment for Live Etc, as it contains tracks from all of the Flying Teapot albums.

Gong - Live Etc.
Virgin, 1977

The original cover is die cut with two picture sleeves for the records:

My set is missing one of the sleeves:-(

Album info copied from Wikipedia:
Side one

"You Can't Kill Me" (Daevid Allen) – 6:50 – lineup A, 1973
"Zero the Hero and the Witch's Spell" (Allen, Christian Tritsch) – 11:08 – lineup A, 1973
"Flying Teapot" (Allen, Francis Moze) – 6:28 – lineup A, 1973

Side two

"Dynamite / I Am Your Animal" (Gilli Smyth, Tritsch) – 5:44 – lineup A, 1973
"6/8" (C.O.I.T.) – 3:53 – lineup A, 1973
"Est-ce que Je Suis" (Allen) – 4:12 – lineup A, 1973
"Ooby-Scooby Doomsday or The D-Day DJ's Got the D.D.T. Blues" (Allen) – 5:15 – lineup A, 1973 – studio, track omitted on CD edition

Side three

"Radio Gnome Invisible" (Allen) – 7:35 – lineup B, 1974 – studio, BBC
"Oily Way" (Allen, Didier Malherbe) – 3:20 – lineup B, 1974 – studio, BBC
"Outer Temple" (Tim Blake, Steve Hillage) – 1:05 – lineup B, 1974 – studio, BBC
"Inner Temple" (Allen, Malherbe) – 5:15 – lineup B, 1974 – studio, BBC
"Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" (C.O.I.T.) – 3:07 – lineup A, 1974 – studio

Side four

"Isle of Everywhere" (C.O.I.T.) – 10:24 – lineup C, 1975
"Get It Inner" (C.O.I.T.) – 2:31 – lineup C, 1975
"Master Builder" (C.O.I.T.) – 5:56 – lineup C, 1975
"Flying Teapot (Reprise)" (Allen, Moze) – 1:55 – lineup C, 1975

Source

Side 1: Edinburgh Festival, Scotland, September 1973
Side 2 live tracks: Club Arc-en-ciel, Roanne, France, August 1973
Side 2 studio track: Manor Studio, Oxfordshire, England, June 1973
Side 3 BBC tracks: BBC Studios, England, January 1974
Side 3 studio track: Manor Studio, Oxfordshire, England, during You sessions (1974)
Side 4: Marquee Club, England, September 1975

Personnel

Lineup A

Daevid Allen – guitar, vocals
Gilli Smyth – space whisper
"Bloomdido" Didier Malherbe – flutes, saxes, percussion
Steve Hillage – guitar, vocals
Mike Howlett – bass, vocals
Pierre Moerlen – drums
Tim Blake – Keyboards

Lineup B

Daevid Allen – guitar, vocals
Gilli Smyth – space whisper
"Bloomdido" Didier Malherbe – flutes, saxes, percussion
Steve Hillage – guitar, vocals
Mike Howlett – bass, vocals
Rob Tate – drums
Di Stewart – vocals, percussion
Tim Blake – Keyboards

Lineup C

Steve Hillage – guitar, vocals
Mike Howlett – bass guitar
Pierre Moerlen – drums, percussion
Mireille Bauer – percussion
Didier Malherbe – sax, flute, vocals, percussion
Miquette Giraudy – voices yonic
Patrice Lemoine – keyboards

"Serious" music fans are always a bit down on Daevid Allen and the "silly Pixie" parts of Gong, but I can´t accept or tolerate this attitude, as you wouldn´t have any other side of Gong without them. This is a quality record, quality musicians, quality songs through and through!!!!

FILL YOUR EARS

El Intruso - "Viernes" 2011

2011-09-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Another break from the usual musical fare on this blog dedicated to 60's and 70's music.... The band I´ve been playing with for a bit over 2 years has finally released its debut LP. I´m so glad it´s done. It´s been nearly 2 years in the making. And I´m excited about it. I know I´ve shared little tunes and jams every once in a while, but now I´m proud to present a finished album! A lot of work and money and good times and bad times went into it, so I do hope some of you readers will enjoy listening to it.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://elintruso.bandcamp.com/album/viernes"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;VIERNES by el intruso&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
The album is available on vinyl, cd, and as a free download HERE and HERE. All vinyl LPs come with the CD inside. LPs are limited to 500, CDs to 1000.

I would be thrilled to hear back from anyone... :-D

Harmonia - "Deluxe" 1975

2011-09-26T00:32:00.000-07:00

As promised, another krautrock gem of the so-called Berlin School. Analogue synth exploration in a more pop context with some real cosmic tunes......

Harmonia - Deluxe
Brain, 1975

"This is the second album of Harmonia, a merger of the members of Cluster and Michael Rother from the influential Krautrock band Neu! The minimalist, repetitive strains that were common for what I call the 'Plank camp' of Krautrock (i.e. the Krautrock albums and bands produced by the late engineer Conny Plank) reign as ever they could here. And though I personally don't think of this as progressive rock (like much of the Plank-related recordings), from a historical context this is an impressive antecedent of the New Wave era (early 80s) of popular music. The album also has more of a drive to it than the first Harmonia album, perhaps in part to Rother's guitar being much more upfront and noticeable, as well as the addition of Guru Guru drummer Mani Neumeier on some tracks. A noteable comparison to this music is La Dusseldorf (the band led by Rother's ex-bandmate, Klaus Dinger). The trio also lay down some vocals here (e.g. the opening track), sounding something like happy zombies. This CD is available at typically exorbitant sums that I cannot support (I found it for really cheap in a used CD shop one New York summer long ago) given what's on the album. But, this might just be the best of the Harmonia albums; it's certainly more animated than the debut." - Joe (from Ground and Sky)

From Wikipedia:
"Deluxe was recorded in June, 1975 in Harmonia's studio in Forst, Germany. It was first released on the Brain Records label in 1975. It was produced by the band members and legendary Krautrock producer, Conny Plank. Ned Raggett's review for Allmusic opens: 'A touch more immediate and song-oriented than its predecessor, but no less enchanting and lovely to hear, De Luxe again features the trio experimenting with a variety of approaches, most particularly including vocals here and there for the first time... The motorik pulses and rhythms, however soft and subtle, still dominate the proceedings, while the glazed, warm feeling of the whole album is astounding.'"

personnel:
Michael Rother, guitars, keyboards, vocals;
Hans-Joachim Roedelius, keyboards, vocals;
Dieter Moebius, synthesizer, Nagoja harp, vocals;
with Mani Neumeier, drums

this album is apparently also available as a vegetable supplement.......

and the title track as a Secret Machines cover:

FILL YOUR EARS

El Intruso "Sesión Dinámica Usera" 22/9/11

2011-09-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Cross-post from sister-blog, thought I´d take advantage to share this here too:

El Intruso will be playing with our amplified backpacks in the streets of Madrid for the first time this Thursday.
We´ll start out at the Usera metro station at 19:30 and end up at Kubik Fabrik.

NEU! - "NEU!" 1972

2011-09-02T04:19:00.000-07:00

Definitive krautrock sound.... featuring the motorik, propulsive, apache, lange gerade, etc... beat!

NEU! - NEU!
Brain, 1972

wiki:

"Neu! is the debut album by Krautrock band Neu!.

It was recorded in December 1971 at Windrose-Dumont-Time Studios, Hamburg, Germany, mixed at Star-Musik Studio, Hamburg, Germany, and released in 1972 by Brain Records. It was reissued by Astralwerks on May 29, 2001. This was Rother & Dinger's first recording together after they left Kraftwerk in 1971. They continued to work with Conny Plank, who had been producing the Kraftwerk recording sessions."

NEU! section from the excellent BBC "Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany" documentary:

Feel it flow! I´ll be posting some related music soon (Harmonia, Cluster...)

FILL YOUR EARS

Terry Riley - "A Rainbow In Curved Air" 1967

2011-07-03T01:49:00.000-07:00

Music lovers beware. There´s no going back from here! The first Terry Riley I heard, picked it up at Rob & Elly´s in Nijmegen. It´s natural music, flows like water, flows like life. Worth getting into and thinking about.

Terry Riley - A Rainbow In Curved Air

CBS, 1967

From Wikipedia:

"A Rainbow in Curved Air is the second album by experimental music and classical minimalism pioneer Terry Riley.

1970s progressive rock band Curved Air named itself after this album.

The album inspired Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" and Pete Townshend's synthesizer parts on The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley", the latter named in tribute to Riley and to Meher Baba.

Some of the music on this album was used as the background accompaniment of The Guide in the original BBC Radio 4 series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Track listing

A Rainbow in Curved Air – 18:41
Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band – 21:44 "

Also from the Terry Riley wiki:
"Born in Colfax, California, Riley studied at Shasta College, San Francisco State University, and the San Francisco Conservatory before earning an MA in composition at the University of California, Berkeley, studying with Seymour Shifrin and Robert Erickson. He was involved in the experimental San Francisco Tape Music Center working with Morton Subotnick, Steve Reich, Pauline Oliveros, and Ramon Sender. His most influential teacher, however, was Pandit Pran Nath (1918–1996), a master of Indian classical voice, who also taught La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela. Riley made numerous trips to India over the course of their association to study and to accompany him on tabla, tambura, and voice. Throughout the 1960s he traveled frequently around Europe as well, taking in musical influences and supporting himself by playing in piano bars, until he joined the Mills College faculty in 1971 to teach Indian classical music. Riley was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music at Chapman University in 2007.

Also during the 1960s were the famous "All-Night Concerts", during which Riley performed mostly improvised music from evening until sunrise, using an old organ harmonium ("with a vacuum cleaner motor blower blowing into the ballasts") and tape-delayed saxophone. When he finally wanted a break, after hours of playing, he played back looped saxophone fragments recorded throughout the evening. For several years he continued to put on these concerts, to which people came with sleeping bags, hammocks, and their whole families.

Riley began his long-lasting association with the Kronos Quartet by meeting its founder, David Harrington, while at Mills. Over the course of his career, Riley composed 13 string quartets for the ensemble, in addition to other works. He wrote his first orchestral piece, Jade Palace, in 1991, and has continued to pursue that avenue, with several commissioned orchestral compositions following. Riley is also currently performing and teaching both as an Indian raga vocalist and as a solo pianist.

He has a son named Gyan Riley, who is a guitarist. Riley still performs live. He has been chosen by Animal Collective to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that they will curate in May 2011.^"

And you can read a nice interview with him here

FILL YOUR EARS

Gryphon - "Midnight Mushrumps" 1974

2011-04-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Gryphon is one of those bands I discovered in college thanks to the wonderful ProgArchives website. A few years later I found the LP at Rob & Elly´s in Nijmegen and it´s now sitting nicely on the shelf between Jethro Tull, Yes, Amazing Blondel, and Third Ear Band... For those of us who love traditional folk AND hardcore prog, it´s quite a treat.

Gryphon - Midnight Mushrumps
Transatlantic, 1974

Gryphon is one of those bands that started out blissfully doing their own thing, mixing krumhorns and bassoons with bubbly prog rock sounds of the day. Over time they toned down the medieval and folk instrumentation a tad to pursue a more straightforward prog approach, ostensibly to gain more mainstream acceptance. They were never hugely popular, but it´s the earlier uncompromising albums that remain strong in my opinion...

Wikipedia:
"Multi-instrumentalist Richard Harvey and his fellow Royal College of Music graduate Brian Gulland, a woodwind player, began the group as an all-acoustic ensemble that mixed traditional English folk music with medieval and Renaissance influences. Shortly after this, the duo was joined by guitarist Graeme Taylor and drummer/percussionist Dave Oberlé. After their self-titled debut, they expanded their sound to include electric guitars and keyboards as well as wind instruments, such as bassoons and krumhorns, not previously used in rock music. Gryphon's music often sounded as much like rural English folk or renaissance chansons as it did rock, at least on their early recordings. After their third album (Red Queen to Gryphon Three) and the subsequent tour as a supporting act for Yes, their instrumentation became more conventional and the use of non-standard instruments was reduced. Fans and critics generally regard Midnight Mushrumps and the all-instrumental Red Queen to Gryphon Three as their finest albums.

In 1974, the group's publicist Martin Lewis arranged for the band to be commissioned to write and record the music for a major stage production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at Britain's National Theatre, directed by Sir Peter Hall. It opened at the historic Old Vic Theatre in April 1974. The music the band wrote and recorded for the stage production inspired the 21-minute fantasia "Midnight Mushrumps" (named after a phrase mentioned in The Tempest) which became the title track of their second album. Following the successful premiere of the play and acclaim for its music, Lewis arranged for Gryphon to give a Sunday evening concert at the Old Vic in July 1974 - the first-ever and to date only rock concert held at Britain's National Theatre. At the concert, the band performed "Midnight Mushrumps". The concert was considered a major breakthrough for progressive rock music. Audio tapes of the fabled concert exist, but none have yet surfaced publicly. The band's sound engineer at the time, Richard Elen, recorded the event on a 4-track machine (2 tracks PA feed, 2 tracks stereo acoustic sound picked up at the balcony) and subsequently mixed it to stereo. He has cassette copies of the master tape (which have some technical issues), but Martin Lewis is believed to have the master itself. It is not known whether the master is of releasable quality."

It would be nice indeed to hear that July 1974 concert tape.

Midnight Mushrumps Lineup:

Brian Gulland- bassoon, Bass Krumhorn, Tenor Recorder, Vocals, Laugh
Richard Harvey - recorders, Krumhorn, Harmonium, Pipe Organ, Grand Piano, Harpsichord, Electric Pianos, Toy Piano, Keyboard Glockenspiel, Mandolin, Vocals
David Oberlé - Drum kit, drums, percussion, timpani, lead vocals
Graeme Taylor - Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Vocals
Philip Nestor - Bass Guitar, Vocals

Here´s an image of the back cover. This is some Japanese CD issue, but the image is the same as the back of the LP cover.

FILL YOUR EARS

King Crimson - "Earthbound" (1972)

2011-03-22T02:46:00.000-07:00

I have to say that my interest in this album arose from the Acid Mothers Temple album "Electric Heavyland"... a tribute to "Earthbound" in its harsh, raw sound and cover art (with an obvious nod to Jimi as well). I actually like its jumbled, lo-fi sound, I think it works well with these early KC tunes (The Sailor´s Tale being one of my favorites). I prefer it to the later stuff (post Starless & Bible Black). And what wouldn´t you give to experience 21st Century Schizoid Man live?................................

King Crimson - Earthbound
Island, 1972

from Wikipedia:
"Earthbound is a live album by the band King Crimson, released in 1972 as a budget record shortly after the line-up that recorded it had broken up. It is notable for containing the band's first official live release of their signature song "21st Century Schizoid Man," and an extended live version of their 1970 non-LP single "Groon." It also contains two improvised tracks with scat vocals from Boz Burrell.

The album's sound quality is poor, due to its being recorded onto cassette tape (a low-fidelity recording medium by 1972 standards) by live sound engineer Hunter MacDonald. The liner notes to recent CD reissues of the album state that it was "captured live on an Ampex stereo cassette fed from a Kelsey Morris custom built mixer ... in the rain from the back of a Volkswagen truck." Atlantic Records, King Crimson's original North American distributor, declined release of Earthbound due to its poor sound engineering. Current CD reissues of the album do not significantly improve its overall sound quality, due to its cassette origins."

The sound quality is admittedly not good. But it is very affecting, adding a psychedelic layer of fuzz and distortion that to my ears is very powerful. Fripp plays a mean guitar. The only negative point I would bring up is that "vocal scatting" by Boz Burrell...

The lineup for these shows was:

Robert Fripp: Electric Guitar
Boz Burrell: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Mel Collins: Baritone Saxophone, Mellotron
Ian Wallace: Drums
Hunter MacDonald: VCS3

FILL YOUR EARS

For comparison purposes, Acid Mothers Temple´s "Electric Heavyland" cover:

More CDs for Sale!!

2011-03-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

I´m adding a few more CDs to the for sale lists, some highly recommended stuff here, though it´s all newer music (ie. not in keeping with my usual posts):

1. Taiga Remains - Wax Canopy (Digitalis Arts & Crafts Editions) 6 euros

2. soccer Committee & Machinefabriek (remixed and covered) - Redrawn
(featuring andrea belfi, holden goldmund, taylor deupree, mark templeton, the puddle parade, nate wooley, francisco lópez, németh, the north sea, steinbrüchel, lawrence english, kenneth kirschner, annelies monseré, the fun years, stefano pilia, peter broderick, xela, etc...) 5 euros

3. Spartak - Sunstrokes EP (HellosQuare CDr) 4 euros

4. Stuckometer - Beta Carotene (Low Point 3¨ CDr, out of print) 5 euros

5. Freiband & Machinefabriek - Oahu (Low Point) 6 euros

6. Mariska Baars, Robert Deters, & Rutger Zuydervelt - Gris Gris (Low Point) 6 euros

7. Fabio Orsi & Seaworthy - Near And Far Away (Low Point) 6 euros

8. p jørgensen - to (Low Point) 6 euros

9. Celer - Brittle (Low Point) 6 euros

10. Tim Catlin & Machinefabriek - Glisten (Low Point) 6 euros

11. Nickolas Mohana - Transmission Hue (Low Point) 6 euros

...plus shipping... leave a comment if you´re interested. everything is in brand new excellent condition. prices are negotiable...

Can - "Soundtracks" 1970

2011-02-27T02:14:00.000-08:00

Moving right along. Here is a peculiarly pleasing head voyage from krautrock legends Can... marking their first (and long overdue) appearance on my blog.

First, a bit about Can. From Wikipedia:
"Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.

Can constructed their music largely through collective spontaneous composition –– which the band differentiated from improvisation in the jazz sense –– sampling themselves in the studio and editing down the results^[1]; bassist/chief engineer Holger Czukay referred to Can's live and studio performances as "instant compositions".^[2] They had occasional commercial success, with singles such as "Spoon" and "I Want More" reaching national singles charts. Through albums such as Monster Movie (1969), Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973), the band exerted a considerable influence on avant-garde, experimental, underground, ambient, punk, post-punk, new wave and electronic music. ^{[3] "}

Can was the first krautrock band I listened to, back at the beginning of college when I was exploring progressive rock, and they are one of the few bands I listened to from that time that I kept coming back to. Over time they´ve become one of my favorite bands... wildly original, hodgepodge of influences, propulsive and abrasive while capable of being gentle, delicate, almost ambient at times. A combination with beautiful results.

Can - Soundtracks
1970, Liberty / United Artists

More from Wikipedia:
"Soundtracks is a soundtrack album by the Krautrock group Can. It was first released in 1970 and consists of tracks written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, to be replaced by new member Damo Suzuki. Stylistically, the record also documents the transition from the psychedelia-inspired jams of their first recordings (i.e., Monster Movie and Delay 1968) to the more meditative, electronic, and experimental mode of the studio albums that followed (such as Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi).

"She Brings the Rain" was later featured in Wim Wenders' 1994 film Lisbon Story, the 2000 Oskar Roehler film Die Unberührbare and Tran Anh Hung's film Norwegian Wood, released in 2010.

"Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone" features Damo Suzuki's first recorded performance with Can.^[1]

In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Mother Sky" at number 48 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks."

from the liner notes of 2004 CD reissue (by David Stubbs):
"By 1970, Can´s record company were demanding a second album from them. However, although Can had vivid notions of the shape and colour their second album would take, they were a long way from realising it. Siggi Loch from United Artists came up with an idea that would bridge the gap between such artistic idealism and the more pressing demands of the industry for product. Via keyboardist Irmin Schmidt, Can had already cut a good deal of film music, which had enabled them to stay financially afloat. Why not put some of it out?
Hence Soundtracks, often unjustly overlooked, perhaps because of the expediency of its release. Yet there are many reasons why it´s more than merely of interest but indispensable to any Can fan. For a start, it contains both the last recording with Can of Malcolm Mooney (the harrowingly cathartic "Soul Desert", one of the dramatic high-points of Can´s oeuvre) and the first recording with Damo Suzuki, "Don´t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone". With this change of personnel, enforced by Mooney´s breakdown which saw him packed off back to America, a subtle shift took place in Can. As well as ploughing a rhythmical furrow of repetition, they began to float, follow the lead taken by Suzuki and his airy grasping after the firefly of melody...."

