COUNTRY JOE McDONALD - Incredible! Live! 1972

 Country Joe is best known for his rallying cry to his audience ...

"Gimme an F" ..
"gimme an I" ..
"gimme an S" ..
"gimme an H" ..
"what's that spell?"
or if you were at Woodstock
"Gimme an F" ..
"gimme a U" ..
"gimme a C" ..
"gimme a K" ..
"what's that spell?"

This album though is NOT Country Joe and the Fish, it's just Joe flying solo, recorded live at the famous NYC Bitter End where Dylan used to play pool and occasionally perform in the very early 60's. The nearest he gets to the 'FISH" cheer on this album  is the first track on side 2,  'You Know What I Mean'. It's not actually a song, just a short story of the Boston police making sure they didn't call out the Woodstock version.

Joe's 'occupation' is shown as musician / political activist and that gets reflected in many of his songs. The FISH cheer started as the intro to the 1965 song 'I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag' condemning the Vietnam War and he hasn't mellowed on this album.

After a couple of startup songs, 'Entertainment is my Business' and 'Sweet Marie' he launches into a scathing attack on the army. The song title gives a clue as to the attitude he holds. It's called 'Kiss My Ass' and after a few blistering verses (with a few 4-letter words) he sings ..

"I done my duty and I fought my fight
And I thought I knew I was doing right,
But that's all over, I'm free at last,
If they want any more, they can kiss my ass."

He has a crack at environmental and life-style choices with 'Living in the Future in a Plastic Dome' then after a gentle instrumental launches into his put down of Richard Nixon, with the catchy line "He's Tricky Dicky from Yorba Linda, he's the genuine plastic man." 

There's a singalong bouncy audience participation song 'Deep Down in our Hearts' where the repetitious verses just change the subject from one controversial person or thing to another, "We love the Vietcong" / "Che Guevarra" / "the Pathet Lao" / "Chairman Mao" etc., tongue in cheek with the tag "deep down in our hearts".

On a gentler note he's written earlier songs about a couple of famous ladies. At one point Janis Joplin was his girlfriend and after they split she asked him to write a song about her. 'Janis' appeared on the Country Joe and the Fish 1967 album 'I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die' and 'Grace', a tribute to Grace Slick, was on 'Electric Music for the Mind and Body' from the same year.

This isn't a great album, but it's historically significant, a sign of the times with one of the figures of the times. Cheers Joe. 

Kiss My Ass

URIAH HEEP - Magician's Birthday 1972

Gary Thain, a New Zealand bass player, joined Uriah Heep in early 1972 and played on this LP. My copy is a New Zealand pressing, so that works in well. Local boy makes good.

This was meant to be a concept album. You know, one of those things that every group worth it's salt seemed to want to do in the 70's. Instead of the whole thing though, the "concept" was limited to the last track with the same name 'The Magician's Birthday', lasting for just over 10 minutes. The other tracks just sort of loosely fit the idea. Keyboard player Ken Hensley based the song on a fantasy novel he'd written about a pair of wizards having a battle - the usual good vs evil business. The instrumentation describes the battle using dueling guitars and drums, but the lyrics are a bit so-so.

My favourite track, and in fact the reason I bought the album in the first place, is 'Blind Eye'. Another Ken Hensley song, this one does it for me.
"Weaker than a moment And hot as any fire
Blinder than the blind eye This is man's desire
This is man's desire"

The two tracks released as singles from the album didn't really do much, 'Spider Woman' and 'Sweet Lorraine' although '... Lorraine' does get a bit of airplay now and then. Successful in terms of sales and concerts and influence they were never really a charting band. Variously described as hard rock, heavy metal and prog their popularity came from their core fans, not from mainstream exposure.

One nice bit of trivia - there's a power metal band named after one of their albums - 'Demons & Wizards'. A bit like the group named after one of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band's songs, 'Death Cab For Cutie'.

Uriah Heep are still playing and recording, albeit with only one original left, Mick Box. Over the years there's been a total of 25 members of the group including Chris Slade (AC/DC), Trevor Bolder (Spiders From Mars), John Wetton (King Crimson) and Nigel Olsson (Elton John, Spencer Davies).