1. Deadlock (from the movie Deadlock)
2. Tango Whiskeyman (from the movie Deadlock)
3. Deadlock (instrumental title melody)
4. Don´t Turn the Light on, Leave Me Alone (from the movie Cream)
5. Soul Desert (from the movie Mädchen Mit Gewalt)
6. Mother Sky (from the movie Deep End)
7. She brings the rain (from the movie Bottom - Ein Grosser Graublauer Vogel)

Holger Czukay: bass
Michael Karoli: guitar
Jaki Liebezeit: drums
Irmin Schmidt: keyboards
Damo Suzuki: vocals on 1, 2, 4, & 6
Malcolm Mooney: vocals on 5 & 7

"...Can´s repetitive rhythmical approach was not a case of going nowhere but taking you anywhere."

FILL YOUR EARS

Tyrannosaurus Rex - "My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair... But Now They're Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows" 1968

2011-02-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Well, our concert last night was not what I had in mind or expected, which could be good I guess. I had a hard time hearing myself, the setup was not ideal, and our new drummer brought a computer instead of drums. Ah, this band is not what I think it is, so I will stop trying to reconcile it with my idea, and let it run its course:-)

Enough about that, here´s something light-hearted and organic to waft into your head like an early spring breeze...

Tyrannosaurus Rex - My People Were Fair And Had Sky In Their Hair... But Now They´re Content To Wear Stars On Their Brows

Regal Zonophone, 1968

I can´t help thinking of Satwa or something like that when I listen to this album. Two magical foresty sort of fellows creating a world of their own with simple acoustic means... It´s special if you like that sort of thing:-) I got this as a double "two-fer" LP, which I think is from 1972, with the album "Prophets Seers & Sages The Angels Of The Ages". That one is also nice in a similar vein, I may post it sometime. With these albums it´s easy to see where Devendra Banhart is getting his inspiration...

Wikipedia: "My People Were Fair and Had Sky in Their Hair... But Now They're Content to Wear Stars on Their Brows is the debut album by the British rock band Tyrannosaurus Rex (later known as T. Rex) and was released in 1968. The record features Marc Bolan on vocals and guitars, and Steve Peregrine Took on backing vocals, drums, pixiephone, and percussion. It also features disc jockey John Peel, who reads a Bolan-penned fairytale for the album's closing track, "Frowning Atahuallpa (My Inca Love)," which includes what must be one of the earliest "Hare Krishna" chants on a British pop record (two years before George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord").

The album's music is much influenced by Tyrannosaurus Rex' psychedelic contemporaries, and marks, for Bolan, a rejection of the electric guitar–led freakbeat music he'd been playing with his previous band, John's Children.

The album was recorded at Advision Studios in London in early 1968. Advision was the first studio in the U.K. with eight-channel recording equipment. This Advision eight-channel machine was a model 280 made by Scully Recording Instruments. It allowed for far greater recording flexibility than the standard 4-track recorders of the era."

"Bolan is the front man throughout, as he would be for most of his successful but troubled career. Peregrine-Took makes the whole thing work though, providing not only backing vocals (both harmonizing and alternating), as well as all manner of percussion including bongos, shakers of various sorts and a pixiephone (I do love hippies, I really do). Bolan sings and strums away on his acoustic guitar but mostly just engages in the act of being Marc Bolan. His haphazard approach is not unlike what I’ve heard on some of his later work like ‘Futuristic Dragon’, and especially some of the outtakes and alternate versions found on that album’s 2002 CD reissue.

Two of the songs here were written for Bolan’s previous psych band John’s Children (“Hot Rod Mama” and “Mustang Ford”). I haven’t heard those versions but I can’t imagine they sound much like these, which are both pretty much harmonized chanting by Bolan and Peregrine-Took, Took’s bongos, and some mild percussion. “Hot Rod Mama” coming at the beginning of the album results in the band appearing to mature as the record progresses. That song was written in late 1966 or early 1967, and has that sound so many bands around then did that isn’t quite modern rock, but is definitely beyond beat music and folk. I always refer to the Moody Blues’ ‘Go Now!’ as the standard of that sound. By the end of the record Bolan is chanting a Krishna on “Frowning Atahuallpa”, something that was still kind of new in 1968 but certainly consistent with Bolan’s penchant to being both eclectic and in-touch with current fashions.

The two put out three more albums after this one and before Bolan ditched Peregrine-Took to form the glam act T. Rex, but each of those records would successively lean more toward mass appeal, with Bolan even plugging in for the fourth and final Tyrannosaurus Rex album “A Beard of Stars”. Bolan of course would perish in an automobile accident in 1977. Peregrine-Took would die of a drug overdose in 1980.

[...] a great picture of Marc Bolan early in his career before he got so consumed with being a star instead of a musician; and before he got so caught up in his own hype." -from Progarchives.com

FILL YOUR EARS

El Intruso : banda sonora

2011-02-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

Today I´d like to share a bit about my band El Intruso. Even though the band has its own blog, here I´ll say what I want about it, the way I want to:-)

First, we have a show tomorrow at LaPieza:

El Intruso is kicking off a series of CDrs for sale at our pal and collaborator Tomoto´s art gallery LaPieza here in Madrid. Each month we´ll release a cdr with 5 or 6 tracks from our ever-expanding catalog of work.... These cdrs will function as compilations of our music, an outlet for new and old tracks as well as collaborations with other artists in Madrid. Each cd will feature collaborative efforts with different poets and perhaps a track or two with different sound artists, as well as tracks featuring the core Intruso lineup culled both from our breaking improv sessions each weekend and dusty back-catalog gems that refuse to be forgotten. Hand-numbered limited edition, with individual art-work by Tomoto.

We´ll be presenting the series tomorrow, Thursday February 24th, at LaPieza with a live music session, starting at 21:00. I don´t think there will be any guest musicians or poets with us tomorrow, so it´s a good chance to see what the band itself is about. Entry is free! Stop by and pick up a copy of the first CDr, on sale for 8 euros! You can also order one through our website, and downloads are available via Bandcamp:

You can take a listen to CD01 HERE on last.fm too.

Periodically I´ll be posting stuff from our sessions here too, so I thought I´d start with a megajam from a couple of weeks ago, featuring Bratt (of Cañaman, Mad Sensi, Chalice Soundsystem, who runs Okoumé Studios where our practice space is) on guitar for the second half of the session. Unfortunately the bass didn´t get recorded for some reason, but I´ve tried to mix the tracks so that you don´t miss it too much. Javi may try to overdub some bass... dunno.

Enjoy. (art for the set and individual tracks pilfered from various blogs i frequent and the internet)

Gong - "Angel´s Egg" 1973

2011-02-15T07:03:00.000-08:00

I´ve been posting some Gong-related albums lately (Tim Blake, Steve Hillage), but I realized that my blog is still missing some of the key Gong albums that originally opened my mind to jazz rock and space rock!

Gong - Radio Gnome Invisible Pt. 2: Angel´s Egg
Virgin, 1973

Wikipedia: "Angel's Egg is the second in Gong's Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy of albums, following Flying Teapot and preceding You. The trilogy forms a central part of the Gong mythology. The original album did not have an apostrophe in the title.

The original vinyl edition came with a booklet containing an extensive explanation of the mythology, including lyrics, a glossary of terms, and profiles of characters in the story and band members. This edition also had a gatefold cover (omitted in later pressings), a plain inky blue innersleeve to match the gatefold and booklet, and had the original black and white Virgin label that was discontinued after 1973; it was one of the last albums to use the original label. Some copies had a sticker over top of the female nude in the moon on the cover."

Lineup:

Bloomdido Bad De Grass (Didier Malherbe) – ten/sop sax, floot, bi-focal vocal
Shakti Yoni (Gilli Smyth) – space whisper, loin cackle
T. Being esq. (Mike Howlett, spelled Howlitt on composer credits) – basso profundo
Sub. Capt. Hillage (Steve Hillage) – lewd guitar
Hi T. Moonweed (the favorite) (Tim Blake) – Cynthia "size a", lady voce
Pierre de Strasbourg (Pierre Moerlen, spelled Moerlin on composer credits) – bread & batteur drums, vibes, marimba
Mireille de Strasbourg (Mireille Bauer) – glockenspiel
Dingo Virgin (Daevid Allen) – local vocals, aluminium croon, glissando guitar

A couple of the stickers that censored the cover:

"Gong founders Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth took a break from the band in 1973 after Flying Teapot was recorded; the rest of the group toured without them as Paragong. When Allen and Smyth returned a few months later to record the second installment of the Radio Gnome trilogy, the dynamics of the group had changed. Probably as a result of touring successfully without their conceptual leaders, the other members of the band — plus newly-added drummer Pierre Moerlen — exerted a significant creative influence on Angel's Egg. The album is still steeped in Allen's Planet Gong mythology; indeed, this record is easily the least instrumentally-oriented of the Radio Gnome trilogy. However, most of the songs were written or co-written by someone other than Allen or Smyth.

What is most immediately apparent about the album is how different it sounds musically from the previous Gong releases. Truly, Angel's Egg is the epitome of a transitional release: it shares content and structure with the two earlier Gong albums, but the polished sound and synthesizers point towards the band's future. The results are consistent and mostly impressive, although the strict adherence to the concept and the shortness of some of the songs keep things from quite taking off and regularly reaching the highs of the more uneven Camembert Electrique or Flying Teapot.

The vaguely Eastern-sounding opener "Other Side of the Sky" — all bubbling synthesizers, airy saxophone and the occasional space whisper — sets the tone for the new Gong sound. There are some excellent groovy numbers that capture the essence of past Gong highlights like "Flying Teapot" and "Fohat Digs Holes in Space," ("Sold to the Highest Buddha," "Oily Way," the great "I Never Glid Before" and "Ooby Scooby Doomsday"), but they're shorter, slicker and they smooth over some of the previous albums' edginess; only "Ooby Scooby" sounds like it could actually have come from one of the previous albums. The other pieces show the band expanding their musical vocabulary, from short guitar and synthesizer interludes, to Pierre Moerlen's malleted "Love is How You Make It," Didier Malherbe's zany "Eat That Phone Book Coda" and Gilli Smyth's erotic cabaret-style "Prostitute Poem."

This is an album (like all Daevid Allen Gong albums) that rewards repeated exposure. Its diversity and the shortness of some of the songs can make it elusive to hone in on, but eventually I think most listeners will regard it as one of the better entries in the Gong discography." - Matt P. at Ground and Sky

click below for a larger image:

This is the only Gong album from the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy that I haven´t tracked down on vinyl yet... Don´t know why I kept putting it off, and now I don´t have the time to hunt down an affordable copy!

Gong 1974:

FILL YOUR EARS

Steve Hillage - "Rainbow Dome Musick" 1979

2011-02-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

And here is a gem among "progressive rock" albums... Steve Hillage, guitarist for Gong, hinted at being capable of going here with previous solo albums, but really you´d expect an album like this from Gong bandmate and synth player Tim Blake... This is truly something special and I´m very glad Hillage did make it, even if he waited till 1979. A lot of prog and rock fans dismiss this album as "New Age" and say it´s hard to listen to or that it´s just noodling and fluff....
So, don´t expect rock. Expect to float.

This was the second solo Hillage album that I heard, after Fish Rising (also on this blog). To be honest, these are the only two that you NEED to hear. I believe I found this first on Greg Davis´ New Age blog Crystal Vibrations. So, many many thanks to Greg.

Steve Hillage - Rainbow Dome Musick

Virgin, 1979

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Garden of Paradise (23:15)
2. Four ever rainbow (20:30)

Total Time: 43:45

Line-up / Musicians

- Steve Hillage / electric & glissando guitars, electric piano, synthesizers
+ Rupert Atwill / Eventide harmonizer
- Miquette Giraudy / electric piano, ARP omni, sequencers, Tibetan bells

"Guitarist Steve Hillage has almost done more for space travel than Neil Armstrong, and this spacious release entitled 'Rainbow Dome Musick' may well confirm that. Our favourite Hippie and his synth-tweeking partner Miquette Giraudy recorded two side-long pieces for the Rainbow Dome at the festival for Mind-Body-Spirit in April of 1979, so this does have a 'New Age' leaning but doesn't lend itself to be relegated as mere meditational back-drop, these are thoughtfully constructed, passionately arranged and performed slabs of spacey colour and emotion. Of course, one has to enjoy this sort of thing in the first place, and, more often than not, patience is rewarded. The A-side features Miquette's 'Garden of Paradise', and contains many layers of ARP synths, Rhodes e-piano and some delicate lead guitaring. Never in a hurry to get anywhere, its atmospheres are lush and tranquil. For those unfamiliar with Gliss- Guitar, this is a technique where a 'device', such as a guitar's whammy-bar (or tent peg, or screw-driver etc.) is rubbed up and down over the guitar strings on the fretboard. When the sound produced has been treated with tons of delay and reverb effects it creates this incredible, magical, sustained sound. The 'device' can be slid up and down the fretboard, and depending on the angle of the 'device', it can cover chordal or solo lines. An E-Bow is similar but never sounds as smooth. So, Steve's piece, 'Four Ever Rainbow', is dominated with these cosmic guitar Glissandos as well as a droning synth core. Towards the latter half, chirping synths come to the fore..." - Tom Ozric from progarchives.com

And to think that this was composed for a new age festival, released on transparent vinyl on Virgin Records, and sold for less than 2 pounds....... those were the days.

FILL YOUR EARS

Hans-Joachim Roedelius - "Durch die Wüste" 1978

2011-01-31T02:03:00.000-08:00

Following the Tim Blake and Esa Kotilainen posts, here is some more electronic and synthesizer music for you, from the "krautrock" scene sometimes referred to as Berlin School.... Lovely floaty pieces that could be seen as early ambient, New Age, synth pop, kosmische, and/or psychedelic rock... Whatever it´s called, it puts me in a good mood and my daughters like it! As usual with Roedelius´ work, it´s whimsical and playful and at the same time experimental and avant-garde.... that´s always a good match in my book. Plus it has a beautiful cover to boot...

Hans-Joachim Roedelius - Durch die Wüste
Sky Records, 1978

"...Anyone who has listened carefully to Cluster´s 1974 effort Zuckerzeit will have come to recognize the handwriting of Roedelius on this and all subsequent Cluster and Harmonia albums. Just how far Roedelius would develop his own compositional technique and mode of playing would only become obvious when he was set free from the ensemble environment on Durch die Wüste.

Listeners at the time will have been baffled by just how little electronically generated sounds were a feature of the album. Synthesizers and electronic effects did play a part, but Roedelius integrated them so seamlessly into the arrangement that one barely noticed them. The rhythm machine was relegated to the status of metronome. In fact, Roedelius´ decision to distance himself from electronic music, rigid in structure as it had become, and turn to a new form of musical expression is what really gave the album its experimental character. Assisting Roedelius were the brilliant sound engineer Conny Plank with his unmistakeable guitar style and Dieter Moebius who, in spite of everything, set a few significant markers with the synthesizer." -from the Bureau B website.

(Bureau B has reissued this album on digipack CD and 180 gram vinyl along with many other excellent Roedelius and related albums)

"Durch Die Wüste was first released on Sky Records in 1978 as the debut full-length solo album by the great Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster and Harmonia fame. This album was studiously pieced together over a two-year period between 1976 and 1978 at Conny Plank's studio outside Cologne, it's eventual arrival sandwiched between 1977's Cluster & Eno album and 1979's Jardin Au Fou, which was given the Bureau B reissue treatment earlier on in the year. Durch Die Wüste has aged incredibly well, and that's not just because the world's ears seem to be especially sympathetically inclined towards all things kosmische at the moment - it's just a wonderfully deep, restless love letter to sound. 'Am Rockzipfel' might initially wrongfoot you with its gnarled, phased guitar solos and funk-spelunking basslines, but there are all manner of peculiar sonic interludes and gaps lurking within the main body of the track, meaning that by the time the abstract sonic explorations of the title track come along we're not too surprised. This fourteen minute analogue voyage is a magical thing, full of bewitching tape details and fizzing modulatory experiments, and although the pastoral 'Johanneslust' sees a return to more recognisable compositional formatting, its immersive, ear-cushioning production is anything but conventional. The beautiful, poly-instrumental arpeggios of 'Glaubersalz' mark another triumph, meandering blissfully through some of the most subtly verdant sound designs in all of the krautrock canon. The final two tracks take a turn in a more psychedelic direction, with 'Mr Livingstone's pentatonic pitchwheel antics carving out Chinese-inspired harmonies while freeform percussion filtered through vintage echo reels clatters in the background, and 'Regenmacher' thriving on an arrangement of similarly Eastern beat developments while electronically morphed concrète recordings layer the piece in a coating of wind and rain. A true classic of vintage German electronic music..." - from Boomkat.com

Durch die Wüste is.....

Jaso Christo – bass, guitar
Dieter Moebius – synthesizer
Conny Plank – synthesizer, guitar, percussion, producer, engineer, mixing, stimme
Hans-Joachim Roedelius – bass, percussion, synthesizer, keyboards, strings, producer, stimme

FILL YOUR EARS

Le Orme - "Ad Gloriam" 1969

2011-01-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

Going back a little further this time. Hope this makes you smile.

Le Orme - Ad Gloriam

Car Juke Box, 1969

I actually looked this band up after hearing a Merzbow track that samples one of their songs.
These Italians started out with this album in 1969 and gradually moved into prog territory. I´ll be posting what I consider their best album another day though... While I´m not really a fan of all the songs on this album, there are a few here that are absolutely brilliant. As others have said, it´s a "vaguely psychedelic" album which sometimes shows ´60s folk influences.

"... Italy was about two or three years behind Great Britain as far as prog was concerned (but of course, once the prog scene started in Italy, be prepared for tons of great albums, especially by 1973). What you have here is an album more in the late '60s psychedelic pop vein. The trio of Aldo Tagliapietra, Michi dei Rossi, and Toni Pagliuca were augmented by two other guys here, making them a five piece band at that time. Here, the band also included some horns and strings on some of the pieces. Also they were recording for a small label called Car Jukebox, apparently a label a bit behind the times (which prompted them to move to Philips and move to prog rock), meaning for 1969, this album does sound a bit behind the times. Still, not a bad album, and if you fancy the idea of psychedelia Italian style, go for this. ..." - by Proghead at Progarchives.com.

(Le Orme = The Footsteps/footprints/tracks/traces/trail, according to Google Translate)

- Aldo Tagliapietra / voice, acoustic guitar, flute, celeste
- Nino Smeraldi / solo guitar, Sarenghi, voice
- Claudio Galieti / bass guitar, cello, voice
- Toni Pagliuca / organ, harpsichord, electric piano
- Michi Dei Rossi / drums, kettledrums, bongos, tambourine

FILL YOUR EARS

Esa Kotilainen - "Ajatuslapsi" 1977

2011-01-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

I was recommended this by internet friend Pete when I started trying out Wigwam. I was very pleasantly surprised by this, their keyboardist´s solo album. The album title translates more or less as "A Thought Child" I think. I won´t say too much else, but read on...........

Esa Kotilainen - Ajatuslapsi
Love Records, 1977

"By the 1970s, Finland had produced a number of interesting academic and avant-garde electronic music pieces, ranging from the electronic études of Bengt Johansson to M.A. Numminen's ear-razing experiments with digital-synthesizer pioneer Erkki Kurenniemi's "electric quartet". However, it was keyboard wizard Esa Kotilainen's Ajatuslapsi (LP Love Records LRLP 196) that really spearheaded the emergence of rock-oriented, Berlin-school synth music in the country. You can hear this on the album's centrepiece, the suite "Unisalissa" (In the Dream Hall) that spans its A-side. A few minutes into the piece, the harmony settles on to a single droning organ chord, over which a synthesizer slowly draws four-note melodic fragments that shine as incessantly as any mentally-disturbed jewel. Soon we have multiple synthesizer ostinati echoing across the Rubycon while the spooky organ and string-synthesizer's melodies prophesy a Phaedra-like tragedy. However, Kotilainen next goes beyond this familiar German space: most of the rest of the suite is taken up by a corrosive, Arabic-modal organ solo over the ominously trudging, buzzing and trilling synthesizer accompaniment. And as if to balance the electronic darkness of the piece, the brief coda has accordion playing a frostily folky melody, backed by that most Finnish of instruments, the kantele. On the B-side, "Avartuva nδkemys" (A Widening Perspective) is more an intricate sound-effect narrative than a fully engaging musical composition, but "Ilmassa" ("In the Air") is another hugely effective synthesizer meditation over a single organ chord. Kotilainen's work may lack Klaus Schulze's Wagnerian monumentalism or Tangerine Dream's atmospheric profundity. Instead its homespun production values, its modest instrumentation and its subtle folkloristic touches make it sound quite refreshing within a musical style that later has been followed, imitated, copied, remixed and sampled nearly to death with all the state-of-the-art electronic instrumentation modern technology has produced. It is derivative yet different enough to be interesting, if not earthshaking. Love Records' successor Siboney has been promising a CD re-release for years, but at the beginning of 2005 those were still just promises.
In addition to his prolific studio works and collaborations with the Lapp artist and author Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Kotilainen has played with many Finnish progressive rock artists, including Wigwam and Jukka Tolonen. At one time he was the sole owner of a working Mellotron in the country. The white beast makes an appearance on his 1995 solo album Aamu joella - Morning by the River, but this album is more a showcase for his accordion and more about folk music than anything else. From 1999 on he has been the regular keyboard player for the reformed Wigwam."
From New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive rock

"Esa Kotilainen (b. 1946) is known as a keyboard wizard and synth veteran, who provided his contributions to Wigwam's most popular album Nuclear Nightclub (1975), also as a member of the band's latest incarnation, which is still in business. Furthermore, Kotilainen has provided his services as a session musician for such as Tasavallan Presidentti, Jukka Tolonen, Hector, J. Karjalainen, Nils-Aslak Valkeapää and many more. He has also been a member of Neum.

Esa Kotilainen's career in electronic music started in 1974 when he expensively imported from Germany a MiniMoog, an instrument rarely seen in Finland those days. During this era Kotilainen was playing gigs on a ferry called Finnhansa, which sailed between Helsinki and Travemünde, and paid for the instrument 6.100 Finnish marks: the price of a small car those days. The first gig with Kotilainen's Minimoog was creating sound effects for the soundtrack of Spede Pasanen's film comedy Viu-hah-hah-taja (1974), and the first music recording was obviously for the solo album Robson of Frank Robson.

Kotilainen's new career as a synth wiz got him loads of offers for background music in commercials after which his career was guaranteed in progressive bands like Wigwam, who were after electronic sounds generally favoured by the prog genre. Kotilainen is also said to have in his collection a Mellotron (an analogue predecessor of samplers, using pre-recorded tape loops played with a keyboard), perhaps the only one in this country.

Ajatuslapsi CD features as bonus tracks two versions of 'Matkaaja' ("The Traveller"), a 1978 commissioned work from Kotilainen for the Finnish National Ballet. The CD booklet also includes English liner notes by Pekka Laine, where Esa Kotilainen shares his insights on the album's origins.

Artist: Esa Kotilainen
Title: Ajatuslapsi
Cat.no.: LRCD 196 (original LP: LRLP 196)
Re-release year: 2008 (original LP: 1977)
Tracklist:

1. Unisalissa ("In a dream room")
2. Avartuva näkemys ("The mind broadens")
3. Ilmassa ("In the air")

CD bonus tracks:

4. Matkaaja (1978) ("The traveller")
5. Matkaaja (1978) Kaiutettu versio (= A version with echo, 2008)

Album credits:

Esa Kotilainen plays on the album: Mini-Moog, ARP-2600, Vox StringThing, Fender Rhodes, Kouvola Casotto, kantele, Hammond B3, Leslie 251 & 145, Binson Echo, MXR 90 Phase, MXR 100 Phase, Maestro Phase Shifter, Foxx Wah Wah pedal, Indian bells, Farfisa organ, Polymoog.

Recorded by Jukka Teittinen at Alppi-studio, mixed at Finnlevy Studios, Helsinki, summer 1976.
Cover by Kari Sipilä." From pHinnWeb

This I also found on pHinnWeb´s blog post, even though I don´t understand Finnish, I enjoyed it:-)

And apparently this is what he´s up to these days:

Fans of early Popol Vuh, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, J.D. Emmanuel, Terry Riley, Harmonia, Brian Eno, Wigwam, Tim Blake, etc......

FILL YOUR EARS!

Hawkwind - "Hall of the Mountain Grill" 1974

2010-12-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Back to posting albums. This one´s a classic space rock album. The first Hawkwind record I ever heard, and really a good starting place I think. I picked it up at Rob and Elly´s back in Nijmegen. Good times. I guess it´s a bit of a nostalgic album for me:-)

Hawkwind - Hall of the Mountain Grill
United Artists, 1974

Wikipedia entry on this album:

The group's fourth studio album, it was the first by a new line-up that included Simon House on synthesizer, Mellotron and electric violin; absent were Robert Calvert, who had previously contributed lyrics, vocals and spoken word interludes, and Dik Mik, who provided electronic effects. House's addition was generally seen as enhancing the band's musicianship and sense of structure, though perhaps at the expense of the improvisational nature of earlier work.

The album's title was a nod to Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and to a Portobello Road cafe called The Mountain Grill (now closed), frequented by the band in the early 1970s. The cover of a derelict spaceship in the mists of an alien lagoon was painted by the band's regular artistic collaborator, Barney Bubbles. The rear cover was by noted space artist David Hardy.

The record featured hard rockers like "The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke)" and "Lost Johnny" (subsequently recorded by bassist Lemmy's post-Hawkwind band Motörhead and also by co-writer Mick Farren with his band the The Deviants), psychedelia such as the heavily-phased "D-Rider" and "Web Weaver", as well as quieter atmospheric numbers like the instrumentals "Goat Willow", "Wind of Change" and the title track. Side Two of the original vinyl LP was bookended by "You'd Better Believe It" and "Paradox", live tracks recorded at the Edmonton Sundown in January 1974, that recalled the 'space jams' of earlier releases.

In the wake of Robert Calvert's departure, lead vocals for the album were performed by Dave Brock, along with Lemmy on "Lost Johnny" and Nik Turner on "D-Rider". Despite Hawkwind's relative success in the charts at this time, the band's line-up would continue to shift during the year. Del Dettmar left prior to the release of Hall of the Mountain Grill to live in Canada, Alan Powell joined as an additional drummer, and science fiction author and friend of the group, Michael Moorcock, stepped in to read poetry at their concerts.

Hall of the Mountain Grill reached #16 on the UK album charts and #110 in the US. Its release was preceded by an edited single of "The Psychedelic Warlords" b/w "It's So Easy" in August. "Paradox" b/w "You'd Better Believe It" was issued as a single in Europe, both sides also being edits. All four of these tracks appeared on EMI’s 2001 CD re-issue of the album. An EP featuring "The Psychedelic Warlords", "Hall of the Mountain Grill", "D-Rider" and "Wind of Change" was released as a promo in the US in 1974."

Line-up / Musicians

- Dave Brock / vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, organ synthesizers
- Del Dettmar / keyboards, kalimba
- Simon House / violin, mellotron, backing vocals
- Lemmy Kilminster / bass, vocals, lead & rhythm guitars (7)
- Simon King / drums, percussion
- Nik Turner / sax, oboe, flute, vocals

"It's 1974, and Hawkwind have gone all melodic! Ironically, the best track here is probably the soft synthesiser instrumental, "Wind of change".

There's plenty of the classic Hawkwind sound on tracks such as "Psychedelic Warlords" and "You'd better believe it", but even then, they are tarted up nicely. "D-rider" features some classic phasing (whatever happened to phasing anyway?), while "Paradox" varies the pace to great effect during some acid pop rock(!).

This album signalled the introduction by the band of more ambient and melodic tracks, or parts of tracks than we were used to. By doing so, the band demonstrated that they were in fact extremely adaptable, and not the "Status Quo" of acid rock previous offerings may have implied.

The remastered CD has 4 bonus tracks, of which "It's so easy" is the only one which may be considered worth seeking out (the other three are just edits). This version of the album is also lavishly packaged in a superb digipak cover." --Easy Livin at progarchives.com

FILL YOUR EARS

Antilope Show: Otoño @ LaPieza

2010-12-10T01:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my show and it went well. It was more a session than a show in the end, but it has inspired me to record more, so that´s good. The prerecorded tape of synth drones and arpeggios couldn´t really be heard very well. However, the tape of nature sounds was very much a success. So, another step forward for Antilope, I´m getting my ideas clearer and clearer. Just need to work some more on the music and setup:-)

Here is the first recording I´ve made based on the pieces I had prepared for the show, to give an idea of the music and atmosphere I´m going for (comments are more than welcome):

Antilope - autumnalia pt. 1

And here are some pics a friend (Mark Williams) took with his iphone.

Tim Blake - "Crystal Machine" 1976

2010-11-23T01:21:00.000-08:00

If you liked the last post, chances are you'll enjoy this one too, as it's another member of the Gong Family. One of the things about Gong that I always loved was the spacey bits with synthesizers, predating Ambient and New Age. Gong along with Hawkwind were pioneering space-rock bands, and Tim Blake was the man at the helm of the mothership. When I first discovered this, his debut solo album, it was like I had finally found something that I'd been waiting for for a long time, it was just the right thing at the right time... An album of space synth ambience and prog influenced electronic jams from the 70's, hopefully just right for you too.

Tim Blake - Crystal Machine
Egg, 1977

Tim Blake's Crystal Machine live show experience has been an influence on me lately. It would have been pretty special to see it. Anyway, I'm trying to recreate my own version for a small show this Thursday, details in the next post.

"Tim Blake was Gong's keyboardist from 1971 till 1975, and was responsible for writing a substantial part of the three Gong masterpieces. His mad synthesizer came to symbolize the opposite of the radio-friendly, catchy, classical synthesizer of Jean-Michel Jarre. The concerts collected on Crystal Machine (Egg, 1977), which date as far back as 1971 (i.e., predate Jean-Michel Jarre), delivered surreal pieces in that "freak" style: Midnight, Metro Logic, Last Ride Of The Boogie Child, Synthese Intemporelle, Crystal Presence. " -http://www.scaruffi.com/vol3/blake.html

Crystal Machine is :
Tim Blake - 2 EMS Synthis A´s, MINIMOOG, EMS Frequency Shifter, MXR Flanger, Sony TC 850 Tape deck echo, Sony Mix 12, ELKA Rhapsody
Patrice Warrener - SPECTRA PHYSICS 164 Argon Laser with his own Crystal Machine Projectors

An interesting interview with Tim here,
and a lengthier one here, getting into the darker side of intra-band relationships.

Tim still plays with Hawkwind, as you can see below....
He played keys on their latest album as well.

FILL YOUR EARS

Steve Hillage - "Fish Rising" 1975

2010-10-29T02:59:00.000-07:00

Back to human music with this post, but following the aquatic theme:-) Another good one from 1975 and the Gong family... One I´ve been playing a lot recently since I discovered Tim Blake´s 70s solo albums. Tim was Gong´s amazing synth player (also known as Hi T Moonweed), and on this album he contributes some pretty far out stuff. Of course the sound that Gong initially blew my mind with was that glissando guitar drone, which also shows up on this rockin´record...

Steve Hillage - Fish Rising
Virgin, 1975

I picked this LP up at Rob & Elly´s in Nijmegen just based on my love for Gong and the interesting album cover, and was very pleasantly surprised. Turns out, this is Steve Hillage´s first solo album. Fantastic prog full of Hillage´s signature playing... but there´s a lot more. The arrangements and spacey sounds provided by the band are the perfect blend of Gong´s psychedelic sound and the New Age vibes that would soon follow in both Hillage´s and Blake´s albums. Some would go so far as to say a Canterburian aftertaste can be noticed as well....

"Every fan of Gong (especially the "Angel's Egg" and "You" period) should own this album. The glorious Gong rhythm section is still in tow; Tim Blake (the synth guy) is still here making all those wonderful bubbly trippy noises, and Hillage's echo-obsessed guitar excursions are particularly satisfying. Overall, Fish Rising has a magical atmosphere and consistent level of effectiveness that Gong albums could never quite convince me of (I blame Daevid Allen). The opening track, for instance, is 17 minutes long and eventually builds into the most furious space-jam you will ever hear in your life -- the climax (you'll know it when you hear it) is one of those moments that makes you feel like your head is going to explode! The rest of the album is equally fine, featuring blissed out instrumental passages and unhealthy amounts of echo. I love quite a few of Hillage's solo albums, but this first one may just be the best -- check it out!" -Corbet from ProgArchives.com.

"After departing Gong in 1975, Steve Hillage followed the same route as everyone else, by making a solo album. He enlisted some Gong colleagues -- bassist Mike Howlett, saxophonist Didier Malherbe, and drummer Pierre Moerlen -- and augmented them with others from his Canterbury past, keyboard player Dave Stewart (the two had played together at the beginning of the decade) and Henry Cow's Lindsay Cooper. The result, apart from revealing a slightly unhealthy obsession with fish (at least a change from Gong's pothead pixies) is a Canterbury musical delight, even if the lyrics are chock-full of hippie-dippy sentiment. There are plenty of complex time changes, easily and smoothly handled by the musicians, and while Hillage doesn't contribute as many solos as admirers of his style might wish, he does use layers of guitar to create some wonderful textures and harmonies. This is, in fact, a very sophisticated record, with interesting arrangements and some innovative production -- a harbinger of Hillage's future career behind the boards. On the few occasions he does unleash the fretwork, it's quite glorious, with his trademark echo letting the notes trail like a comet's tail. He doesn't need to prove he's the fast gun in town, simply one with plenty of invention. The real emphasis is on band arrangements and those multi-part compositions that were an indelible part of the prog '70s (as in the pretentiously titled "Solar Musick Suite"). However, pomposity is carefully avoided, and the musicians bring enough of their own personalities to the party, especially Malherbe. As a solo debut it's a success, taking the qualities of Hillage's previous gigs on board, but making the final product his own. It might be fishy, but it certainly doesn't stink." ~ Chris Nickson

Check out another funny but good review over at Julian Cope´s website if you need some more convincing.....

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Solar Musick Suite: (16:55)
a) Sun Song (I Love its Holy Mystery (6:15)
b) Canterbury Sunrise (3:25)
c) Hiram Afterglid Meets the Dervish (4:05)
d) Sun Song (reprise) (3:10)

2. Fish (1:23)

3. Meditation of the Snake (3:10)

4. The Salmon Song: (8:45)
a) Salmon Pool (1:17)
b) Solomon's Atlantis Salmon (2:08)
c) Swimming with the Salmon (1:37)
d) King of the Fishes (3:43)

5. Aftaglid: (14:46)
a) Sun Moon Surfing (1:36)
b) The Great Wave and the Boat of Hermes (1:51)
c) The Silver Ladder (0:40)
d) Astral Meadows (2:01)
e) The Lafta Yoga Song (2:42)
f) Glidding (2:23)
g) The Golden Vibe/Outglib (3:33)

Total Time: 44:59

Here´s the back cover, though the blue space that´s empty in this picture is full of album and artist info on my LP... When I get my camera back from a certain friend who most likely doesn´t read this blog I´ll try to upload a decent shot of the back cover with all the info.

Keep your eye out for more Steve Hillage to come on this blog, but for now....

FILL YOUR EARS

"Songs of the Humpback Whale" 1970

2010-10-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is a fantastic album, the first non-music (at least non-human music) album to appear on this blog. I won´t say too much about it except that I´m planning to incorporate some samples into a live performance I´ll be giving in November here in Madrid.

Songs of the Humpback Whale
Capitol, 1970

"SONGS OF THE HUMPBACK WHALE is a timeless classic of the earth's music. It deserves a place in our cultural pantheon, alongside the music of Bach, Stavinsky, and Ellington.
The rare recordings are from a 'Bel Canto' era of whale singing. Even though Humpbacks change their songs every year, none from recent years has been so beautiful as these they sang in the 1960's." -Paul Winter

You can purchase a remastered CD version from Paul Winter´s website. I´ve uploaded a rip from my LP I bought at a thrift store in Rock Hill, SC. If you´re looking for pure whale sounds at the best sound quality with no vinyl crackle, go for the CD... I like my rip quite a bit:-)

From the front panel:

"Whale songs have probably been heard, though seldom recognized as such, ever since man began to make voyages by sea. In the literature of whaling alone there are many accounts of strange, ethereal sounds, reverberating faintly through a quiet ship at night, mystifying sailors in their bunks. Long after such experiences were first mentioned, scientists were able to explain what caused them... If the idea of whale "singing" seems odd, the cause may lie in the several meanings of the word "song." Quite apart from any esthetic judgment one might make about them, the sounds produced by Humpback whales can properly be called songs because they occur in complete sequences that are repeated. Bird sounds are called songs for the same reason. Birds sing songs that are repeated fairly exactly and Humpback whales too are very faithful to their own individual sequence of sounds. Humpback whale songs are far longer than bird songs. The shortest Humpback song recorded lasts six minutes and the longest is more than thirty minutes. The pauses between Humpback songs are no longer than the pauses between notes within the song: in other words, they are recycled without any obvious break. Again, in contrast with birds, who complete a song before pausing, it doesn´t matter where in its song the Humpback starts or stops..."

From the back panel:

"Dr. Roger S. Payne, whose work produced this record, has spent the last fifteen years doing research in biological acoustics and is currently at The Institute for Research in Animal Behavior operated jointly by the New York Zoological Society and The Rockefeller University. His studies began with work on the directional sensitivity of the ears of bats, which he did while still an undergraduate at Harvard University. He later received his doctorate in biology from Cornell University for brilliant work on the ability of owls to find their prey in complete darkness by hearing. He then did equally important work on moths, discovering their ability to judge the direction of bat sonar and thus evade capture. When asked how he reached the decision to do research on whales Dr. Payne replied, "The decision reached itself really. It was something I had wanted to do for a long while. Certainly, I wasn´t first led to it through any particularly inspiring encounter with whales. I´ve had any number of wonderful days among wild whales since, but at the time I decided to study whales I hadn´t even seen one. In fact, the first whale I did see was a dead one and the encounter was anything but inspiring.

I was working in a laboratory at Tufts University one March night during a sleet storm when I heard through the local radio news that a dead whale had washed ashore on Revere Beach. I wanted to see it, so I drove out there. The sleet had turned to rain when I reached the place. Many people had come to see the whale earlier but there were only a few on the beach when I arrived and by the time I reached the tidal wrack where the whale lay, the beach was deserted.

It was a small whale, a Porpoise about eight feet long with lovely subtle curves glistening in the cold rain. It had been mutilated. Someone had hacked off its flukes for a souvenir. Two other people had carved their initials deeply into its side, and someone else had stuck a cigar butt in its blowhole. I removed the cigar and stood there for a long time with feelings I cannot describe. Everybody has some such experience that affects him for life, probably several. That night was one of mine.

At some point my flashlight went out, but as the tide came in I could periodically see the graceful outline of the whale against the white foam cast by the waves. Although it is more typical than not of what happens to whales when they encounter man, that experience was somehow the last straw, and I decided to use the first possible opportunity to learn enough about whales so I might have some effect on their fate."

FILL YOUR EARS

CDs & Records for sale Part II

2010-10-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

And here I continue with a list of vinyl, also all in excellent condition. For these, prices would vary, so get in touch if you´re interested, want to see pictures, more info, make me an offer, etc.... These are 12" albums unless otherwise noted.

~~1. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (ATCO/Rhino, reissue)~~

2. Gandalf - st (Capitol/EMI, high quality blue vinyl reissue)

~~3. Chico Hamilton - Chico- The Master (Stax, 1973)~~

~~4. The Cure - Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me (2xLP, Elektra, 1987)~~

5. The Police - Synchronicity (A&M, 1983)

6. Le Scott´s Post-Bop Opera (7", TEA Records, no dates)

7. Jeff Buckley - Forget Her (7", Columbia, blue vinyl)

8. Coheed & Cambria - Welcome Home (7", Columbia)

9. Major Stars - Portable Freak Factory (7", Important Records)

10. Chris Herbert/Felix - Split 7" (Low Point)

11. Blonde Redhead - Symphony of Treble (7", Touch&Go)

12. Sleater-Kinney - Get Up (7", Kill Rock Stars)

13. Pit Er Pat/ Icy Demons - Split 7" (Polyvinyl, orange vinyl)

14. Amon - Nona (10", Amplexus, clear vinyl)

~~15. Sunn O))) & Pan Sonic/Alan Vega/Stephen Burroughs - split 10" (BlastFirstPetite, limited edition)~~

16. Wooden Wand & the Omen Bones Band - Horus of the Horizon (10", The Great Pop Supplement)

~~17. Alog/Astral Social Club - split 12" (Fat Cat split series)~~

~~18. Aidan Baker - Letters (Basses Frequences, limited edition)~~

~~19. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - In O to ∞ (Important Records, 2xLP, limited edition yellow vinyl)~~

~~20. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Glorify Astrological Martyrdom (Important Records, red vinyl)~~

21. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Recurring Dream & Apocalypse of Darkness (Important Records, 2xLP, white vinyl)

~~22. Les Georges Leningrad - Sur Les Traces de Black Eskimo (Alien8)~~

23. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We´re Gone? (Alien8)

~~24. Sun (Oren Ambarchi & Chris Townend) - I´ll Be The Same (Important Records, white vinyl)~~

~~25. Final + Fear Falls Burning - st (Conspiracy Records, grey vinyl)~~

~~26. Grails - Black Tar Prophecies Vol. 4 (Important Records, limited edition picture disc)~~

27. The Skull Defekts - Skulls CM von Hausswolff & The Sons of God Descending The Silver River Of The DFX (Important Records)

and that´s all I´m willing to part with right now....