Blind Eye

Instagram

STYX - Pieces of Eight 1978 (Picture Disc)

 Before you get too excited, this is NOT the album that gave the world - and "South Park" - the classic, epic 'Come Sail Away'. That was 'The Grand Illusion' Who can forget Eric Cartman being obsessed with the song and just having to sing the whole thing if he hears the beginning. He manages to squeeze the 6 minute song into 30 seconds! (see link below).

Trying to find a genre for Styx seems quite easy. Take the word 'rock' and stick anything in front of it - 'pop', 'soft', 'arena', 'hard', 'art', 'prog', 'album' etc etc etc. You get the idea, they're a rock band.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not and never was a big Styx fan. Just surface stuff, the abovementioned 'Come Sail Away' which is probably my favourite if I was to have one, and the FM radio tracks such as 'Lady', 'Babe' and 'Mr Roboto' (domo arigato anyone??). Having said that, my darling wife had a number of their albums including The Grand Illusion - used as a backdrop to today's photo.

The main reason this album became part of the collection is basically novelty value. The fact that it is a picture disc and does not have a physical cover made it hard to photograph, so it remains on the "Now Playing" plinth instead of on the turntable. There's just a clear plastic sleeve with the LP inside and a card saying "This is a numbered, Limited Edition Collectors Record of the STYX "Pieces of Eight"  album." As the card also states "These records do not have sound quality equal to conventional records." and "This record is: No.045795". It seems rather unfortunate that the centre hole of the record goes into the nostril of one of the women on the disc-art. Talking of the disc-art (by Hipgnosis) did you notice all the women have Easter Island earrings?

So, keeping in mind the inferior sound quality I'm happy to report that there are still some good sounding tracks on here, despite what one critic wrote. Lester Bangs from Rolling Stone said "What's really interesting is not that such narcissistic slop should get recorded, but what must be going on in the minds of the people who support it ..." Wow, tell us what you really think Lester.

The highlight of the album for me is 'Renegade', one of those 'Gallows Pole' type songs. Definitely running behind the Led Zep track but not bad in it's own right. The other two singles from the album were 'Sing For The Day' and 'Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)'. The last track on the album is a throw-away instrumental called 'Aku-Aku' that seems totally out of place and slightly annoying, but the more you listen the more ear-wormy it gets.

An album that doesn't get played much, but I'm not embarrassed by it.

Eric Cartman - Come Sail Away

Renegade

SEALS & CROFTS - Greatest Hits 1975

 In 1973 I bought the Seals and Crofts 'Diamond Girl' album. It had their two latest single releases, 'Diamond Girl' and 'We May Never Pass This Way Again', both of which appear on this LP. One other track common to both albums was a tribute to their respective wives 'Ruby Jean and Billie Lee'. Throw in 'Summer Breeze' and 'I'll Play For You' on this compilation and their 'hits' are pretty much covered.

That 1973 LP got lost, waylaid or evaporated in the mists of time, but recently, when  this Greatest Hits came my way, it brought back the little nuggets I'd gleaned about Seals and Crofts and took me back almost 50 years.

One thing that had always stuck in my mind was that they belonged to the Baháʼí Faith. At the time, in the 70's, that was a passing 'interesting fact' but in the early 80's a young woman who worked for me married into the faith, so it cemented that info in the recesses of my grey matter. 

Before creating this successful duo both Seals and Crofts had earned their stripes. They played for a while with The Champs, but that was after The Champs had peaked with their hit instrumental 'Tequila'. Glen Campbell was also with The Champs until those three plus Jerry Cole formed Glen Campbell and the GC's.

Jim Seals wasn't the only one in the family to have a musical career. His brother Dan also had his claim to fame, but not as Dan Seals. He's better known as one half of England Dan & John Ford Coley ('I'd Really Love To See You Tonight').

These days all these guys are on regular rotation whenever you listen to SiriusXM Yacht Rock Radio - best described by announcer Adam Ritz as "a collection of your fourth and fifth favorite songs from the '70s and '80s"

Seals and Crofts did some good songs, some a bit sickly sweet but if you were around back then, they're guaranteed to transport you to a different place and a different time.