CDs & Records for sale Part I

2010-10-14T05:08:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,
Today I´ll be using the blog to post a list of CDs and vinyl that I´m selling. This post will be for the CDs, the next for the records. There are a few of reasons. First, I really need the money (I should say "we"). Second, I just don´t have room for it all anymore, or as much time to kick back and enjoy them all!!!! And last, some of it I just honestly don´t care for anymore. So I´m downsizing my collection just a wee bit. Everything is in excellent condition, I take care of my things (and not all, but most was bought brand new). If you are interested in any of these, don´t hesitate to get in touch for more info, make me an offer, etc... I can do PayPal, and perhaps if you´ve got something really special to trade........ I´ll go marking them off the list if any sell. I guess around 5 or 6 bucks for most of them, maybe a few special ones would be more. Some could possibly go for less. Without further ado, the list of CDs (in bold are what I would consider highlights):

CDs
1. Donovan - Sunshine Superman (Epic, psych folk)
2. Cream - Disraeli Gears (The Cream Remasters) (Polydor, psych garage rock)
3. Spirit - The Best of Spirit (Newly Remastered & Expanded Edition) (Epic/Legacy, psych rock)
4. Comets on Fire - Avatar (Sub Pop, psych rock)
5. Kinski - Airs Above Your Station (hole punch in barcode) (Sub Pop, space rock-indie-psych)
6. Deerhoof - Reveille (5 Rue Christine/Kill Rock Stars, indie)
7. ~~Deerhoof - Milkman~~
8. Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (Sub Pop, indie)
9. Dirty Three - Whatever You Love, You Are (Touch&Go, instrumental)
10. Various Artists - Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow Vol. 1 (A Sound&Fury Records Compilation, ie. Gareth Hardwick, Machinefabriek, Jasper TX, Seaworthy, Aaron Martin, etc...)
11. Kurt Weisman - Spiritual Sci-Fi (Important Records, songwriter)
12. Red Sparowes - At The Soundless Dawn (Neurot, post rock)
13. Transitional - Stomach of the Sun (Conspiracy Records, ?? it´s sealed and I haven´t listened to it... has something to do with Jesu)
14. Circle - Tulikoira (Ektro, NWOFHM/psychedelic post metal)
15. Circle - Tyrant (Latitudes, limited edition)
16. Pelican - Australasia (Hydra Head, post metal)
17. Mastodon - Leviathan (Relapse, Special Edition with DVD)
18. boris with Merzbow - Megatone (inoxia, Japanese import, psych-drone-post metal)
19. Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar (Southern Lord, still sealed, psych-drone-doom metal)
20. Merzbow - Merzbeat (Important Records, noise)
21. Merzbow - Merzbird (Important Records, noise)
22. Merzbow - Amlux (Important Records, noise)
23. Tomas Jirku - Immaterial (Substractif, minimal ambient techno)
24. The Hafler Trio - Á Ég Ad Halda Áfram? (Important Records, mini CD)
25. Machinefabriek - Loops for Voerman (self-released, mini CD with download, ambient-drone-electronic)
26. Brethren of the Free Spirit (James Blackshaw & Jozef van Wissem) - The Wolf Also Shall Dwell with the Lamb (Important Records, minimalist folk)
27. Fox the Boombox - Side Parts (self-released, indie)
28. Orinoka Crash Suite - st (2xCD) (Tumult, now The Ohsees, lofi)
29. Peter Wright - Red Lion (Digitalis, avant-guitar drone)
30. Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly (4AD, indie)
31. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Dark Side of the Black Moon: What Planet Are We On? (Important Records, psychedelic)
32. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Lord of the Underground: Vishnu and the Magic Elixir (Alien8, psychedelic)
33. Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. - Magical Power From Mars (3D cover) (Important Records, psychedelic)
34. Zelienople - His/Hers (Type, psych-drone-improv-post rock)
35. Seaworthy/M. Rösner - Split 3" CDr (hellosQuare, ambient-electronic-post rock)
36. canyons! - trapdoor/diamonds 3" CDr (hellosQuare, ambient-electronic)
37. Spartak - Ostpolitik Versions 3" CDr (hellosQuare, electronic)
38. Julia Kent - Delay (Important Records, post rock-instrumental)
39. Risil - Non Meters Volume 1 (Important Records, electronic-post rock)
40. Shalabi Effect - The Trial of St-Orange (Alien8, psychedelic-improv)
41. Argil/Saqui - Vecindario Global (Conaculta Fonca, avant-garde)
42. Maninkari - Le Diable Avec Ses Chevaux (2xCD) (Conspiracy, psychedelic)
43. Barbez - Insignificance (Important Records, avant-garde, cabaret-punk)
44. Anahita - Matricaria (Important Records, free folk, psych folk)
45. Arcade Fire - Funeral (Merge, indie)
46. Weezer - Blue Album (2xCD Deluxe Edition) (Geffen)
47. Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands II: The Dark Secret (SPV, symphonic power metal)
48. Rhapsody - Power of the Dragonflame (SPV, symphonic power metal)
49. Luca Turilli - Prophet of the Last Eclipse (SPV, symphonic power metal)
50. Haggard - Eppur Si Muove (AMG, symphonic death metal)
51. Opeth - Still Life (Peaceville, progressive death metal)

Amon Düül II - "Utopia" 1973

2010-10-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

A little sumpin sumpin for AD2 fans. This was actually the second album of theirs that I heard and served to further my fascination with the band and krautrock in general. It´s really not as bad as many of the reviews I´ve read on the internet suggest. Silly "serious prog" reviewers I suppose. Don´t expect Yeti or anything like that, really it fits quite snugly and appropriately between Wolf City and Vive la Trance. As you´ll read below this album began as an Amon Düül II spin-off and ended up being the same band with a different name. Later on they added the AD2 label just to avoid confusion and sell more I suppose. I admit it does feel a bit more like a compilation than a coherent album and you can tell that there is more of one particular member´s vision guiding the recording, but there is plenty to love here!

Amon Düül II - Utopia
United Artists, 1973

"Line-up / Musicians

- Lothar Meid / bass, vocals
- Olaf Kübler / saxophone
- Kristian Schultze / keyboards
- Jimmy Jackson / organ
- Joe Nay / guitar

guest musicians:
- Chris Karrer / guitar
- John Weinzierl / guitar
- Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz / vocals

"Utopia" is a studio project by Olaf Kübler and Lothar Meid. Because it featured several regular members of AMON DÜÜL II (including Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl), it has usually been regarded as part of the DÜÜL discography, and, indeed, the CD reissue credits the album to AMON DÜÜL II. " - from progarchives.

"So, the myth says that during the "Wolf City" sessions (or after that) the band split into two sections due to quarrels, leaving Olaf Kübler and Lothar Meid alone to record a separate project under the name "UTOPIA". But in the meantime, they all made peace again so the remaining members of AMON DUUL II tribe participated in the making of this album. Original LP bears the title "Utopia" only, while the re-issued CD format added the name of AMON DUUL II, probably for commercial reasons because this one and only album of UTOPIA project would be otherwise doomed for oblivion.
It is sort of a by-product of the "transition phase" of AMON DUUL II towards more guitar-oriented conventional rock structures of "Vive la Trance", but it still retains (not only in the cover art) certain "Gothic" and dark elements of "Wolf City"- notable is the reprise of the Teutonic satire "Deutsch Nepal" from that album (with slightly different and weaker German vocal). "What You Gonna Do" is a nice folksy-rock attempt sung by Renate, while "Alice" with "romantic" piano and drunken male vocal sounds like taken from some bluesy Tom Waits record. "Las Vegas" is a quite catchy with repetitive acoustic guitars and sax-driven hypnotic instrumental jam, while the title track is a perfect example of Kraut-rock; processed voices, Mellotrons, electronic effects, jazzy guitar jams, strong and diverse percussion, groovy bass and overall psycho/space feeling."
- Seyo from progarchives.

FILL YOUR EARS

Alice Coltrane - "Ptah, the El Daoud" 1970 (reupped)

2010-07-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, I´m back. I won´t get into all that´s been going on, but let´s just say that things haven´t gone so well and I´m trying to get back to a good place. Thanks to those who have left nice comments, you´re the main reason I´m blogging again.

Here´s some excellent mystic free jazz (or bost pop, or avant garde jazz, whatever you want to call it) from John Coltrane´s wife. Perfect for a rainy day like today, summer´s end vibes.

Alice Coltrane - Ptah, the El Daoud

Impulse!, 1970

from the label:

"As the bold, firmly integrated sound of the unit washes over the listener, the value of Alice Coltrane's experience stands out in bold relief. Hearing her function in this capacity, feeding and interweaving with the horns and rhythm section, we encounter another aspect of Alice Coltrane. Gradually the portrait is rounded out - a handsome likeness of a woman who has lived, loved, suffered, who has brought to her art a very special sense of esthetic universality. Produced by Ed Michel. Recorded at the Coltrane home studio, Dix Hills, New York on January 26, 1970."

Lineup:

Alice Coltrane - Harp, piano

Joe Henderson - Alto flute, tenor saxophone

Pharoah Sanders - Alto flute, tenor saxophone, bells

Ron Carter - Bass

Ben Riley - Drums

Alice Coltrane was a wonderful discovery for me. Her harp playing is truly magical and unexpected... sweeps of tinkling melody and mystical washes of sound, and her piano playing is nearly equally nice. The seriously moody brooding tunes on this album make for great meditative listening. Excellent performances on sax and flute from Joe Henderson (left channel) and Pharoah Sanders (right channel) too.... This is not her most out-there album, but it´s a good introduction to her aesthetic, hopefully you´ll want to hear more.

This album was Alice´s third, and first to use horns all the way through. A quick blurb from Wikipedia:

" All the compositions were written by Coltrane. The title track is named for the Egyptian god Ptah, "the El Daoud" meaning "the beloved". "Turiya", according to the liner notes, "was defined by Alice as 'a state of consciousness — the high state of Nirvana, the goal of human life", while "Ramakrishna" is named after the 19th-century Bengali religious figure; this track omits the horns. The origin of the title of "Blue Nile" is self-explanatory, Coltrane switches from piano to harp, and Sanders and Henderson from tenor saxophones to alto flutes. "Mantra" returns to piano and saxes. Album cover design was created by Jim Evans."

"The description of the track "Turiya & Ramakrishna" in the liner notes of Ptah, the El Daoud
contains a quote from Alice Coltrane - "It's more a feeling than a melody" - which actually describes the music on the album as a whole. And yet it's far from the unfocused avant-garde haze such an assertion (as well as the presence of Pharoah Sanders) may seem to indicate; though never sharply defined - and excepting a few rambling missteps outside the realm of tonal structure during the vastness of the title track and "Mantra" - the music is honed and performed with the utmost kinetic congruence. Coltrane's music achieves its dynamic goals by channeling some of the most expressive and empathic players ever to wield instruments in Sanders, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, and Ben Riley. The overall result is a captivating and indeed transcendent musical experience.
The afore mentioned "Turiya" and "Blue Nile" stand out as the shorter, more buoyant pieces sandwiched between the other two haunting epics. "Turiya" is a completely unique piece built around Coltrane's equally unique piano style; she tends to play a keyboard much the way she plays the harp, eschewing root chords for tight clusters of arpeggiated notes, and on this song she manages to wrap this around an exquisite blues form. The harp is only utilized on the album in "Blue Nile", providing an illustrious backdrop for the quiet musings of Carter and the saxophonists. Sanders sounds especially piquant in this somewhat restrained setting, though he compromises none of his intensity along with the volume. And Henderson, as soulful as they come yet not as obvious a choice as others perhaps more in Coltrane's (or Impulse's) more immediate musical circle, was an excellent personnel selection for Ptah.

Moreso than sequences of notes from respective instruments, what one hears and assimilates throughout this music is the individuals themselves who play it; designed within the ultimate statement and vision of Alice Coltrane is the opportunity for the soloists and even the rhythm players to filter their own spirits through it. Even as one may have no use for Coltrane's (or her husband's) underlying mysticism, there is no denying this magnificent spiritual quality that earmarks the best of her music. Seldom did it attain such heights as on Ptah, the El Daoud." -silentway at rateyourmusic.

The cover is quite interesting, naturally reflecting the album title´s references to Egyptian mythology. However, I don´t like the style it´s drawn in very much. And, though the music is often brooding as I mentioned earlier, it´s not really dark. The cover could have been better to match the music.

FILL YOUR EARS
(reupped)

Fripp & Eno - "(No Pussyfooting)" 1973

2009-09-26T02:21:00.000-07:00

This album was recorded in three days..... but stretched across 3 years! It´s a collaboration that foreshadowed Eno´s ambient albums, but it was released around the time of his "Here Come the Warm Jets". So it makes sense that for ambient music, it´s still very psychedelic- with Fripp´s electric guitar work layered in sometimes unsettling washes of sound. Eno was experimenting freely at this point with his tape loops; he and Fripp did not have accessibility or conventional structure on their minds. At the same time, they struck upon something blissfully beautiful and transcendent that was a culmination of ideas and methods very important to the asthetic of the two musicians both then and in the rest of their work up to today.

Fripp & Eno - (No Pussyfooting)
Island, 1973

A very informative entry on wikipedia HERE about this release.

Two reviews from Progreviews.com:
The album cover shows Fripp and Eno in a glass room, reflected endlessly between two walls of mirrors. It fits the music perfectly, with brittle notes reflecting endlessly between two tape decks and providing a background drone while Fripp's guitar solos over top. The drones are ever-shifting, and are not the kind of sound that fades into the background - they're too menacing for that. Fripp's solos are sometimes slow and dreamy, sometimes fading away to nothing... and then sometimes leaping out to bite you with a mean tone and a flurry of notes.

I always think of this album as something that would be nice to put on as background music, but then it usually grabs my attention and refuses to release it. The droning guitar and synthesizer backgrounds provide textures that are interesting enough to listen to on their own, and then we get some of Fripp's finest playing as well. My only complaint is that "Swastika Girls" it a little slow to start - the background set up at the beginning is interesting, but it's almost a full eight minutes before anything else happens. But that's a minor gripe.

If terms like "ambient" and "drone" immediately make you think "boring new age", you should give this disc a try. It might change your mind.

review by Bob Eichler — 5-10-03

The drones consist of tape loops fed with the guitar notes. Two tape recorders were connected in such a way that a when a note is played into the recorder, the note would play back repeatedly, until gradually the note decays into nothingness. Fripp adds one or two notes at a time, waiting a while between addition of the next note or notes, causing the music to slowly and gradually evolve in a layered fashion. Fripp plays the guitar notes without an attack in such a way that an individual note doesn't seem to sharply burst in and then sharply decay, instead the notes just seem to start, sustain, and stop, creating long, humming lines. The repetition and gradual layering of these long lines creates a wave-like electronic hum. Also, it can be interesting when notes are not added to the loop; about three-quarters through the piece, after a solo section ends, the underlying drone is exposed again, but it is strangely hushed, since for a time period no new notes were added, so the old notes were allowed to decay and mesh together.

Third, there are a lot of improvisational guitar solos on top of (not feeding into) the drones at various points in the music, and these solos are very impressionistic and create a lot of drama by building into peaks, submerging back down into calm, and sometimes causing complete musical meltdowns. Throughout, a lot of interesting guitar textures are used, from laser-beam legato to heavily distorted riffing, to quiet slurred lines, to complete discordant chaos.

Despite this recording's "classic" status, I think a lot of people have a hard time with it. If you are new to the unique nature of the music, it can be relatively inaccessible at first listening, with the long running time of the tracks (two side-long tracks) making the music even more difficult. I guess that is the price you have to pay for this timeless work of art, and indeed a landmark of guitar innovation.

review by Heather Mackenzie — 1-31-03

I included the latter review for the readers who may not have much exposure to more ambient or drone music. On this blog I have a wide variety of music from the 60´s and 70´s, and this album probably falls into the less accessible camp... but it´s really highly recommended and well worth sitting through. This sort of music requires patience and in the end is very rewarding. I´ve read too many negative reviews of this album by people who don´t understand the nature of ambient music... It´s not prog rock, my friends. By the way, apparently King Crimson used some of these recordings to open and close their shows during 1973 and 1974...

HERE´S a good review written back in the 70´s close to when the album came out, that shares a bit about the musicians themselves and their philosophy and personality.

And another good review, this time from Progarchives.com:
"It was inevitable that Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, the most cerebral English rockers of the 1970s, would collaborate sooner or later. Their paths crossed for the first time at the recording of Matching Mole's Little Red Record, which Fripp produced and Eno appeared on as a guest musician. They discovered they had similar ideas, although in some ways they were polar opposites; Fripp the master guitarist had developed a formidable technique over years of dedicated practice, while Eno was a self confessed non musician. Both were interested in the possibilities of using tape recorders and delay systems, and it was this shared interest which led to the recording of this album.

Side 1 was reputedly recorded at Eno's flat one night after they had shared a bottle of wine. Fripp produced long, droning notes from his guitar which were looped and manipulated by Eno. Layers of sound shift and move almost imperceptibly into new forms, with everything taking place slowly and gracefully - the impression is not of a composition with a defined beginning and end, but rather of an excerpt from a much longer piece which could still be slowly evolving years later. As with much of the best minimal music, very little appears to happen but at the end of side 1 you find yourself wondering just how the piece got to 'there' from 'here'.

Side 2 follows a similar pattern, although on this piece Eno also uses his VCS3 to add to the texture. Even more than side 1, this sounds like the product of cold, detached intellects, the very antithesis of the sweaty physicality of rock. At the same time it's bold and radical in the way that the best rock music should be - although minimalism had been around for some time, and plenty of German innovators were exploring the possibilities of electronics and synthesisers, this was highly unexpected coming from members of comparatively mainstream acts like Roxy Music and King Crimson.

Aside from the music itself, this is also a significant album in that it can be seen as the first step towards Frippertronics and towards Eno's ambient experiments of the late 70s/early 80s. Fripp and Eno would work together again, occasionally in their own right or on other people's projects, and their paths continue to cross even now. This is a landmark album, and is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in minimalism and electronica." - Syzygy at Progarchives.com

There´s a really interesting and personal review HERE of this album and Fripp & Eno´s second collaboration which also appears here on Nost-Algae, "Evening Star". HERE you can read another similarly excellent blog post about the album, and some interesting comments in response.

About the cover:
I heard that here in Spain the album cover was censored because of the [erotic] nature of the deck of cards Eno has on the table (I believe I read somewhere that it´s a Tarot deck, but I could be wrong, I don´t know much about that...) and further information is quite scarce. A long time ago I found some details about where the photo was taken, but now I can´t seem to find the site again. Only a lot of people awed by it and the way it reflects the tape loops perfectly. It seems it was quite a good shot to not reveal the photographer somewhere in the reflections...

Apparently there is a double CD reissue of the album remastered by Fripp that includes the album´s tracks reversed and at half speed. I´m going to have to get out my vinyl and check that out now! For the original album:

FILL YOUR EARS

The Amazing Blondel - "A Foreign Field That Is Forever England (Live Abroad)" 1972-73

2009-09-25T01:51:00.000-07:00

Hello again,
Here´s some emblematic 70´s English folk music for you. I discovered this band quite a few years ago on the internet, and found this disc on ebay shortly after. It´s quite an interesting album really; live mainland European audiences captured on record along with Amazing Blondel´s wry humor and classic folk sound...

This disc wasn´t compiled and released until 1996, but it contains some of their best songs from various albums. I especially enjoy Willowood...

The Amazing Blondel - A Foreign Field That Is Forever England (Live Abroad 1972-73)
HTD, 1996

Musicians:
John Gladwin - lead vocals, guitar, lute
Terence Alan Wincott - crumhorn, vocals, recorders, flute
Edward Baird - lute, guitar, cittern, vocals

Recorded live during the european tour 1972-73

Thanks to the Amazing Blondel website for info and the following review by Michael Billington:

"This album is a selection of ten songs crossing all four of the original trio's albums recorded live during the period 1972/73 just before their premature split. A review of 'England' in Melody Maker back in 1972 likened the band's music as having "the freshness of new mown grass" and there is undoubtedly a freshness and beauty about Gladwin's poetic lyrics and delicate vocal style that has stood the test of time which is accompanied by the clear lute and guitar accompaniment of himself and Eddie Baird. Terry Wincott's gutsy vocal and recorder technique add an effective foil and the whole effect has a quintessentially Englishness that is a sheer delight to listen to. As Gladwin once said in an interview in the magazine "Zigzag" some 20+ years ago. "We wanted to bring back the romanticism of the troubadour walking round strumming his lute."