Summer Breeze

LED ZEPPELIN - Untitled 1971

This is the album equivalent of one of those official forms that states "This page intentionally left blank." This gatefold album cover has no band name, no album title, no track listing and nothing on the spine to identify it in any way. Blank.

The band settled on four symbols to represent the album and because of that, the release has been given a number of unofficial names for ease of identification. Referred to as 'Four Symbols', 'Zoso' and as a logical progression from their previous three albums 'Led Zeppelin IV' or 'The Fourth Album.' In reality though it should be indexed as 'Untitled.' Even though the album shall remain nameless, the track names are forever embedded on the musical timeline. 

Dropping the needle on side one track one - with high volume - has Robert Plant's unmistakable voice leading the way with 'Black Dog'.
"Hey hey mama said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove"
and as anyone who has ever listened to the lyrics knows, this song never mentions, nor does it have anything to do with, a black dog. The song was created while the band were at Headley Grange and there was a black Labrador roaming around. A song title was needed, the dog got the job. I'm always reminded of Fleetwood Mac's song 'Oh Well' when I hear this track and was pleased to find out that it was inspired by 'Oh Well' so I sort of feel validated. 

Track two is 'Rock and Roll' which does what it says on the tin with extra accompaniment provided by an 'almost' Rolling Stone. Ian Stewart very nearly became one of the original Rolling Stones, but Andrew Loog Oldham didn't think he had the right look. He stuck around for many years as the Stones' road manager and pianist. He came to Headley Grange with the Stones' mobile recording studio and ended up playing piano boogie-woogie on this track.

Skip to track four and you get to Led Zeppelins signature song, 'Stairway to Heaven'. There's no need to write anything about this, everything has already been said and if you've read this far, you know the song well enough without hearing more from me.

If those 3 songs totaling just under 17 minutes was the whole album, it would still be well worth it. Fortunately there are 5 more tracks, including 'The Battle of Evermore' which was inspired by the Scottish Independence Wars. This song is unique because of the involvement of Sandy Denny. The Fairport Convention (Vinyl Vault 4 June 2021) lead singer duetted with Robert Plant, providing the only female voice to appear on a Led Zeppelin record.

Then to my favourite track, the gentle acoustic Joni Mitchell inspired mandolin driven 'Going to California'. Written about a guy in a bad relationship who heads off to make a fresh start in California,  the song has references to the fact that Los Angeles, where Joni Mitchell lived and where they went to mix the album, was prone to earthquakes.
"The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
The children of the sun began to awake, watch out"

A classic album by a classic band - needs to be in every collection.

Going to California
Black Dog

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS - Historic Performances At The Monterey International Pop Festival (concert date 1967) 1972

When people talk about the 'summer of love' they often mistakenly refer to, and include, Woodstock. In fact the 'summer of love' was two years before Woodstock and began on the West Coast. In June 1967 the KFRC Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival was held in Marin County, California. Imagine being able to go to a 2-day concert to see acts including Canned Heat, Country Joe & The Fish, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane and Tim Buckley. And ... wait for it .. the admission price was $2. TWO DOLLARS!

Just one week later a 3-day event was held at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, organised by John Phillips (Mamas & Papas), record producer Lou Adler, publicist Derek Taylor (many years with The Beatles) and Alan Pariser. The artist list for this show was unbelievable and it was reflected in the ticket prices. They ranged from $3 to a massive $6.50. In fairness, that's a 2022 equivalent of $50 for the top end, but still great value for the line-up. I've linked to a video of Eric Burdon's song 'Monterey' where he mentions some of the acts and the video shows scenes from D.A. Pennebaker's movie 'Monterey Pop'.

Both of these events were the beginnings of the 'summer of love' and epitomised the flower power counter-culture. In fact John Phillips and Lou Adler used the song 'San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)' to promote the Monterey festival.

It's amazing what you learn after so many years. I always knew Scott McKenzie sang that song. What I didn't know until recently is that Papa John Phillips wrote it ! Am I the last to know?

I've mentioned that Eric Burdon was there, Canned Heat, Country Joe and Jefferson Airplane came along after appearing at Fantasy Fair the week before. Janis was there as part of Big Brother and the Holding Company and on the strength of her performance they were signed by Columbia Records. Otis Redding did a set using Booker T & The MG's as his backing group!! Sadly Otis was killed in a plane crash just six months later.