This album 'A Foreign Field That Is Forever England' is a beautiful selection from recordings made on this final tour and what is remarkable is the clarity and quality of the recordings which of course are over twenty years old and the songs are played to the same high standards as in the studio recordings. (Not always the case on live albums!) The introductions are however somewhat basic bearing in mind the foreign audience which is understandable but nonetheless their wit and humour is evident in no uncertain terms and the jokes are well appreciated.

To pick out a few tracks, it is a delight to hear their magnum opus 'Fantasia Lindum', a stunning pastoral piece inspired by the band's native Lincolnshire countryside performed in it's entirety. Their "fun number" 'Shepherd's Song' complete with bleating is also here, one they used to arouse audience participation and here performed with great zest and gusto.

Three songs from their final album as a trio 'England' are present 'Seascape' 'Landscape' and 'Dolor Dulcis' and old favourites, 'Pavan’ and 'Willowood' from the album 'Evensong’. I was surprised though at the omission of 'Toye' a popular song with fans and an ever present on live gigs and the duplication of 'Celestial Light' which appears on it's own and also as part of the Fantasia Lindum suite."

A Brief History By Terry Wincott (taken from Amazingblondel.com) :

The Island Years....AMAZING BLONDEL was formed by John Gladwin and myself after the break-up of too-loud rock band Methusala.

We were soon joined by a talented guitarist Eddie Baird and after a disastrous "showbiz" record signing, Amazing Blondel were recommended by the members of the band Free to Island boss Chris Blackwell.

After signing to Island Records and Artists, Amazing Blondel quickly produced three albums (Evensong,Fantasia Lindum,England)with the above line-up and undertook a series of intensive international and national tours to promote them.

Amazing Blondel always seemed slightly eccentric, sweet and a little out of place: pseudo-Elizabethan/Classical acoustic music sung with "British" accents to the contemporary music audience of the day.

From this unlikely combination Amazing Blondel carved a substantial niche in the market with people who appreciated the music and were prepared to purchase records and attend concerts.

Amazing Blondel adored recording. At that time Islands Basing Street Studios were in the forefront of producing the most innovative and successful independent music in Britain and it gave us the exciting opportunity to work with such notables as Phil Brown and Adrian Hopkins. To hear the orchestrations for the first time was exhilarating and to hear the final product, although never perfect, was delightful and professionally satisfying. Sample almost any live concert and you would notice the audience unusually quiet, attentive and polite, the repertoire performed as technically correct as possible, the dexterity of the instrumentation (40 in all) and the music interspersed with crude and bawdy humour.

The live performance, however, was sometimes overshadowed by the drudge of touring. There were the personal and group obsessions and amusements, tunings (hours spent), countryside pursuits, martial arts and fitness, dogs and hotel swimming pools, the daily view through the windscreen, food, flying, music in general, personal relationships, road managers, any ‘in joke’ repeated endlessly over and over until no longer funny but spitefully annoying.

The demise of Amazing Blondel line-up as featured on these albums was like a balloon deflating. Amazing Blondel imploded with only a whisper of air.

When I first wrote this in 1995 & we were compiling the first CD, I finished the script by saying..... Strangely, if that balloon had continued to float, that niche in the market would probably still exist today.... & it's nice to know after seven years that the audience is still out there..

Terry Wincott Feb 2003

FILL YOUR EARS

Hugh Hopper & Alan Gowen - "Two Rainbows Daily" 1980

2009-09-18T04:21:00.000-07:00

By request, an electric jazz workout on the minimal side from Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper, and Soft Heap cohort Alan Gowen on keys. I was very sad to find out that Hugh Hopper died this summer, on June 7th. He had leukemia, which Gowen had died from shortly after they recorded Two Rainbows Daily together. Hopper started out as the Soft Machine´s road manager, and ended up becoming an integral part of their sound from their Vol. II album up through Sixth, after which he started recording his own albums and collaborating with other artists. As you´ll read from many sources (and as you can hear in all his recorded works), he could play with ANYONE and it would always mesh and sound great. He´s particularly famous for his fuzz bass explorations, really the first of his kind of bass players...

"Farewell Hugh, king of the fuzz bass. A true original, a great player and a gentleman." -- Dave Stewart

Rest in peace, Hugh.

Hugh Hopper & Alan Gowen - Two Rainbows Daily
Europa, 1980
CD issued on Cuneiform

Hugh Hopper: Fender Bass, Efx
Alan Gowen: Mini Moogs, Fender Rhodes

A note about the cover: it´s an original Hugh Hopper painting...
This album is great because it shows the wonderful melding of Hugh and Alan´s playing (which can also be heard in the groups Soft Head and Soft Heap), these particular recordings obviously influenced by then-recent ambient explorations and the advent of new-age music. The result is full of Gowen´s typical tinkling tones and Hopper´s softer, meditative stylings. The second half of the album features drummer Nigel Morris from Isotope on some live recordings, which change the mood a bit-- more clangy, less introspective, but still really great improvisational sounds.

From Wayside Music:
"A song from this album was sampled on Common's multi-million selling album "Like Water For Chocolate" album (the song in question was "Nag Champa". We took our part of the licensing fee and reprinted two of Hugh's out of print titles that we wanted to have back again. Hooray!

This is a reissue of a long out of print classic album from 1980 from these two fine composers & instrumentalists (bass & keyboards) who are best known for their work with Soft Machine (Hugh) Gilgamesh (Alan and Hugh) and National Health (Alan). While rich in sound due to overdubs, this doesn't have a full band sound, & this rather stripped-down approach makes for a "intimate" release filled with crafty melodies & subtle tonal colors. Mastered directly off the master tapes, it sounds terrific! As a bonus there is 20' of extra live material & excellent liner notes by Hugh, which tell the story of the making of this disc. This is absolutely a "Canterbury" classic.

“...the coming together of two British jazz-rock giants. ...These gracefully introspective instrumentals feature Gowen's trademark flowing analog synth and Hopper's unique high-register bass work in equal measure.” – muze.com

“...showcases harmonic and compositional sensitivity....” – Revue & Corrigee "

FILL YOUR EARS

Dedicated to you, but you weren´t listening...
Dedicated to Hugh, and maybe he´s listening.

Two Reups

2009-09-08T04:35:00.000-07:00

{sorry for the delay, this was meant to go up several days ago, but due to uploading problems i'm just now getting it up}

Hi everyone, I´ve received three requests for reups. A couple were quite a while ago, sorry for the delay, and the other was just yesterday or so. Well, here they are.

Hugh Hopper - 1984 (CBS, 1973)
Original Post: Hugh Hopper - 1984
New Link: FILL YOUR EARS

Hatfield & the North - Self Titled (Virgin, 1973)
Original Post: Hatfield and the North - Self Titled
New Link: FILL YOUR EARS

Hatfield and the North - The Rotters´ Club (Virgin, 1975)
Original Post: Hatfield and the North - The Rotters´ Club
New Link: FILL YOUR EARS

Hope everyone is having a good end of the summer. My vacation is winding down and I´ll be back to work next week. Hopefully there will be time for a couple of new posts before then, I have plenty to share with you!!!

Ian Carr with Nucleus - "Belladonna" 1972

2009-07-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

Hi friends, here´s my ( rather late ) R.I.P. for Ian Carr. I saw in the newspaper months ago (back in February) that he had died, a big coincidence I think, to find that in the Spanish newspaper. But anyway, he was a brilliant trumpeteer and flugelhornist, forging that jazz-rock style mixed with canterbury and psychedelia, approaching fusion and back...

He founded Nucleus after leaving the Rendell-Carr quintet around 1969. You´ll find several Nucleus albums here on this blog. Today I´ll be presenting an album he recorded with Nucleus, but the ideas were his to the extent that the album was released under his name.

Besides playing trumpet and flugelhorn, he taught improvisation and performance as well as writing for the BBC Music Magazine. He also wrote an excellent Miles Davis biography. His mustache was also excellent.

Ian Carr - Belladonna
Vertigo, 1972

Credits:

Artwork By [Sleeve Design] - Denise Valentine
Bass Guitar - Roy Babbington (Soft Machine, etc...)
Drums - Clive Thacker
Electric Piano - Dave MacRae , Gordon Beck (tracks: A1, B2 to B4)
Engineer - Roger Wake
Guitar - Allan Holdsworth
Percussion - Trevor Tomkins (tracks: A1, B1, B2)
Producer - Jon Hiseman
Remix, Remastered By - Peter G. Gallen*
Saxophone [Tenor, Soprano], Flute [Alto, Bamboo] - Brian Smith
Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Ian Carr

Notes:

Recorded: July 1972, Phonogram Studios, London
Remixed and mastered at Lansdowne Studios.
Released in a fold-out cover on a ''swirl'' Vertigo label.

Some wouldn´t consider this the best Ian Carr or Nucleus album, but there´s plenty to enjoy. Sure, it´s not exactly on a par with the first two Nucleus albums "Elastic Rock" and "We´ll Talk About It Later" (both of which are on this blog), but it´s a nice example of the tunes, riffs, rhythms, and improvisation style of the band under Ian Carr´s leadership. And I happen to like the album art. A bit strange for Nucleus, and not totally fitting with the music, but it´s quite nice.

"Belladonna is maybe less complete overall than Solar Plexus but is most definitely the most elusive and sought after of Ian Carr's Vertigo label vinyl releases. By the time this record was recorded only Brian Smith remained of the Solar Plexus line-up, but in the new blood recruited, Carr was able to instill that same kind of energy and spirit that had made the previous Nucleus recordings such critical (if not commercial) successes.

The title track in particular has that rhythmic quality not dissimilar to Snakehips' Dream, a kind of irisistable foot tapping almost danceable beat that is totally and hypnotically infectious from its percussive Ian Carr led intro to it's pure jazz rock electric mid section.

The piece Suspension is apparently Ian Carr's most satisfying studio track; one of those single takes that only happen once or twice in a career ... do I have to say more?" --Mr. Paul D. Curtis Amazon review

FILL YOUR EARS

Ash Ra Tempel - "Seven Up" 1973

2008-11-09T00:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry to have been away for so long. No excuse, really, except that I have felt overwhelmed by work. I'm moving again this month and next month, so things will probably continue to be sporadic around here. Sorry, but keep checking back! Here's a krautrock masterpiece to check out for now:

Ash Ra Tempel & Timothy Leary - Seven Up
Kosmische Musik, 1973

Recorded in Switzerland (Leary would have had problems with the law if he'd been caught in the band's native Germany) in 1972 with Timothy Leary doing his thing to help the sounds get further out there than anyone dreamed possible... Some people think this was quite detrimental for the album, but let's just say that the results were quite interesting and this is an engrossing kosmische krautrock experience. As usual the two sides of the LP contrast in the intensity of the music, one side being more "conventional" psych rock.

This was the first Ash Ra Tempel album that I heard, and while many people don't recommend it as a starting point, it worked quite well for me... so I'm recommending it to you.

Some details:

Performed by:

Timothy Leary, Brian Barritt, Liz Elliot, Bettina Hohls (voices), Michael Duwe (voice, flute), Portia Nkomo (voice dubbed during the mix), Manuel Göttsching (guitar, electronics), Hartmut Enke (bass, guitar, electronics), Steve Schroeder (organ, electronics), Dietmar Burmeister (drums), Tommy Engel (drums dubbed during the mix), Klaus D. Mueller (tambourine), Dieter Dierks (synthesizer dubbed during the mix)

Tracks:

A	Space	15:55
	a. Downtown
	b. Power Drive
	c. Right Hand Lover
	d. Velvet Genes
B	Time	21:37
	a. Timeship
	b. Neuron
	c. She

FILL YOUR EARS

King Crimson - "Islands" 1971

2008-05-19T00:18:00.000-07:00

So, speaking of Robert Fripp, I thought I'd present an album that has some of what I think are overall the most interesting King Crimson songs. Sure, "In the Court of the Crimson King" is one of the most amazing and groundbreaking albums of all time, but you probably already know that. So let's take a look at.....

King Crimson - Islands
Island, 1971

Many King Crimson fans will tell you that this is one of their worst albums. I beg to differ. The first two tracks alone instantly caught my attention... They are powerful and free-moving at the same time, progressive and jazzy yet atmospheric in a way that is very King Crimson and yet not quite like previous albums. I bought the LP for these two songs. The third song is nice, a bit of a quieter brooding affair, but nothing really too special for me. Side two opens with my least favorite song, "Ladies of the Road", and continues with two rather nice tracks. But it never reaches the intensity and atmosphere of those first two tracks.... I suppose I am saying the opposite of most King Crimson fans who prefer side two... so see for yourself:-) Oh! and our friend Keith Tippett shows up to play piano on this album.... be sure to check out his albums (a couple featured on this blog!)

This was the last album where they collaborated with Pete Sinfield as lyricist. I think Pete's lyrics are kind of hit and miss. Sometimes they work well, other times you're just glad the music is so amazing that it makes up for it. I think "In the Court" is where they work best. Their second album had some lyrics I really didn't care for (Cat Food) and here again Ladies of the Road just doesn't quite work for me. But listen to "Formentera Lady" and you'll want to be on that exotic Mediterranean island....

The cover features the Trifid Nebula in the Sagittarius constellation. The original cover didn't have the band name or album name on it.

THE LINE UP:

Robert Fripp – guitar, mellotron, Peter's pedal harmonium & sundry implements
Peter Sinfield - words, sounds and visions
Boz Burrell – bass & lead vocals
Mel Collins – saxophones & flutes
Ian Wallace – drums

Additional Musicians:

Paulina Lucas – soprano (vocals)
Keith Tippett – piano
Robin Miller – oboe
Mark Charig – cornet
Harry Miller – double bass

some reviews:
"Grotesquely underrated masterpiece from KING CRIMSON which in my opinion takes the best elements from their previous 2 albums mixing the lyrical style of "Poseidon", and the orchestration and improv found on "Lizard". I have always been amazed at "Islands" profound musical extentions and emphasis on experimentation with its extended compositions. Critics harsh opinins on "Islands" seem to be mostly focused on the poor and inadequate lead singing of Boz Burrel (BAD COMPANY). In contrast my opinion is that Boz is more than adequate and offers a nice change from Mr. Wetton and actually gives "Islands" a different feel and identity than previous albums. "Islands" emphasizes its creators brilliance (Robert Fripp & Peter Sinfield) who were a very creative and "progressive" duo as demonstrated here. KING CRIMSON here rely heavily on classical instrumentation without ever getting too dominant. Guest musicians bring a nice musical influence with piano, vocal soprano, oboe, Cornet and string bass. This album also shows Fripp's Mellotron playing at it's best, along with his arrangement and composition skills. The standout for me is Fripp's use of the Mellotron (not to mention the 'ol guitar work). All in all this is a great recording and for me stands out as a great contribution to the wonderful world of progressive rock." --loserboy

"Another underrated effort by King Crimson, a band that always played a controversial role in the world of Prog Rock, plagued by constant line-up changes, and often without really consistent material, most of their albums didn't turn out anything like anybody would expect. The Rock Critics had so far not been very kind to the band (with the exception of the debut, which was loved by most). But there is much to appreciate on Islands, an album filled with lush soundscapes and some heavy parts, but most of the parts being really mellow. The usual opinion of the album is that it has very nice arrangements, but that it is at the same time slightly dull. This is pretty much the case, some of the tracks are really so beautiful that you almost melt whilst listening to them, but few parts of the album could be called exciting. Sailor's Tale is probably the most exciting and eventful track, while the final two tracks are probably the most beautiful ones. The outro on the title track closer is one of the most magnificent things that the band ever created in my opinion. Another great track is Ladies of the Road, which does get a bit aggressive at some points. Islands is [...] pretty similar to something that the band Tangerine Dream would create [...] I believe Islands to be an underrated album that should definitely be given an honest chance. It lacks the playfulness and humor Lizard, but glimpses of pure beauty does make up for that." --Prayermad

FILL YOUR EARS
(no complaints with sharebee yet, so here goes again...)

Fripp & Eno - "Evening Star" 1975

2008-05-16T06:05:00.000-07:00

An album that I found after I started getting into Brian Eno... and that helped me realize how awesome Robert Fripp is. This music has left its mark on me, especially Fripp's guitar sounds and free soloing style on some of these songs. A big influence, and a brilliant combination of ambient and psych, electronic tape music and drone.

Fripp & Eno - Evening Star
Island, 1975

After hearing a couple of Brian Eno albums and really getting into the roots of all this electronic/drone/ambient music coming out today (Tim Hecker, Stars of the Lid, Oren Ambarchi, Machinefabriek.... to name just a few of MY favorites....) I decided to check out some of Eno's collaborations. Being a huge King Crimson fan-- well, the early days-- I thought that this should be interesting. However, I had only heard In the Court of the Crimson King at this point in time, so I didn't really know what Robert Fripp was capable of or how experimental he could be. I totally fell in love with this album and hunted the vinyl down, along with their first collaboration "No Pussyfooting" (which you'll probably see here eventually if you're patient;-) Evening Star is more polished, as if they know what they're doing better or have a clearer goal in mind. So it's a good starting point. But I highly recommend their other two studio albums: No Pussyfooting (debut) and Equatorial Stars (from a few years ago).

Some reviews:
""An Index of Metals" offers a glimpse into an "Enossification" of the King Crimson aesthetic. Unlike the more passively subdued territory that Eno and Fripp usually chart in their collaborations this gargantuan track is full of a sinister intensity and a lethal focus, humming menacingly for over 28 minutes without a moment of wasted or superfluous input. "Wind on Water" is the other peak, Janacek's string quartets teleported to the 21st century. The trio of songs in between display clear-eyed wonder and breathtaking grandeur on microcosmic levels. As a whole Evening Star is a masterpiece of sustained tension and majesty that never fights for your attention but commands it in its hushed power." --unearth

"The second collaboration between the two highbrow British art/prog rockers, Evening Star pairs Fripp's "Frippertronic" guitar, layered and sustained indefinitely through use of analog tape loops, with synthesizer and various treatments from Eno, for an ambient match made in heaven. The serene first side is highlighted by the beautiful title track, which borders on melodic, while still maintaining the minimalist style of Eno's ambient works. Conversely, the second side, titled "An Index of Metals," quietly builds layers of ever more dissonant guitar, developing an unnerving atmosphere. This is an album that effortlessly creates a distinctly reflective mood, and is an essential item for fans of either artist." --bpnicast

And a longer review from Julian Cope's Head Heritage site HERE

FILL YOUR EARS side A
FILL YOUR EARS side B
(decided to give Sharebee a try for the first time... we'll see how it goes)

Amon Düül II - "Wolf City" 1972

2008-05-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Before I lose my momentum, I'll go ahead and post another special album....

Amon Düül II - Wolf City

United Artists, 1972

This is quality krautrock here. As wikipedia says below, despite being more commercial and accessible, this album is excellent psych prog rock. There are more "conventional songs", but also plenty of crazy effects, violin, tabla, and keyboards that push it over the edge and into the territory that makes me very happy:-) I'll let some others tell you a bit more about it:

'Wolf City is the fifth studio album released by the German Krautrock band Amon Düül II.