There was friendly rivalry between The Who and Jimi Hendrix because they were both totally off-centre. They tossed a coin to see who would perform first - neither wanted to be upstaged by the other. The Who ended up going on first and at the end of their set Pete Townshend smashed his guitar and Keith Moon kicked over his drums. Not to be outdone, at the end of HIS set Jimi sang ?? an almost unrecognisable feedback induced whining throbbing version of The Troggs 'Wild Thing' before he sprayed lighter fluid over his guitar and famously knelt over the fire - an image shown whenever Jimi's name comes up. Just as an aside, although he's known for doing a brilliant interpretation of Dylan's 'All Along the Watchtower', during this concert Jimi covered Bob's 'Like a Rolling Stone.' Magic.

Grateful Dead, The Byrds, Simon & Garfunkel - the list is seemingly never-ending. Finally, on the last day, the last act was The Mamas & The Papas with concert organiser John Phillips able to look back on a successful 3 day festival. Their selection included 'California Dreamin'' and 'Monday, Monday' along with some surprising covers. There was a nicely arranged version of The Beatles 'I Call Your Name' and the 1960 Jerry Leiber / Phil Spector classic 'Spanish Harlem'. The last song of the festival was their cover of 'Dancing in the Street' when Mama Cass told the crowd "You're on your own."

A great slice of music history. If you dig deep enough you'll find more acts from the festival on CD and vinyl, some even on the Tube of You.

Monterey - Eric Burdon

VARIOUS – The Best Of The King Biscuit Flower Hour 1987

 This 4-record set just dropped into my lap from the bundle of albums a friend donated to the cause.

For lovers of live concerts The King Biscuit Flower Hour was compulsory listening in the US for 20 years from 1973 to 1993, broadcast through the D.I.R. Radio Network and participating radio stations. Concerts were recorded using a mobile recording truck. They were mixed and edited and as technology changed the shows were sent out on reel-to-reel tape, then vinyl and lastly on CD. Their first broadcast show in 1973 had Springsteen, Blood Sweat & Tears and the jazz fusion band Mahavishnu Orchestra. What a start !!

This 'best of' really does contain some gems.
Did you get to the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975 to see Supertramp? No? Well here they are with 'Dreamer' and 'Bloody Well Right'.
Join Phil Collins in Pasadena, 1982 for a chilling performance of 'In the Air Tonight' and a bit of 'I Don't Care Anymore' - and yes, the famous drum break from 'In the Air Tonight' is just as good as the studio recording.
1985. Dallas, Texas. Robert Plant. 'In the Mood' and 'Big Log'. What could be better.
Queen, Linda Ronstadt, Elton John, The Who. All live, all doing what they do best.

Finishing off the album is the DJ's friend, the track they play when they need a bathroom break or to finish a hamburger in peace. Here it is, live, over 12 minutes in length in all it's glory. 'Freebird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

This package could be written off as a novelty or overkill, but it really is a great time capsule. A selection of recordings spanning 1975-1986 from an innovative company providing access to otherwise unavailable performances.

I came across an ad from the time offering the whole lot for $19.95. Get 'em while they're hot !! Strangely the poster of the ad has the date of 1984 in the description, but some concerts are 1986 recordings and the album itself is dated 1987.

If you want an idea of how these shows unfolded, you can find some on YouTube.

TV ad for this album set

THREE DOG NIGHT - Best of 3 Dog Night 1982

Anyone who listened to music in the 70's knows the name of at least one bullfrog. 'Jeremiah.'
"Jeremiah was a bullfrog" are the first words you hear when playing this 1982 compilation and many casual radio listeners thought that was also the name of the song. Wrong. It's actually 'Joy to the World', one of two songs on this album written by Hoyt Axton. The other is 'Never Been to Spain'.