Like its predecessor, Carnival in Babylon, Wolf City is a more conventional recording than the band's earlier albums, with shorter track times and more straightforward song structures.^[1] This was likely due to the band's increasing commercial popularity, both at home and in the UK.^[2] Despite this change, the album is far from anything that could be termed "mainstream". Amon Düül II's love for experimentation still shines through, especially on such tracks as "Jail-House Frog" and "Deutsch Nepal".^{[3] ' *from WIKIPEDIA*}

Line-up/Musicians

- D. Secundus Fichelscher / drums, vocals (4-7), guitars (7)
- Chris Karrer / acoustic & electric guitars, violin, Soprano sax, vocals
- Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz / vocals
- Lothar Meid / bass, synthesizers, vocals
- Falk U. Rogner / organ, Clavioline, synthesizers
- John Weinzierl / electric guitar, vocals

+ Al Sri Al Gromer / sitar (5)
- Paul Heyda / violin (5)
- Jimmy Jackson / piano, choir organ
- Olaf Kübler / vocals (2), sax (5)
- Pandit Shankar Lal / tablas (5)
- Peter Leopold / vocals (2), synthesizers (3), kettle drums (5)
- Liz van Nienhoff / tambura (5)
- Rolf Zacher / vocals (2-6)

"The thing that sets this album up differently from say an album like “Yeti” is clearly the more accessible progressive leanings, yet still remains highly imaginative. This album mixes psychedelic and progressive rock in a way no one else could. On top of the usual guitar, bass, keyboards, AMON DUUL employ a nice dose of sitar (Pandit Shankar), tabla kettle drum and tambura which really all clicks on this album. Without a question Renate Knaup’s vocals do take some slight adjustment to get into but for this music lover fits perfectly. This is a lively, fun and exciting album to listen to and I love their use of the distorted wah wah guitar and phasing effects and of course vintage keyboards. Musically this is actually fairly aggressive sounding without being noticeably loud or over the top." --loserboy

"This album was recorded at a critical point in the history of the band. There had been some quarreling within the band, and some band members left to form Utopia and record a self- titled album themselves. Yet in typical Amon Düül 2 fashion the band members made peace again while these albums were in the process of recording, which resulted in all band members playing on both albums, and one track ("Deutsch Nepal") appearing on both, albeit in slightly different versions (most notably in the vocals). The opener "Surrounded by the Stars" has the typical snapping guitar chords of John Weinzierl, over which the aetheric voice of Renate "Krötenschawnz" Knaup sings. "Green- Bubble-Rain-Coated-Man" starts more slowly. almost like a ballad, but it changes tempo in the middle and has a furious finale with weird synthies. "Jail House Frog" is an instrumental, in which the synths indeed sound like a croaking frog. "Wolf City" has Lothar Meid on lead vocals, but other band members sing "Wolf City" in chorus all throughout this rack; the guitar indeed snaps like the fangs of a wolf on this track. "Wie der Wind am Ende einer Straße" is an almost oriental instrumental, in which the band seems to improvise a lot. "Deutsch Nepal" has lots of mellotron, over which actor Rolf Zacher tells a story of a freaked-out general (lyrics in German). "Sleepwalkers Timeless Bridge" finally resembles Popol Vuh a little, which is no wonder, because one of the drummers (Amon Düül have 2 drummers on this album, Peter Leopold and Daniel Fischelscher) plays guitar on it, and he is also the guitar player of Popol Vuh on many of their albums. One of the bands best efforts. 4 stars." --baldjean

So without further ado,

^{FILL YOUR EARS}

Faraway Folk - "Seasonal Man" 1975

2008-05-10T07:23:00.000-07:00

Hi again. Sorry for my silence. I'm a father now, working full time, and adjusting to life in Spain... Haven't had much time, or much motivation.... but thanks to some comments people have been leaving every once in a while I've decided to continue with a folk rock classic.......

Faraway Folk - Seasonal Man
RA, 1975

Here you have a jewel of a folk album, with rock and light psych overtones here and there. Lovely male and female vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, mellow and rocking songs here. A real surprise for me, quickly becoming one of my most-listened to folk albums from the '60s and '70s...

"John Turk = guitars (incl. Gibson SR with Fuzz pedal), mandolin, vocal * Adrian Morris = rhythm guitars, harmonica, vocal
Shirley Turk = percussion, vocal * Bryony Smith = bass, banjo, vocal

RA / Faraway Folk's finest hour (well, 40 minutes anyway). The tracks for this album were assembled with recordings made over a period of 10 months. As studio time was not an issue regarding cost, being as John, etc could use it at anytime for free when it was not in use, it was decided to assemble and release a studio album

Recorded 1974 / 75 * Issued 1975

The cover art is by John, who had a disagreement with Tony Waldron over what should be on the front. Tony did not want to have this painting on the front sleeve, and was quite adamant that a photograph, most probably the one that is within the gatefold of the Folk, to be used. However, John stuck to his guns, and in the end got his way, but not entirely. The original painting was quite large, and was to fill the complete 12" x 12" area, but Tony had it reduced somewhat. By the way, in case anyone is wondering, the original painting was thrown out (don't ask) sometime ago!

Important: some examples of this title were mis-pressed. (actually, the first 100). Side 1 or side 2 banding is off-centre, and on playing will be evident, especially as the stylus draws nearer to the end tracks ~ ouch! This fault can be identified by observing the varying width of the run-in at opposite ends. Do not compare the gap between the run-off to label area, as sometimes it is just the label that is not dead centre." from www.peterice.com/farawayfolk.htm

FILL YOUR EARS

Popol Vuh - "Nosferatu: On the Way to a Little Way" 1978

2007-12-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

I'd like to share another of my absolute favorite albums of all time: a Popol Vuh masterpiece also famous as the soundtrack to Werner Herzog's "Nosferatu" film. Herzog and Popol Vuh had a wonderful relationship, and this soundtrack is the perfect pairing of the two creative entities.

Popol Vuh - Nosferatu
Egg, 1978

alternate cover: Brain released this as Bruder des Schattens-Sohne des Lichts, with the movie poster as cover image.

"Another superb Popol vuh album, similar to « Die Nacht der Seele » in the way that it’s partly made of themes from previous albums, such as « In den Gärten Pharaos » or « Einsjäger & Siebenjäger », in excellent alternate versions. The album’s mood is very spiritual and eastern-inspired –like usual with Popol vuh- with some ragga interludes. One can expect something dark from a soundtrack of the « Nosferatu » movie, but instead it’s a luminous ethereal work, in the mind of their best 70’s releases." -Oliverstoned www.progarchives.com

"a serene, mystic, deeply personal stance that basically transposes Hosianna Mantra into gothic music."-Ryko Dist.

"This album is not exactly the soundtrack of Herzog's Nosferatu. It contains some extracts from the movie score but for me it's simply a great compilation of previous and unreleased works of the band. We can find very contemplative and repetitive tunes that can remind sometimes the Indian instrumental ragua with its transcending and peaceful effects... a kind of mantra, a music from the inside (Mantra, morning sun, Venus principle...).
This represents the acoustic side of the band with a lot of sitar, guitars, and tablas. The other part of the album is dedicated to the band original sound in the style of In den garden pharaohs (creepy, celestial and monotonous melodies played on the big Moog...). If you like all the sides of the band from meditative to prog and space-electronic rock, this one is for you." - Philippe (Groove Unlimited France)

A very doomy, gothic sound indeed... somehow wonderfully paired with tambouras and acoustic guitars. Guys like Stephen O'Malley and Alexander Tucker must have taken inspiration from this album for their projects (Ginnungagap's "Remeindre" album in particular). This is the Popol Vuh album I started with, and it remains not only my favorite album by the band, but one of my all time favorite albums overall. A brilliant example of the many influences creeping in to Krautrock, including Moog experimentation and eastern instruments. A culmination of Popol Vuh tendencies and melodies up to this point. Really the peak of their career.

Take a peek at some trailers from the movie:

and then.....

FILL YOUR EARS

Brian Eno - "Another Green World" 1975

2007-12-02T05:21:00.000-08:00

Probably one of the best albums to come out in 1975... and definitely one of Eno's masterpieces.

Brian Eno - Another Green World
Island, 1975

The cover is a detail from "After Raphael" by Tom Phillips

Brian Eno - synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, drum machine, pianos, keyboards, Farfisa, Hammond, sound effects, bass pedals, vocals, tapes, production
John Cale - viola
Phil Collins - percussion, drums
Robert Fripp - guitars
Percy Jones - fretless bass
Roderick Melvin - Fender Rhodes, keyboards
Paul Rudolph - bass, bass guitar, guitar, snare drum
Brian Turrington - bass guitar, piano
Rhett Davies - production, engineer

This is an amazing album... My first introduction to Eno was a record I picked up back in my Manifest days-- Harold Budd & Brian Eno - The Pearl. I liked it very much and was intrigued, so I picked up Eno's "Taking Tiger Mountain" album next. Surprised, but not disappointed, I put my Eno search on hold. I now had an ambient, piano/synth album and a quirky art rock album. Later, as I got into current ambient-electronic music more and more I decided to go back and rediscover Brian Eno-- known as the father of ambient. While his first albums and stint with Roxy Music are very much psych/glam/art/prog rock, his later albums are exquisite ambient experiments. Many people consider "Another Green World" to be an important transitory album from the early music to the later ambient sounds. While it's absolutely NOT ambient music yet, I can see how it is a transitional phase. Mostly this is noticeable in the great synthesizer sounds and recording techniques that Eno was experimenting with in the context of rock songs. The closest thing to ambient in my opinion is the track "The Big Ship", which no one else seems to talk about much...

Eno is a great figure of experimental 70's music, working with the likes of John Cale, Robert Fripp, Percy Jones, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Holger Czukay, Harold Budd, Cluster, Daniel Lanois, etc... he had a great influence on all sorts of bands from King Crimson to Matching Mole to Gong, and even today bands like Stars of the Lid, Tim Hecker, Moby, and Aphex Twin wouldn't be doing what they are if they hadn't absorbed Brian Eno's ambient works. He also produced albums for many bands, including Roxy Music, Talking Heads, and U2.

"Eno first emerged as a member of Roxy Music, where the synthesizer player electronically "treated" the band's other instruments, the first indicator that the recording process was itself Eno's chosen instrument. His subsequent career has been one of the most provocative in pop, for not only did he devote himself to such obscure pursuits as "ambient music," but he produced vital albums by David Bowie, Talking Heads, and U2. Eno made a handful of relatively conventional pop albums in the 1970s, and Another Green World ranks with Before and After Science as his most enduring solo work. Another Green World finds Eno mixing distorted guitars (courtesy of Robert Fripp) with a variety of keyboards and exotic rhythms to create a meditative wash of sound that is nonetheless awash with colorful touches. Particularly appealing is the bubbling "St. Elmo's Fire," with a stunning guitar part by Fripp, and "I'll Come Running," in which Eno shows that even a dedicated experimentalist can have a soft heart. From the strange-but-true file, Phil Collins contributes drums and percussion to three tracks." --John Milward

"This 1975 recording catches the ex-Roxy Music member in transition between art rock and his more progressive-ambient recordings. With an all-star cast including drummer Phil Collins, guitarist Robert Fripp, and John Cale on viola, Another Green World explores instrumental landscapes and aural textures not normally associated with rock recordings. Drawing on musical influences ranging from Weather Report to La Monte Young and Terry Riley, Brian Eno created layers of quirky sonic atmospheres and electronic tone poems. Using synthesizers, artificial percussion devices, and additional electronic accouterments, he found that the studio itself could become a useful instrument of creativity. Compositions like "Becalmed," "Sombre Reptiles," and the title cut all anticipate Eno's later ambient excursions. One of the many utterly essential Brian Eno albums." --Mitch Myers

FILL YOUR EARS

Soft Machine - "Seven" 1973

2007-11-28T04:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I wanted to at least get ONE post in for November, so here's what I have....
I'm out of the frying pan and into the fire so to speak now.... (finished my job, now getting ready to return to Holland and have a baby girl) Continue wishing me luck, and do check back once in a while-- there's loads of good stuff still to come......

Soft Machine - Seven
Columbia, 1973

Mike Ratledge: organ, electric piano, synthesizer
Karl Jenkins: oboe, baritone sax, soprano sax, recorder, electric piano
Roy Babbington: bass, double bass
John Marshall: drums, percussion

The usual suspects show up for this late Soft Machine album (usual suspects for post-Fourth albums, that is). Hugh Hopper left after the album before this one, but Roy Babbington is not a newcomer to the Soft Machine. This album is good, but the overall atmosphere is different from previous albums... There are some proto-ambient keyboard fiddlings that add a distinct flavor to the very interesting jazz-rock fusion that you knew would be there, because it IS the Soft Machine after all.

"Seven definitely sounds to me like an album by a band at a crossroads. I don't know of anyone who would rank it among Soft Machine's best work and I wouldn't do so, either. But I don't think it's bad by any means, and if you've liked Soft Machine up until this point I suspect you'll like this album too, even if it is probably an example of water-treading. The songs are still knotty and still have that immediately-recognizable "Soft Machine" quality. The album is a mixture of mid-tempo fusion songs and slower, more gently ambient pieces in the style that the band experimented with on the studio portion of the previous album. This is Karl Jenkins' doing, based on the songwriting credits. He splits them with Mike Ratledge, save for John Marshall's obligatory percussion solo (which I find to be surprisingly listenable). For what it's worth, Jenkins isn't too proud to acknowledge his atmospheric forebears; one of the better trance-like pieces is called "The German Lesson."" - Matt P. (http://www.progreviews.com)

"SOFT MACHINE settles into a sedate mix of jazz and progressive rock on "Seven", suggesting the mellower side of KING CRIMSON and CAMEL minus the vocal identity. The tracks usually fade into one another, separated by short instrumental segues and occasionally veering into different directions during a single song, led by KARL JENKINS' solos and MIKE RATLEDGE's keyboard patterns. Drummer JOHN MARSHALL takes the spotlight for "D.I.S." but otherwise remains in the background, as does bassist ROY BABBINGTON; for the most part, it's Ratledge who anchors the material. Compared to the work of, say, BRAND X, "Seven" is a dreamy affair, making use of mesmerizing keyboards, percussive effects that evoke wind chimes, bubbling basswork, and horns that occasionally approach the phrasing of a violin (in fact, JEAN-LUC PONTY fans may find this music reassuringly similar). Although the band generates some interesting grooves on "Tarabos" and "Down the Road", even these are contained in well-defined borders.

"Seven" does not boast stunning solos or grandiose ideas; it's understated but effective as a collage of small, soft pieces placed together. Though hardly a jewel in the genre, and limited by a lack of fresh ideas, at least it's not standoffishly noisy." -Philo

FILL YOUR EARS

Tai Phong - "Self-titled" 1975

2007-10-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

I've started at my new job. Which is why I hardly have time for anything anymore... but when I have a moment or two I will continue posting the great albums I feel you should all know!

Tai Phong - Tai Phong
Wea Filipachi (WB), 1975

"Do you recognize the French singer and guitarist, Jean-Jacques Goldman, the one who composed Céline Dion's "Là-Bas", a very popular French hit also interpreted by Corey Hart and Julie Masse? It is him, here on this not very well known progressive rock record, singing and playing electric guitars.

Jean-Jacques has a very highly pitched voice, sounding a bit like Geddy Lee of the 70's. The keyboards are modern for the year, atmospheric, dense and powerful. It is an emotional album, not dark but definitely mind troubling. "Going Away" is a good track, being prog hard rock full of changing rhythms; its electric guitars often sound a bit like Steve Hillage, having a short lite wah-wah effect part. "Sister Jane" is absolutely catchy & delightful, having intensely floating keyboards and AWESOME, graceful, loud & powerful backing vocals. "Crest" has a powerful ambient organ, very fast and complex drums, and, again, beautiful, graceful & powerful backing vocals; Goldman shouts like an unpleasant kid in the middle of the track. "For years and years" is the chef d'oeuvre by excellence: it starts with a beautiful rhythmic piano a la George Duke (Frank Zappa of the 70's); the track is very progressive, and the moaning electric guitar solo sounds a bit like David Gilmour's slide guitar; there are peaceful and soothing backing vocals; then, a very complex & clinical part a la Steve Hillage occurs; the end of the track consists in a GRACEFUL combination of Fender Rhodes, inoffensive acoustic & electric guitars and floating organ, slowly growing in intensity, and finally terminating in colorful streams of miscellaneous keyboards and lead & backing vocals: a GRAND lullaby!

On the other side, the delicate and powerful "Field of gold" consists in piano, sissy lead & backing vocals, which unblocks to a powerful catchy refrain; this then leads to a VERY impressive stagnant keyboards texture: it quite sounds like the end of the Tangerine dream's "Force Majeure" track or like the Gandalf's "Imaginary voyage" album. The last track, "Out of the night", is another progressive gem: a heavy ambient organ makes a very slow rhythm, and some excellent Asiatic lead vocals make a catchy melody; there are, again, some excellent backing vocals and very intensely floating keyboards, plus a very good & long guitar solo; it ends with a nostalgic piano part and a shower. " -greenback from RateYourMusic

Tai Phong is another of my finds from my days at Manifest Discs. It is a lovely prog album with psych influences... at times reminiscent of Pink Floyd (around Meddle) and sometimes even Italian prog bands like Banco, Locanda, or PFM. Beautiful melodies and lyricism, but the vocals are slightly troublesome here and there... not quite on a par with the aforementioned bands, but definitely an obscure jewel to be heard!

FILL YOUR EARS

Popol Vuh - "Coeur de Verre - Herz aus Glas" 1977

2007-09-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Apologies. I haven't forgotten this blog, no not at all. On the contrary, I've been looking forward to updating... because here is one of my favorite albums from one of my favorite bands from the 70s!

Popol Vuh - Coeur de Verre / Herz aus Glas
Egg, 1977
Brain, 1977

There was also an alternate cover for the German version, but this one is nicer I think. This is beautiful folk music, drawing from both Indian and European folk traditions. The atmosphere is also psychedelic, with both minimal acoustic tracks and full band electric tracks with drums. Really a brilliant Popol Vuh album that highlights their folk music aspect all the way through. Similar to "Nosferatu" in sound palette and transcendence, but perhaps not as dark. One of Popol Vuh's many albums used as soundtracks for Werner Herzog films. Popol Vuh was a German krautrock or "kosmische" band that started in the 70's. They began experimenting with Moog synthesizers, but after the first two albums they incorporated a more psychedelic folk sound and moved away from the electronic "Tangerine Dream"-like focus. Unfortunately Florian Fricke (founder and frontman) has been exploring a more new-age techno sound for the past few years, so I can't recommend anything under the Popol Vuh name from after the late 70's, early 80's.

"I would like to rectify things; Popol Vuh albums have never been released initially as soundtracks. The music used by Werner Herzog as scores for movies are first of all Popol Vuh original and personal efforts (must be considered as studio albums). As it was said by Hugues, we don't have to see Herz of Glas to understand and appreciate the music. However the special scenes dedicated to Popol Vuh's music (as the elegiac and dreamy-like opening theme when the hero is contemplating the landscape) are constantly evocative and reach the human soul in its most reflective moments. However as a score for Werner Herzog, "Aguirre" is a way higher. Musically "Herz aus Glas" sounds very calm, fresh and pastoral with dense floating guitar parts and sometimes raga-like eastern strings (as in the deep spiritual "Das Lied von den hohen Bergen"). It's a fine intersection between shimmering (mantric) folk rock melodies and absolute natural, organic ambiences. Very similar in style and aesthetic to albums as "Seligpresung", "Einsjäger & Siebenjäger" and a few others Popol Vuh's classics." - philippe from ProgArchives

FILL YOUR EARS

The Bothy Band - "Old Hag You Have Killed Me" 1976

2007-09-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

A beautiful album by a band of the highest caliber within the traditional folk and celtic circles:

The Bothy Band - Old Hag You Have Killed Me
Green Linnet, 1976

(not sure if the original label was Polydor or Green Linnet... any help?)
The Bothy Band is a legendary, all-star Celtic and Irish folk band that married the intensity of rock and roll with the sincerity and authenticity of purist traditional music. This is their second album, and one of their best-- featuring blistering reels, keening airs, and melancholy ballads. An acoustic band featuring folk luminaries such as Paddy Keenan (uilleann pipes), Matt Molloy (flute), Donal Lunny (of Planxty fame, bouzouki), and Michael O'Domhnaill (guitar and vocals) to sample the line-up...

"The Bothies were the ultimate irish trad band, they almost invented modern trad music and the sounds they made are as startlingly original today as they were in the 1970s. Each member was a virtuoso player steeped in tradition with their own individual voice and style. But how they blended to make the most magnificent irish music - Keenan's pipes, Peoples (later Burke's) fiddle, Molloy's flute, Lunny on bouzouki and bodhran and the O'Domhnaill's - Micheal on guitar and vocals, Triona on keyboards and vocals. Lilting airs and songs interspersed with delirious driving reels and jigs played at a speed and verve never before witnessed. Every track is a gem and there are wonderful arrangements in the sets and songs, inventive, melodic, awesome technique. Several generations of trad players and younger groups acknowledge their indebtedness to the BB and the inspiration they have drawn from the old masters. Some can play as fast or can do clever things but none have matched the heart in the music of the Bothy Band. Essential music for any collection." --Ian Clarke

I've been wanting to do my own version of "Maid of Coolmore" for quite a while now, but just haven't gotten it right. The original here is so beautiful... also written "Cullmore" sometimes. I found this LP for a rather good price on the internet a couple of years ago, so I think the original vinyl should still be easily hunted down... I recommend you do!

~~FILL YOUR EARS~~

~~(Thanks to Celtic Circle)~~

Old link is dead, new one straight from me:

FILL YOUR EARS

Ramases - "Glass Top Coffin" 1975

2007-09-11T12:56:00.000-07:00

A little-known, long-lost JEWEL... # 2 from that strange husband-wife duo Ramases. #1 is here.

Ramases - Glass Top Coffin
Vertigo, 1975

"Co-produced by Ramases and keyboardist Barry Kirsch, 1975's "Glass Top Coffin" was equally eclectic, but sported a sound that was quite different from the debut. Exemplified by material such as the lead off track "Golden Landing", "Children Of The Green Earth" and "Sweet Reason" (where Ramases sounds like Marianne Faithful), the overall feel was far more polished; no doubt reflecting elaborate orchestral arrangements (courtesy of Rob Young) and support from members of the Royal Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestra. Like the debut, there's clearly a concept buried in here, though the apparent references to aliens ("Golden Landing") and religion ("God Voice") are again largely lost on us. Not that it matters since the set's full of seductive melodies and some wonderful vocal performances, including the intriguing Ramases-Sel duet "Now Mona Lisa". As much as we like the debut (see our review), this one's even better and while musical comparisons are always frought with danger, this time around tracks such as the pretty "Long, Long Time" and "Saler Man" found Ramases and Sel pulling off a credible, low-budget take on The Moody Blues (had they been middle aged central heating salesmen). Perhaps we're being colored by Ramases' susbequent 1990's suicide, but tracks such as "Mind Island" and the spare "Only The Loneliest Feeling" seem to give the whole album an air of sad and dignified resignation which only makes the album all the more fascinating. Easily one of our top-50 personal favorites and a crime that it hasn't been heard by more people ... Designed by Ramases and artist Dave Field, the album also sports one of our favorite covers....
Sadly the album failed to sell, marking the end of Ramses recording career. Ramases and Sel appear to have slipped back into day-to-day obscurity. Ramses apparently committed suicide in the late-1970s." -from http://www.geocities.com/badcatrecords/Ramases.htm

Apparently Ramases wanted another fancy cover (like the one Roger Dean designed for Space Hymns [also on Vertigo]), but there was some miscommunication, and the result is this quite stunning album cover. They got the die-cut gatefold part right, but it was something about the design of the cut-out that wasn't exactly the way Ramases had in mind. The other-worldly space-music, the beautiful album covers, and the mystery of Ramases' life combine to make one of the most intriguing and fascinating of my finds lately...

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks to Time Has Told Me)

Miles Davis - "Big Fun" 1974

2007-09-09T12:57:00.000-07:00

A great discovery for any Miles, psych jazz, or funk fan... with a beautiful cover to boot!

Miles Davis - Big Fun
Columbia, 1974

Miles Davis - Trumpet
Joe Zawinul - Electric Piano, Farfisa
Herbie Hancock - Electric Piano
Chick Corea - Electric Piano
Wayne Shorter - Saxophone
John Mclaughlin - Guitar
Steve Grossman - Saxophone
Dave Holland - Bass
Michael Henderson - Bass
Jack Dejohnette - Drums

"On Big Fun, Miles Davis and his band seamlessly merge Indian music, electric jazz, rock, and funk. Released during his electric period, this is one of his more obscure albums. For those of us who love Bitches Brew and In A Silent Way, we need more electric Miles. For those hungering for more of the mellow moods shown on In a Silent Way, but with more of an edge, Big Fun is a good choice (as is Filles De Kilimanjaro). Miles’ improvising is great throughout and his solos range from pastoral to biting. In my opinion, Big Fun features one of the most interesting guitar solos ever put to tape, in "Go Ahead John", by John McLaughlin; it sounds absolutely nothing like any other guitar solo I have ever heard. The gnarly phrasing and warped effects will mess with the mind I felt like my ears were cutting out. Also, the music on Big Fun carries the electric period trademark of multiple drummers, bassists, and percussionists, creating huge layers of rhythm that propel the music forward. The difference here is that the sitar really adds some unique color to the dense brass and percussion textures." - Heather Mackenzie (progreviews.com)

These are 4 tracks filling up 4 sides of vinyl, outtakes from the Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson, and On the Corner sessions spanning 69-72. A magical Miles album... just as coherent, sweltering, and heady as any of the better known albums that resulted from these legendary sessions. Totally worthy of a place of honor in the Miles catalogue-- this is one of my favorites. I thank Joe, my coworker from my Manifest Discs days for convincing me to listen to this record that had been up on the wall for a while... which led to me loving it, buying it, and hunting down many more magnificent Miles records. (I've even used samples from it in an experimental music project)

(sorry for not getting this out last night, took me a while to upload everything...)

FILL YOUR EARS pt. 1
FILL YOUR EARS pt. 2
FILL YOUR EARS pt. 3
FILL YOUR EARS pt. 4

Camel - "Mirage" 1974

2007-09-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately... I've been on a job hunt. But here's an amazing psych prog album to make up for it!!!

Camel - Mirage
Deram, 1974

UK prog band that is not as appreciated as it should be... This is their best album, representing the earlier more psychedelic influenced sounds. Later on they became much more "cheesy prog" with some synthesizer wizardry, exploring spacier territory. However, here their sound is quite amazing. Great keyboard and flute work adding those progressive touches. The best song is the suite "Lady Fantasy". That song alone will blow you away. A masterpiece of psych prog, one of my favorite psychedelic rock songs of all time. Plus a nice album cover paying tribute to their apparent vice....

"The band had obviously settled on what sort of music they wanted to make with "Mirage", and it’s palpably progressive at every turn, shrouded in a magical mist that falls and rises with the needle. The sleepy vocals, carried on the winds of a magnificent mellotron and buttressed by the bass and drums, conjure a waking dreamstate that few albums can match. This" Mirage" first takes the form of “Freefall," whose seductive siren’s call simply smokes, followed by the instrumental “Supertwister", featuring Andy Latimer’s heretofore unheard (and otherworldly) flute playing. It’s all leading up to the two-part “Nimrodel", a transcendent retelling of GANDALF’s reappearance as the white wizard that remains my favorite journey in all of CAMELogue.

For this heroic feat alone, CAMEL could count itself minstrel-kissed through the ages. “Earthrise” shakes off some of that sleepy, far-off land with a sweaty workout that finds Pete Bardens’ brilliant organ working overtime while Andy Ward attacks his kit with unrelenting energy. The three-part “Lady Fantasy” would seem to continue in this vein, but soon slides effortlessly into a mesmerizing melody spiced with keyboard commentary from Bardens that beats down The DOORS’ hallowed path. If I were assembling the Gods in order, a task best left to presumptive chess players, "Mirage" would appear near the head of the receiving line for progressive initiates.

The entire album bespeaks what’s best about the genre: a self-sustaining musical world where fantasy is the reality and the strings of man remain unseen. CAMEL provides a different ride than the great carriages of the immortals (YES, GENESIS), using softer strokes in lieu of striking genius, but "Mirage" is no mere illusion of prog heaven, it’s the genuine article. So climb aboard and strap yourself in for a ride you won’t soon forget." - Dave Connolly, Prog Archives

insert:

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks to Early Rock and Blues)

The Wizards from Kansas - "Self-titled" 1970

2007-08-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

A very intriguing and highly detailed cover for this psych-country rock album....

The Wizards from Kansas - The Wizards from Kansas
Mercury, 1970

Brilliant west-coast psych rock with some country-ish overtones... I've seen it referred to as psych folk, but I'd have to strongly disagree with that denomination. It's definitely more of a country vibe. Comparisons have been drawn to the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Quicksilver Messenger Service, but it's clear that the sound you hear on this album has been developed by a band with a strong individual musical identity. It's a little jammy, but not over the top, and there are some slight prog touches here and there. It's really a unique album, well worth knowing about. Features some great covers (High Flying Bird, Codine) as well as originals.

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks to Lost-In-Tyme)

Christy Moore - "Whatever Tickles Your Fancy" 1975

2007-08-29T08:44:00.000-07:00

First post from Spain! My laptop is all set up in my new [temporary] home. So here's a good one for you, in a similar vein to where we left off....

Christy Moore - Whatever Tickles Your Fancy
Polydor, 1975

Christy Moore-- an excellent singer-songwriter from Ireland, the man responsible for organizing the legendary Irish folk band Planxty. He also has a successful solo career, a bit less traditional-oriented than Planxty, with more rock influences. A beautiful melding of traditional folk, Celtic, singer-songwriter, and folk rock sensibilities. You know it can be nothing but beautiful if the boys from Planxty had anything to do with it (and they did).

"Whatever Tickles Your Fancy, Christy Moore's third album was his first after his first departure from Planxty, in the mid-'70s. Perhaps feeling a bit as if he should try to please all folk factions, the LP was divided into an acoustic side ("Tippin' It Up to Nancy," in fact, features nothing but his voice and bodhran) and an electric one. Rearrangements of traditional material dominated the song list, although it also included a couple of Ewan MacColl tunes and, most surprisingly, a cover of Mountain's "One Last Cold Kiss." Whatever approach was used, he was an effective interpreter of traditional numbers, or work that was traditional in style (even "One Last Cold Kiss," after all, was based on a Nantucket legend). The electric side was very much in the British fiddle-electric guitar folk-rock style pioneered by Fairport Convention, the most notable cuts being "The Ballad of Timothy Evans" and the eight-minute closer, "Van Diemen's Land." "
-Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Christy Moore: vocals, guitar, bodhran
Robbie Brennan: drums
Donal Lunny: guitar, bouzouki, bodhran, moog, vocals
Jimmy Faulkner: guitars
Declan McNelis: bass, guitar
Kevin Burke: fiddle

FILL YOUR EARS

moving

2007-08-26T13:14:00.000-07:00

The big day is upon me, and tomorrow I begin the journey to Spain.

So, there won't be any posts for a few days, till we get set up again in our new home. The next post will be from Spain:-)

Wish us luck, all the preparations have been stressful...

Steeleye Span - "Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again" 1972

2007-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Keeping the folk element, but in an entirely different style... many, many miles away from the last post....

Steeleye Span - Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again
Pegasus, 1972

from Wikipedia:

"Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again is the third album by Steeleye Span, recorded in 1971. Of all their albums, it is the most acoustic and it also has considerable Irish influence, second only to Horkstow Grange. Tracks like "Four Nights Drunk", "Marrowbones", and "Wee Weaver" are essentially pure folk. It was the last album to feature founding member Ashley Hutchings, who left the band in part because he felt that the album had moved too far toward Irish music and away from English music. The band was also considering touring America, and Hutchings was reluctant to make the trip. The word "mop" in the title means "hiring fair". A "ten man mop" would be a very poor show, since there would be few potential employees to choose from.

The album begins with an adaptation of the Christmas carol "Gower Wassail". "When I was on Horseback" is one of the few folk songs to have an alternative existence as a blues song, sometimes known as "Six White Horses". It is also an Irish variant of a tune that inspired "Streets of Laredo" and "St James Infirmary". The last song, "Skewball" is one of the album's highlights, employing an effective counterpoint between a banjo and an electric guitar.

The album was notable for having a textured "gatefold" sleeve and inner pages on its original release. This was paid for by the band but cost more to print than the album generated in profits, meaning the band lost money on each album sold. None of the re-releases have included the original number of pages of liner notes.

The album's curious title and subtitle require some explanation. A 'mop' or 'mop-fair' is a late medieval term for a job fair, where laborers come looking for work. (The song "Copshawholme Fair", from the band's first album, is about such a fair.) The conceit was that the band was out of work and job-hunting. The even more curious subtitle is a reference to Reservoir Butler, who had originally performed one of the songs covered on the album. The band was so struck by his unusual name that they decided it needed to be saved from obscurity."

A very nice album, if I do say so myself. Perhaps not their best, due to their attempt at a thinner or sparser sound... but most songs work very well. There's a very strong combined trad-folk and folk-rock vibe going on. From me to you:

FILL YOUR EARS

Satwa - "Self-titled" 1973

2007-08-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

And now, for something completely different... some psychedelic folk from the tropics:

Satwa - Satwa
Rozenblit, 1973

"Formed after the return of Lula Côrtes and Lailson from their respective foreign excursions – the former a beardo home after the requisite Moroccan sojourn, the latter a young long-hair back from the States – Satwa lasted only a year, perhaps due to their differing stripes. Lailson was from the verdant former Dutch colony of Pernanbuco, while Côrtes hailed from the wild badlands of Paraiba. But for 11 days in January 1973 the pair jammed cross-legged and produced the folk trance gems that adorn this self-titled debut.

At a time when censors caused newspapers to run cake recipes on their front pages in place of rejected news stories, Lailson only lets the occasional throat drone slip through his lips. Largely void of voice and word, the songs – Côrtes plucking steely leads from his sitar while Lailson's 12-string thrums crystalline chords – are loose and lovely. The sole interference in these glistening arabesques is the hoary electric fretwork of one Robertinho on "Blues do Cachorro Muito Louco," the most explicitly fried track. Otherwise, Côrtes and Lailson are left to experiment in musty silence. Seemingly taped live, each track is a dry documentation of the duo's gently rambling improvisations. Far from the recombinant psychedelia of tropicalismo that reigned over the pre-hippie underground in Brazil's bustling metropolises five years earlier, Satwa play bed peace bards. In double-mono, or fake stereo, Satwa is raw, untreated mentalism translated into pure songflow. At times exhausted and dusty – "Atom" – or archaically splendorous – "Valse Dos Cogumelos" – the duo's spiraling scrolls etched in rustic timbres unfurl gracefully.

Côrtes, now a graying painter, would go on to record the more explicitly weird Paêbirú (also recently reissued) with Zé Ramalho. A concept album about extraterrestrials in Paraiba's arid backwoods, it had long been anointed a masterpiece of the era. After dabbling in rock outfits, Lailson broke into the mainstream as a newspaper cartoonist, a job he has kept to this day. Neither were or will probably ever be Satwa again, but during those few days and from now on, Satwa is a quiet triumph."

By Bernardo Rondeau

"This is one of the many great Rozenblit releases from 70’s Brazil. It was released privately three years before the celebrated, and one of the most psychedelic albums from Brazil, Cortez/Ramhalo : Paebiru. This mostly guitar-based album is as much a one of a kind guitar based album, which is pretty improvised. The two guitarists here show a brilliant psych-fluent instant-duet understanding, with melodic variation. Lula Cortez plays guitar or the “popular Morocco sitar”, while Lailson de Holanda Cavalcanti plays 12-string guitar and …let’s say uses his voices a bit. Special guest guitarist on one track is Robertinho Do Recife. Both artists are so dedicated to one another, the music becomes like one organic but structured evolution. Also the sitar is used as if resonating the lead guitar."
from http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/guitar5.html

This is a record that means a lot to me personally. I found it at Manifest Discs where I used to work in Charlotte, North Carolina. I don't know who brought it in and sold it to us, but my colleague Joe pointed it out to me. I had no idea what I was looking at, but the cover instantly caught my interest. So I bought it for $7 I think, and upon spinning it at home I fell further in love. It is really magical music. Pristine, pure, fluid, psych folk improv. Upon further inspection, I saw that the cover was signed by Lailson, with the message "with a call to write me". This intrigued me even more as to who had sold us this record... So for a long time I enjoyed this record rather ignorantly, and one day on a whim I did some research on the internet... I found out that it was the first privately pressed LP in Brazil, and that it was quite sought after by the few who knew of it. Not wanting to wear out my original, I looked for reissues and found that Time-Lag records has released it as a 180 gram LP (that is now out of print) and on CD (very nice mini LP replica). So you know where to look! It's worth it.

detail from back of LP cover:

insert from Time-Lag records CD reissue:

from me to you:

FILL YOUR EARS

Miles Davis - "Pangaea" 1975

2007-08-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think we're through with the Canterbury Scene list. I might throw out a couple more canterbury and related albums here and there, but for now that's it. BUT... while we're on a jazz-rock note, here's a killer:

Miles Davis - Pangaea
Columbia, 1975

"Pangaea, a spectacular 1975 release, was the last album Miles Davis recorded before retiring from music for five years.

He was running on empty, his failing health made worse by drugs and drink. In a sense, this double disc is an 88-minute primal scream, as Davis spews forth his pain, tempering it with the melodic gifts he's always possessed.

From 1970's Bitches Brew on, Davis had been baffling and annoying jazz purists and critics with his increasingly electric, rock 'n' roll-influenced sound. But his self-avowed desire to draw a young, black audience was foiled by his own music -- Miles Davis records were too weird, atonal and jazzy for rock and R&B fans. So, his albums from this era were initially unpopular. Many weren't even released outside of Japan until recently.

Pangaea is truly scorched-earth music, thorny and apocalyptic, with influences as diverse as Sly Stone and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

And the rock influence is strong: bassist Michael Henderson had just come from playing with Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, guitarists Pete Cosey and Reggie Lucas were noisy electric players, and drummer Al Foster played backbeats like a man possessed.

That's how Pangaea opens -- with Foster's heavy, fast rock beat. The guitars come in next, snarling in anticipation of Miles' entry. When he makes his appearance, nearly two minutes into the piece, he's playing through a wah-wah pedal, slowly mutating the tone of his trumpet into almost vocal tones.

It's a bizarre sound, but somehow retains Miles' classic simple lyricism. Further into the piece, at about the six-minute mark, the rhythm section drops out completely in the middle of a raging Sonny Fortune sax solo. Fortune keeps blowing on, and the beat comes back, just as ferocious, but at half-time. Fortune adapts his solo to the new beat, and the juggernaut rolls on.

That exchange is just one example of what Davis' septet acheived here. It's a truly organic form of rock 'n' roll jazz, where the entire face of the music can change through one musician's gesture -- a synergy latter-day jamsters like Phish or Rusted Root can only dream of.

Though the two pieces on Pangaea are long (40 minutes-plus) they still seem like windows onto something even larger -- this music feels like it could go on forever."

by Paddy O'Furniture

The line-up:
Miles Davis - trumpet
Sonny Fortune - alto sax, flute
Pete Cosey - electric guitar, synth, percussion
Reggie Lucas - electric guitar
Michael Henderson - electric bass
Al Forster - drums
Mtume - percussion

"Play your gondwanas off, boys." - Miles before the gig, Feb. 1, 1975 in Japan. The album "Agharta" is the show from the same day in the afternoon. This is psychedelic jazz rock at it's wildest and most furious. It's heavy, weird, funky, and very groovy... just how we like it.

FILL YOUR EARS pt. 1
FILL YOUR EARS pt. 2

Nucleus - "We'll Talk About It Later" 1970

2007-08-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

If you listen to any Nucleus albums, let it be "Elastic Rock" and this one. I have less reservations about including this one in our Canterbury Scene list than the last one I posted, "Labyrinth". This one fits, but it's definitely got a distinct flavor of its own.... Also! I am very pleased to have discovered that the album cover for this was designed by none other than our old pal Roger Dean. I missed this one in the Roger Dean list, so now it's here in the Canterbury list... I'll tag it as both.

Nucleus - We'll Talk About It Later
Vertigo, 1970

This is a beast of an album. Of all the canterbury sounds, on this LP you will hear the most bad ass (baddest assed?) music EVER! Much more psychedelic than "Elastic Rock", this second album from Nucleus features similar down-and-dirty grooves, exquisite jazz sensibilities, loads of funk-rock riffs, and great group dynamics... Again, it's headed by Ian Carr, who plays trumpet and flugelhorn. The band consists of future Soft Machinists Karl Jenkins (oboe, baritone sax, electric piano, and piano) and John Marshall on drums; as well as Jeff Clyne on bass and contrabass, Chris Spedding on guitar and bouzouki, and Brian Smith on tenor sax and soprano sax. Plenty of psych guitar, fuzz and wah, bass grooves, horn skronk, and great electric piano sounds. It's definitely jazz-rock, but it's like 70's Miles Davis and Soft Machine reworking the sound established on "Elastic Rock"... in other words, not so laid back. It's mean. And best of all, it's got another die-cut Roger Dean album cover. The photo on the inside that shows through the front cover is of the Easter Rising of 1916 in Ireland. There is also a reworked version of that song (Easter 1916) from "Elastic Rock" on this LP-- faster, more psych, and with some vocals. You've got to hear this.

FILL YOUR EARS

Nucleus - "Labyrinth" 1973

2007-08-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

Again, not the most "canterbury" album here, but there are definitely influences... it's worth mentioning on our list.