This 20 track double album has something FOR everyone - written pretty much BY everyone. In fact, some of the songwriters recorded by Three Dog Night basically got their introductions from these recordings. Looking down the track listings is like a who's who of songwriting royalty. In no particular order there's ..
Eli's Coming - Laura Nyro (Vinyl Vault 3 June 2021)
One - Harry Nilsson (Vinyl Vault 7 July 2020)
Mama Told Me Not to Come - Randy Newman
An Old Fashioned Love Song - Paul Williams (Vinyl Vault 31 October 2021)
Easy to be Hard - Hair McDermot/Rado/Ragni (Vinyl Vault 7 June 2020)
Joy to the World / Never Been to Spain - Hoyt Axton
Pieces of April - Dave Loggins

Out of the tracks here, 18 had been released as singles and all of them are standards on any decent rock station. One of my favourites, 'Pieces of April' was written by Dave Loggins, brother of Kenny. Dave also wrote one of the saddest, heart-wrenching songs ever, 'Please Come to Boston.' Oh, brings tears to the eyes just thinking about it. Sadly one of my least favourites is 'One' by one of my most favourite songwriters Harry Nilsson. Go figure.

There's speculation as to where Three Dog Night got their name. There's no dispute that it refers to cold weather and how many dogs you need to sleep against to keep warm. I always thought it was from the Inuits. There seems to be equal argument for it being part of Australian Aboriginal culture, but regardless, the meaning remains the same.

In their heyday of late 60's to mid 70's they were predominately a 7-pce group with vocal duties spread between the three founder members, Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron. When the three founders first got together they called themselves Redwood and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys was going to produce an album for them but after a short period they "didn't meet up to his expectations". After the Brian Wilson fiasco the three primaries gathered up some backing musicians and went from strength to strength.

Danny Hutton is still touring and recording with the band as was Cory Wells until he passed in 2015. Chuck Negron left in 1985 - in fact I think he was asked to jump before being pushed.

This is the golden years of Three Dog Night, familiar songs, no deep and buried album tracks, just well-known singalongs for children of the 70's.

Joy to the World

Pieces of April

BLUE CHEER - Vincebus Eruptum 1968

 I just realised that today is 54 years to the day since this album was released and so it deserves dusting off and to be given a mention. Described variously on one end of the spectrum as "a glorious celebration of rock & roll primitivism" (Mark Deming) and conversely "a howling mess." (Martin Popoff) this album has a particular claim to fame. 

In 1961 William S. Burroughs wrote “Uranian Willy the Heavy Metal Kid" and a few years later Steppenwolf put the term into music history with their track 'Born to be Wild' when Mars Bonfire wrote - "I like smoke and lightnin', heavy metal thunder". It wasn't until 1970 though that the term 'Heavy Metal' was used to describe a genre of music. Once the term was coined and accepted, bands began to be labelled retrospectively.

Top of the heap to be given that label, and touted by many to be first, were Blue Cheer. This was their debut album and the lead-off track, a cover of Eddie Cochran's 'Summertime Blues' had all the elements needed to deserve the credit. Made up of a powerhouse trio, Blue Cheers members gave no quarter. Dickie Petersons uncompromising vocals and driving bass along with Leigh Stephens playing Jimi Hendricks guitar before Jimi did were pushed along by Paul Whaley's drumming and above all it was LOUD !!!

When they appeared on the Steve Allen Show in 1968 to play 'Summertime Blues' the introduction went like this ..
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Blue Cheer. Run for your lives."  

Blues aficionados can try to find something in B.B. King's 'Rock Me Baby' or a variation of Mose Allisons 'Parchman Farm' which is titled 'Parchment Farm' here. For everyone else, the best taste of what Blue Cheer is all about is to turn up the volume and be assaulted by 'Doctor Please'.

It was good to hear this album again 54 years later - I wonder how it will hold up in another 54 years time. BTW, the Band's name was also the name of a laundry detergent and an LSD variant. I'll leave you to figure out which one they had in mind.

Summertime Blues

NINA SIMONE - Her Ultimate Collection 2021

In late 1968 I was back in my home town of Harrogate, spending way too much time hanging around the New Park Transport Cafe listening to the jukebox. 1968-69 was a great time for jukebox music, 45's were being released thick and fast, each one a gem.