Ian Carr with Nucleus - Labyrinth
Vertigo, 1973

I'd say this Nucleus album is a step further from Canterbury and jazz-rock than "Elastic Rock" which appeared early on this blog in the Roger Dean list. It is very jazz oriented, with some female vocals that are purely jazz... but then there are unmistakable rock and funk sensibilities. There are some Canterbury Scene names on this album, including Dave McRae (piano) and Roy Babbington (bass). It's really a tight album, drawing on multiple musical influences and pulling them together wonderfully... especially heard on "Bull-Dance". Unfortunately, the cover is awful. Nucleus has had some great covers, including the Roger Dean cover for "Elastic Rock", but this is plain bad. It just doesn't fit.

from me to you:

FILL YOUR EARS

Keith Tippett Group - "You Are Here... I Am There" 1970

2007-08-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Here we have another loosely canterbury album... We've heard from Keith Tippett twice already on this blog (once in the Roger Dean album cover series, once in the Canterbury Scene list), but here's his debut album as the band leader of The Keith Tippett Group (he also plays piano in the group).

The Keith Tippett Group - You Are Here... I Am There
Polydor, 1970

Sometimes this is referred to only as "Keith Tippett"... but I feel that doesn't do justice to the band, and besides-- the album cover says "The Keith Tippett Group" on it. So there.

This is an album of sprawling jazz compositions. There is less of a rock feel than on "Dedicated to You...", more of an avant-garde jazz-orchestral feel. Extended vamps and improvisational skronking alternate with tight harmonies and very nicely arranged melodies. Fantastic interplay between freedom and form, and between the musicians themselves.... Tippett knew his players' styles and capabilities, and composed with them in mind. This is moody, sometimes brooding jazz, but not without a sense of humor. One of the shorter tunes contains a playful Beatles reference. Features a horn section whose members were all a part of the Soft Machine at some point or another: Elton Dean, Nick Evans, and Mark Charig; with Alan Jackson on drums and Jeff Clyne on bass.

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks to Time Has Told Me)

Wilde Flowers - "Wilde Flowers" 1993

2007-08-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here is the band that started it all. This marked the spawning of the Canterbury Scene. The mother of Soft Machine and Caravan and basically every other canterbury band.

Wilde Flowers - Wilde Flowers
Voiceprint, 1993

Though they never released any albums during their existence, this is a rather nice collection of the tunes they played. A very interesting document of the beginnings of that jazz inspired psychedelic rock known as the canterbury sound, though in rather primitive stages at this point. Featuring those great artists we've come to know and love: Kevin Ayers, Richard Caughlan, Graham Flight, Pye Hastings, Brian Hopper, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge, Richard Sinclair, Robert Wyatt, "and others..." The band only existed from 1964 to 1967, and after that things really took off in Canterbury. Thankfully Voiceprint issued these recordings on CD in '93. A nice retrospective album for those interested in the roots of the Scene, but not really on a par with any of the subsequent offshoots.

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks to Prog and Other enjoyable music)

Soft Heap - "Self-titled" 1978

2007-08-15T07:08:00.000-07:00

....and we're back. So, as promised, a long lost hard to find canterbury gem, plucked off the Soft Machine family tree:

Soft Heap - Soft Heap
Charly, 1978

A few posts back we saw Soft HeaD... but this is Soft HeaP, the original line up:
Hugh Hopper
Elton Dean
Alan Gowen
Pip Pyle
Of course, the sound is similar, but here they were still trying to hold on to that Third, Fourth, and Fifth Soft Machine sound that just couldn't be held on to (because the line ups were changing all the time). It is a very nice album though. It features the original "Terra Nova" that would later appear on the Soft Head "Rogue Element" album. Elton Dean's distinctive sax playing stands out, and Hugh Hopper is brilliant as always, with Alan Gowen and Pip Pyle blending beautifully... The sound is a little more psychedelic on some songs than Soft Head, due to Alan and Hugh's effects. Great blend of free jazz, jazz rock, and slower electric jazz. Amazing what differences one person can bring to the atmosphere of a group. The group dynamics are slightly but noticeably different with Pip Pyle on drums instead of David Sheen. I do have to say, however, that the album art this time is rather disappointing. At least the idea to have a "soft heap" of spaghetti is clever. If only they'd gotten a Roger Dean pile of spaghetti........

FILL YOUR EARS

Pause

2007-08-13T01:18:00.001-07:00

I have to take care of some moving business these days, so things will be a little slow around the blog. I have some good things lined up, though, so I'll make it worth the wait when I'm back:-)
Hope you are enjoying the summer... Listen to some good tunes! (plenty to choose from here!)
See you in a day or two...

Soft Machine - "BBC Radio 1967-1971" 2003

2007-08-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

The first non-studio album in our Canterbury series happens to also be the first one released outside of the 60's and 70's. Probably the only time that will happen. Yes, it's very special...

Soft Machine - BBC Radio 1967-1971
Hux, 2003

This double CD features the complete Top Gear sessions that the Soft Machine recorded for John Peel and the BBC. These are the early years of the Soft Machine, the time period usually considered as the band's prime years. The recordings are very good quality radio sessions, some of which include Kevin Ayers, others featuring the later line-up with Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean backed by a horn section. 1967-71 really were the most important years for the Soft Machine, and this is a wonderful collection of alternate versions and unreleased songs that will make any Soft Machine fan salivate... There are tracks from all of their albums during those years, Vol. 1 to Fourth. It is a great document of the band's evolution from those early whimsical psychedelic pop tunes to the jazz rock/fusion band it would become. The cover is a photo taken by Robert Wyatt himself.

FILL YOUR EARS disc 1
FILL YOUR EARS disc 2

(Thanks to Jack, o Coelho)

Hugh Hopper - "1984" 1973

2007-08-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Another direct descendant of the Soft Machine in our Canterbury Scene series:

Hugh Hopper - 1984
CBS, 1973

Hugh Hopper was the bass player for the Soft Machine while they were in their prime. This was his first solo album, recorded after "Six", shortly before he left the Soft Machine. It is a concept album named after George Orwell's novel, and the song titles are also taken from the novel. ("Miniluv", "Minitrue", "Minipax", etc... = Ministry of Love, Ministry of Truth, Ministry of Peace) It is a very interesting album, way out on the avant-garde end of the Canterbury Scene sounds. Most of the songs are not very accessible, consisting of free jazz jamming and experimental tape looping. However, it is quite engaging despite its dystopic nature, and there are a couple of shorter tracks that are rather nice jazz rock compositions in typical Canterbury style. This album shows Hopper's interest in tape looping beginning to develop, as well as featuring that fine distinctive bass playing by the man himself and a slew of other Canterbury veterans: Elton Dean, Gary Windo, Pye Hastings, John Marshall, Lol Coxhill, Nick Evans, and Malcolm Griffiths.

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks once more to the fine folks of Canterbury Tales)

Soft Machine - "Vol. Two" 1969

2007-08-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Seen by many as the Soft Machine's greatest album, a Canterbury landmark, and a masterpiece by anyone's standards:

Soft Machine - Volume Two
Probe, 1969

After Kevin Ayers left the band to pursue his solo career, the trio of Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, and Hugh Hopper (with help from Brian Hopper on sax) recorded Volume 2. Without a guitarist, the keyboards and bass really come to the forefront. The band achieves an immense psychedelic jazz sound on this album, heavy riff after riff with beautiful interplay between the vocals and instruments. The first song I ever heard by the Soft Machine was "As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still" from this album. It was the first time I'd heard any Canterbury Scene music, and that mix of heavy psych rock and jazz blew me away... Then I learned that they had toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience before recording the album, and I was even more impressed. Wyatt said at one point that the pressure of opening for such an incredible musician as Hendrix really helped inspire the Softs to go for something new and outrageous. Side one of this album (Rivmic Melodies) features several Hopper tunes and some nice arranging by Wyatt. Side two (Esther's Nose Job) features a Mike Ratledge suite and the lovely "Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening", written by Hopper (he also plays acoustic guitar for it) and sung by Wyatt. This tune and its title would pop up on several other canterbury-related albums (ie. Matching Mole, Keith Tippett, etc...). This record is seen by many as the pinnacle of the Soft Machine's career and even of the whole Canterbury Scene. It certainly is what it's all about.

FILL YOUR EARS

Kevin Ayers - "Joy Of A Toy" 1969

2007-08-08T12:33:00.000-07:00

Surprise surprise! Here I am again. Turns out I'll have my laptop handy a little while longer than I thought. I'll be sure to let you know again for sure when the blog will be on hold. In the meantime.... I thought I'd go ahead and post a Canterbury gem of an album, despite my earlier hesitation:

Kevin Ayers - Joy Of A Toy
Harvest, 1969

Kevin Ayers proves to be a brilliant psychedelic singer-songwriter and vocalist on his debut solo album, with a sound much like a continuation of the Soft Machine's first two albums... Indeed, his fellow Softs provide lovely backing for him on this and his second album, "Shooting at the Moon." You'll even hear some songs that he used to play with the Soft Machine on this album. Kevin Ayers' left the Soft Machine after their first album, but his first few solo albums blend that wild Canterbury spirit of his former band with a mellower song-craft, tempering it to perfection. He calls not only on his former band-mates Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper, and Mike Ratledge; but also Mike Oldfield, David Bedford, Rob Tait, Jeff Clyne, Paul Minns, Paul Buckmaster, Cyrille Ayers, Sean Murphy, and two Welsh girls for backing vocals: Jean and Mary. Here is psychedelia, jazz, rock, pop, a singer-songwriter sensibility, and avant-garde all melding into an early Canterbury masterpiece. A sound that is decidedly British. And the cover art is oh so whimsically silly... fits the music to a tee! I simply can't recommend this album enough. I'm telling you,

FILL YOUR EARS.

Cover of the Harvest Heritage double album reissue.

Hatfield and the North - "The Rotters' Club" 1975

2007-08-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

Note: This will be the last post for a little while. I'm moving back to Spain, and the moving process will keep me away from my music collection as well as the internet and my laptop for a while. Not sure exactly how long, but look for me again next week!

Once more a Canterbury classic, with an album cover that has baffled many a fan...

Hatfield and the North - The Rotters' Club
Virgin, 1975

Sounding perhaps just a little dated in places, but oh so perfectly Canterbury, is Hatfield and the North's second and last album. This is a very jazz oriented album, with the requisite nonsensical lyrics and keyboard solos. The tinkling piano bits are rather less likeable than the skronking keyboard bits. The album is a little up and down, but the shorter pieces are generally brilliant and the longer ones somewhat hit and miss. Richard Sinclair's vocals are nice, reminiscent of Caravan's "Grey and Pink" days, but then the jazz jams take over with a much meaner sound. Additional musicians (from Henry Cow and Egg) help the band out in a big way, making the overall texture more interesting. I must say that my favorite track is one of the bonus tracks... Oh Len's Nature is a wonderful cover of a Matching Mole tune. Everyone seems to hate the album art though... I always found it very intriguing somehow fitting. After this album, several Hatfield members went on to take part in National Health.

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks again to Canterbury Tales)

Gong - "Flying Teapot" 1973

2007-08-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Next in our Canterbury Scene list is another Gong album. Again, I would hesitate to include Gong in such a list, but given Daevid Allen's involvement in other Canterbury happenings earlier on, and the band's jazz and rock blending... here they are again.

Gong - Radio Gnome Invisible Pt. 1: Flying Teapot
Virgin, 1973

This is the first installment in the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy, the basic elements of which were introduced on earlier albums such as Camembert Electrique. The sound of the trilogy is a bit more polished than earlier efforts, but this album "Flying Teapot" is the most similar sounding to Camembert and Magick Brother. Things are getting a bit proggier, and spacier. Tim Blake's synthesizers add a brilliant touch, and he contributes a beautiful proto-ambient piece to the album-- "The Octave Doctors and the Crystal Machine". There is a hint of funk in some tracks, and lots of jazz and psychedelic influence to be heard. Some tracks even carry a bit of a Pink Floyd sound. But overall it's pretty indescribable craziness, though very musically sound. This is really an impressively innovative album in terms of the theme and lyrics, musically, and in terms of some of the production techniques. Equally brilliant are the next two installments in the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy: "Angel's Egg" and "You". After the trilogy Daevid Allen left the band and drummer Pierre Moerlen took over. Though still somewhat interesting, it would never compare to the earlier days.

@ 192 from me to you:

FILL YOUR EARS

Photo updates

2007-08-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, I have returned home (for now) and have been able to upload a few more photos to some posts. Here they are:

Soft Machine - Fifth

Gong - Magick Brother

Soft Machine - Vol. 1

Matching Mole - Little Red Record

Tomorrow there will be more music... Gong again!

Matching Mole - "Little Red Record" 1972

2007-08-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

The next album cover in our Canterbury series moves into political territory...

Matching Mole's Little Red Record
CBS, 1972

Here we have Matching Mole's second and last studio album (there were a couple of other live albums released over the years). Compared to the first, Robert Wyatt is a little less in the forefront as far as songwriting. He does contribute the lyrics, but not any original music. But of course, his playing and his singing are superb. Here the band is Wyatt, Phil Miller, Dave McRae, and Bill McCormick. This is a brilliant Canterbury Scene album, with an excellent blend of jazz, jamming, rock, and a hint of psychedelia. Brian Eno's synthesizer adds some great near-ambient accents and a more experimental feel in general to the record. The album was produced by none other than Robert Fripp. The riff that makes up the song "Nan True's Hole" will stay in your head forever... (Hatfield and the North also have a great live instrumental cover of the tune.) Robert Wyatt was a dedicated Communist, and you can hear some clever socialist commentaries throughout the album that back up the very nice cover art. The back cover tells the unlikely story of the band and lists the members in "beard length order". It is a very witty album that is also seriously groovy. Wyatt's accident, which occurred after this album was released, put an end to further Matching Mole plans and eventually led to his most excellent solo career.

~~FILL YOUR EARS~~

(Thanks to Canterbury Tales)

reupped here:
REFILL YOUR EARS

Dirk Sietse

2007-08-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

On August 1st Dirk Sietse passed away. Many of you will know him as the guy behind the amazing blog Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll. He has been so giving, and his blog is a great inspiration; his taste was always impeccable. So this post is a tribute to him. Stop by his blog and post a comment, they will be used as a memorial for him.

Thank you Dirk, rest in peace.

Soft Machine - "Volume One" 1968

2007-08-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Way back to the beginning for the next and possibly most important Canterbury Scene album....

Soft Machine - Volume One
Probe, 1968

This was the official debut album for the Soft Machine, which at this time was Robert Wyatt on vocals and drums, Mike Ratledge on keyboards, and Kevin Ayers on vocals and guitar. They all liked jazz very much, and combined this love with the psychedelic music trends going on at the time. What resulted is a pivotal album that helped define the Canterbury Sound, but also an incredibly important album for progressive and psychedelic music in general. The sound is whimsical and heavy at once, experimental and grooving. It's raw and it rocks. You have to hear this one to believe it. The cover originally featured a gimmick wheel of "moving parts".

FILL YOUR EARS

(Thanks to Yoshimura's Love)

Gong - "Magick Brother" 1969

2007-07-31T05:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay, had some technical difficulties uploading yesterday, but here we are again!
I'd say this BARELY merits inclusion in our list of Canterbury Scene related albums; it's sound is not very canterbury at all... but we're talking about Daevid Allen here, and he is all entangled in the Canterbury goings-on, so....

Daevid Allen & Gilly Smyth: Gong - "Magick Brother"
BYG, 1969

(Below is the cover from the 1977 reissue on Affinity Records, above is the Charly CD reissue cover, which was also the original BYG cover)

Also known as "Magick Brother, Mystic Sister", this is the first album to be considered a Gong album, though the only members to continue in the band would be Daevid and Gilly along with Didier Malherbe. It is a gem of an album, totally psychedelic. Free-flowing, loose arrangements with plenty of improvised moments, yet there is some structure to the songs for the most part... Daevid's charming and naive songwriting is at the forefront. There are some minor jazz influences, hinting at the sound they would later take on. This album was entirely recorded on the sound channel of a hand-held movie camera, and yet it sounds great! It usually gets compared to Pink Floyd's "Piper at the Gates of Dawn". It is by far the most psychedelic of all the Gong oeuvre, and the loosest and least polished. Somehow it all works though. It could also be compared to the earliest Soft Machine days, which Daevid Allen was also a big part of.

The first side of the LP is called Early Morning:
1. Mystic Sister, Magick Brother
2. Glad to Sad to Say
3. Rational Anthem
4. Chainstore Chant - Pretty Miss Titty
5. Fable of a Fredfish - Hope You Feel Well

and side 2 is Late Night:
6. Ego
7. Gongsong
8. Princess Dreaming
9. Five and Twenty Schoolgirls
10. Cos You Got Green Hair

From me to you, @ 192:

FILL YOUR EARS

Matching Mole - "Self-titled" 1972

2007-07-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed by now that the typical phrase for Canterbury Scene bands-- "positively incestuous"-- is very true??? Here is more proof:

Matching Mole - Matching Mole
CBS, 1972

Matching Mole's name is a play on words: Machine Molle is Soft Machine in French. And their sound is similar, yet a step away as well. Robert Wyatt formed the band after he left Soft Machine, enlisting Phil Miller, Bill McCormick, David Sinclair, and Dave McRae as "guest superstar" on electric piano. He would later officially join the band replacing David Sinclair as main keyboardist. They only released two albums, of which this one is the first. There were also several live and radio session releases. Pretty much everything this band did is excellent and worth hearing. They are easily one of my favorite canterbury bands, displaying a wit and song-craftsmanship on a par with Caravan and Soft Machine's brilliant early work. There are whimsical laid-back psych-influenced songs, and there are total jazz-rock improv pieces... all of it rocks. This is an excellent little period in Robert Wyatt's evolving musical vision that everyone is sure to enjoy. And those "matching moles" on the cover are certainly cute...

From me to you:

FILL YOUR EARS

Caravan - "Waterloo Lilly" 1972

2007-07-26T08:41:00.000-07:00

Next in our Canterbury Scene series is another Caravan album with a very interesting cover. The front and back portray the same humorously sleazy subject matter... filtered through the eyes of particular time periods.

Caravan - Waterloo Lilly
Deram, 1972

This album is not as endearing and whimsical as "In the Land of Grey and Pink", but it is great canterbury rock. Catchy psych and pop tunes, mild jazz influence, excellent solos, classic prog rock! The band on this recording: Richard Coughlan, Pye Hastings, Steve Miller, and Richard Sinclair. Phil Miller (of Matching Mole) guests on guitar. The shorter tunes on this album seem to be the best ones; the longer jammy pieces sound just a little... dated maybe.

(Sorry for the glare on these photos)

FILL YOUR EARS

(thanks to New Progshine)

Hatfield and the North - "Self-titled" 1973

2007-07-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a band that embodies the canterbury spirit. They are the quintessential Canterbury Scene band. If you want the pure canterbury sound, read on my friend.

Hatfield and the North - Self-titled
Virgin, 1973

Hatfield and the North is comprised of Richard Sinclair of Caravan, Phil Miller of Matching Mole, Dave Sinclair also of Caravan (who would quickly be replaced by Dave Stewart of Egg), and Pip Pyle of Delivery. All members are pretty much Canterbury Scene superstars, appearing on numerous other recordings-- several of which have been featured in this blog already. Robert Wyatt also makes an appearance on this album. It is what you'd expect, mischievous jazz rock that is at once technical and whimsical. Perhaps not the most engaging album, but definitely worth a listen. Their next album, The Rotter's Club, is possibly slightly better. But for all their combined brilliance, Hatfield and the North just doesn't seem to achieve the impact of say, Soft Machine, Matching Mole, or Caravan. However, it remains a very important document of the pinnacle of the Canterbury Scene.

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(Thanks to Canterbury Tales)

Gong - "Camembert Electrique" 1971

2007-07-24T13:39:00.000-07:00

Post number 50!!!! The next band is definitely associated with the Canterbury Scene, but the music is rather a different sort of jazz inflected rock than most other Canterbury bands... The world renowned GONG!!!

Gong - Camembert Electrique
Virgin, 1971

Gong was formed by Daevid Allen when he was forced to leave the Soft Machine due to visa problems reentering the UK. It is a crazy collective of excellent musicians culled from the French and British underground jazz and psych scenes. They underwent a musical evolution from the first albums to the last... Camembert Electrique is one of the early albums, the phase where they were playing loose psychedelic rock, with prog, jazz, and improv influences that really make their sound something special. Later on their sound got a little tighter as heard in the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy for Virgin Records, which is also excellent. Then Daevid departed and the band was left in the hands of drummer Pierre Moerlen. That phase is interesting prog, but hardly comparable to the space-prog middle phase or wildly psychedelic early days. The jazz influence is constant throughout the life of the band, which reinforces their Canterbury connection. Gong were an intensely innovative and eclectic band, and this album from their developmental days hints at the greatness they would achieve.

(large images are photos I took of my LP)

FILL YOUR EARS
password: sakallimusic.blogspot.com

(Thanks to Sakalli)