This was where I first heard Nina Simone. 'Ain't Got No / I Got Life' was her fusion of two songs from the musical "Hair". Nina did some re-writing of the songs to create a very powerful statement. According to Daphne Brooks "She begins with the "desolation, alienation and disenfranchisement" of "Ain't Got No", then transitions to the "jubilant affirmation" of "I Got Life."" I loved the flip side of this single too, the Jimmy Webb composition 'Do What You Gotta Do'.

Both of those tracks are on this compilation, released originally in 2019 but re-released in this yellow vinyl version in 2021. The title is of course incorrect. There could never be a Nina Simone "Ultimate" collection, the amount of work is too broad and spans too many years to be contained in one, two or even three albums.

Even though this selection reaches back to 1965 for my wife's favourite track 'Feeling Good' (re-released in '94) and back to 1962 for the amazing 'My Baby Just Cares For Me' (re-released in '87), it misses others that should be integral to anything calling itself "Ultimate". Where is the 1959 live version of 'The Other Woman' from her Town Hall show? How could they not include 1964's 'Mississippi Goddam' (released as "Mississippi *@!!?*@!") her "first civil rights song" (her words). This collection does include 'I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free' and 'To Be Young, Gifted and Black' so there are songs that reflect her political and social stance.

Nina has her own way of interpreting other people's music and that does get showcased on this album. She takes Leonard Cohen's 'Suzanne' and tears it apart, Dylan's 'Just Like a Woman' gets Nina's piano intro before wringing out even more emotion than the original. I've always loved Jerry Jeff Walker's song 'Mr. Bojangles'. I don't think I've ever heard a version I DIDN'T like. Nina sings with her own feeling for the story, her own inflection and then, right at the end, her fingers dance over the piano keys in a 5 second staccato and all you can see is Mr. Bojangles taking his final bow. Glorious. 

Of course interpretation is a two-way street - just find and listen to Nina's original 1964 version of 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' alongside the 1965 version by The Animals.

Nina's private life has been the subject of books, film and theatre and there's no doubt she had a volatile side, although that was diagnosed in the 1980's as bipolar disorder. There are however quite a few instances of some outrageous behavior. In 1985 she shot at a record executive who she thought was stealing her royalties. In '95 she shot and wounded a neighbors son with an air gun. The boy's laughter was disturbing her !! .. and fellow singer/songwriter Janis Ian wrote in her autobiography that Nina once made a shoe shop assistant take back a pair of used sandals. At Gunpoint!!

Nina passed away in her sleep in her home in France in 2003 at the age of 70.
What a 70 years it was.

Ain't Got No, I Got Life

The Other Woman

Feeling Good

JOSÉ FELICIANO - 10 to 23 1969

 

A year after The Doors had a hit with their release of 'Light My Fire' from their eponymous debut album, along came José Monserrate Feliciano Garcia who put out his version. Originally the b-side of his cover of the Mamas & The Papas 'California Dreamin'', both from his "Feliciano!" album, a Seattle DJ decided to turn the record over and play the flip side - from there the song took off.

"Feliciano!" was José's 8th album, but would be his most successful. All cover songs, from Lennon/McCartney to Bacharach/David, Fred Neil and Tom Paxton, they were a platform for the unique interpretations he brought to well-known songs of the time.

The following year, his 11th album was this one, '10 to 23', the one that fell into my eyeline and became a favourite for quite a while. The cover attracted me. Although it doesn't really show in the photograph, the front has an embossed portrait of José.  

Like "Feliciano!" this album was mainly covers. The "10" in the album title refers to the first track - 'Amor Jibaro' - recorded when he was, yes you guessed it, 10 years old. Again, three of them were Lennon/McCartney Beatles standards, with two tracks written by the brothers Gibb, 'First of May' and 'Gotta Get a Message to You'. There's an intricately performed instrumental of Jimmy Webb's 'By The Time I Get To Phoenix' and then to me, the best song ever done by José, Cole Porter's hauntingly, tragically beautiful 'Miss Otis Regrets'. I can't get enough of this song, this version, this interpretation. It is glorious. The other stand-out track is 'Rain', the only self-penned song on the album, but well worth it's inclusion. It was co-written with Hilda, (Janna née Hilda Pérez) his wife at the time.

All José's music, regardless of the composer or the theme, stays true to his roots. There is always a background, a base, of his Latin upbringing. Born in Lares, Puerto Rico and moving to Spanish Harlem in NYC when he was 5 he was surrounded by music. At 7 he taught himself accordion and by 9 when he made his first public appearance he was teaching himself the guitar his father bought him.

Blind since birth, one of José's stories was from the early days playing at Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village. One night he was doing an impression of Bob Dylan when he found out afterwards that Dylan was in the audience. Oops.

If you only ever listen to José at Christmas singing 'Feliz Navidad' it's never too late to broaden your range. Find a compilation or dig back and listen to some of his classic releases. This one is a good place to start.

Miss Otis Regrets

Rain

JETHRO TULL - Living in the Past 1972

 

 

One of the most iconic images in 1970's music is of Ian Anderson standing effortlessly on one leg dressed in a frock coat, wild hair blowing around him with demonic sounds coming from his flute. It was a magical combination of art in it's many forms - visual art, performance art, with music, fashion and passion. Regardless of whether you like them or not, Jethro Tull in the 70's was a force of nature. Although known for his flute playing Anderson is a multi-instrumentalist, contributing mandolin, electric and acoustic guitar, balalaika as well as Hammond organ and tin whistle.  

In line with their flamboyancy this album's aesthetics do not disappoint. So many times I've mentioned the extravagance of 70's album covers and here we are again. Printed to give the appearance of gold embossed leather, the outer cover opens into a gatefold containing a 22 page booklet and recording details of all included tracks.

Depending which version of the album you got makes a difference to the tracks. The UK album had 'Locomotive Breath' and 'Inside' but the US replaced them with 'Hymn 43' (a harsh hard-hitting song if ever there was one) and 'Alive and Well and Living In' respectively. They also swapped the running order of 'Witch's Promise' and 'Teacher'.

My vinyl copy of this fantastic compilation was purchased in Australia and published by Reprise but the whole package and track listing was identical to the US Chrysalis version. As we live in a digital world, my computer copy includes ALL tracks, US & UK.

From 1972 onwards Tull released some great work and later compilations are deserving of praise, but for their first 4 years this is the ultimate set. High on the list is their 1969 song used as the title for this double LP 'Living in the Past'. Their 'Christmas Song', even though the season has just passed, is worthy of being listened to often. It's caustic and cutting and ends with the tongue-in-cheek line "Hey, Santa, pass us that bottle, will you?" There's the tension and inevitability of 'Locomotive Breath' and the beauty of 'Bourée' based on an arrangement of 'Bourrée in E minor' by Bach. For me one of the highlights is the very first track taken from their debut 1968 album 'This Was'. 'A Song For Jeffrey' is a virtuoso introduction to the "voice" of Ian Anderson not only through his singing but also his instrumentation. Apart from a couple of collaborative tracks, all the material on this album was written by Anderson, a musicians musician. The balance of the album contains a 'must-have' compilation of album tracks, non-album singles, b-sides, live performances and out-takes. That was quite a brave move to make for a group who were still relatively new in their career and to be brutally honest, although they were popular they hadn't had many stand-out hits. 

If you see this album anywhere, buy it. You won't be sorry. Just be sure not to confuse it with the 2002 release of live performances titled 'Living WITH the Past' - that's a different kettle of fish altogether.

The Witches Promise

Living in the Past

MARVIN GAYE - What's Going On 1971 (original) 2021 (re-release)

I didn't own this album when it was first released, but yesterday I bought this version, a 50th anniversary limited edition in translucent green with a bonus poster. Fifty years on, but it's never too late to collect Marvin Gaye's masterpiece.

Social comment through music has a long history, famously Billie Holiday in 1939 singing of "Strange Fruit" - an extremely brave and dangerous stand to take at that time. By the 1960's that social commentary was lumped under the generic title of 'Protest Songs' and they've appeared in many forms since then, not always obviously. Sometimes the sing-along quality of a song can disguise it's true meaning by not really LISTENING to the words. Bob Dylan did it (although he denies being a protest singer) with his early folk folk/rock. Bob Marley used reggae, M.I.A. used rap (Paper Planes), Grandmaster Flash gave us hip-hop awareness (The Message), The Cranberries screamed out 'Zombie' and in the vastness of Australia Midnight Oil told us the 'Beds Are Burning'. Even swamp-rockers CCR sang about the 'Fortunate Son'.

It was left to Marvin Gaye to record the ultimate concept album about war, social unrest and injustice and unusually for that time, the environment. He used a song cycle from the perspective of a Vietnam Vet (his brother Frankie) and further inspiration came from a member of the Four Tops, 'Obie' Benson, who witnessed the police violence against anti-war protesters. Obie wrote a song with Al Cleveland based on what he'd seen but the Four Tops refused to record it. Instead, during a game of golf, he offered it to Marvin Gaye. Marvin added, re-arranged and developed the song with Benson's blessing (and songwriting credit) and it became the basis for this album.

Four singles were released from the LP, and three made #1 on the US R&B chart. The two most popular were 'What's Going On' and 'Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) but 'Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)' also got to the #1 spot. In 2020, it was ranked number one on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

I'm not going to do a track by track diatribe - the album should be listened to in it's entirety, in one sitting, quietly, reflectively. The tracks aren't defined, they segue into each other so the album becomes and exceeds the sum of it's parts.

In November 1971 Sly Stone was due to put out 'Africa Talks to You' but in response to Marvin Gaye's 'What's Going On' he changed the album title to 'There's A Riot Goin' On' (Vinyl Vault 22 July 2020).

This is a perfect album - as powerful today as it was 50 years ago. Listen to it. Now.

What's Going On

Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)

THE BAROQUE INEVITABLE - The Baroque Inevitable 1966

 Welcome to 2022

This is probably the least known album I've posted so far and yet it embodies the 60's more than any other album I've ever owned. There are 3 things that give it that distinction. 

Firstly, the cover. It is quintissential psychedelia, tapping into the colours and mind-expanding text and graphics of the times. In the bottom left corner of the album cover is a signature. Milton Glaser. Before you say "WHO"?" and dismiss this nugget of information, look at the other two examples of his work I've posted here. The year after this album was released came the 1967 compilation 'Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits' and inside was the stunning iconic portrait of Dylan by Milton. The value of this original album is increased if it includes this artwork. Unfortunately I only have the CD version. The other Milton Glaser poster I've included is from 1977 - designed in the back of a NY taxi and given to NYC for free. "I ❤️ NY" is one of his most recognizable pieces. 

Secondly, the producer. Well, to be fair the producer, arranger and conductor, John Simon. Once again there could be a collective sigh of "WHO?", but although you may not know the man, most people will know his work. He was producer for the Band's first two albums, the first Blood, Sweat & Tears LP, Big Brother & the Holding Company's 'Cheap Thrills' as well as working with Leonard Cohen, Manfred Mann, Cyrkle and Taj Mahal amongst others.

Thirdly, the choice of tracks. I wrote about this album briefly in a previous posting about Stevie Forbert and so I'm taking the easy way out and pasting it here ...

"... In 1968 on my way back to England from Australia I stopped over in Hong Kong for 2 days. I bought a pair of shoes, a shirt and a suit - all hand made virtually overnight. I also bought an album. It was perhaps the weirdest album I'd ever come across up to that time. It was a 1966 release by 'The Baroque Inevitable' and the front cover stated .. "Being a Recital of the Hits of the Day, Performed in the Baroque-Rockque Instrumental Style Popularized by Bach, The Beatles and Other Notables of the 17th through 20th Centuries, AD". It had 2 Dylan tracks on there, 'Rainy Day Women #12 & 35' and 'All I Really Want To Do'. That was enough to justify the purchase. The music was exactly what it said on the tin. Baroque style renditions of currently popular songs. It could have been so many things - a parody - a farce - a complete shambles - but in fact it was amazingly clever with great musicianship and unique arrangements ..."

Along with the Dylan tracks were others by not only The Beatles but The Troggs, Cyrkle, Frank Sinatra and Bobby Hebb. There's no way - you need to listen for yourself. Keep in mind, this was the mid 60's, psychedelia, flower power, herbal cigarettes. I'm sure there was more to the listening experience than just using your ears. Enjoy.

All I Really Want To Do

Sunny