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

DAVID BOWIE & BING CROSBY - Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy 1982

 As it's Christmas I thought I'd do a little animation for this post instead of the usual photos.

I don't have this record, but a friend of mine does and I was able to photograph it recently and hopefully may get my hands on it one day.

Recorded in 1977 for a TV Christmas Special, 'Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas', this collaboration was only available as a bootleg for the first 5 years of it's life, released as a "partly unofficial" 45rpm by B&B Records in 1978 backed with Bowie's 'Heroes' from the same TV show.

RCA eventually issued a commercial release in 1982 in a couple of formats, the normal 7" single and this one, a 12" limited edition mono picture disc. Side 1 was the full unedited version of 'Peace on Earth / Little Drummer Boy' with the introductory dialogue. Side 2 was Bowie doing 'Fantastic Voyage'. Unusually the label was oversized, a full 7" label on the middle of the 12" disc. 

The reason the track is a combination of 2 different songs is because, to quote Bowie,  "I hate this song. Is there something else I could sing?" In a frantic effort to come up with something, musical supervisors Ian Fraser and Larry Grossman along with scriptwriter Alan Kohan huddled around a piano in the basement of the studio and wrote 'Peace on Earth' in an hour. Bowie sang that as a counterpoint to Bing.

There are stories of the weirdness of this whole TV show and recording, but in the spirit of Christmas I'll leave that for anyone to look up if you're interested. In the meantime, this is my wife Tracy's favourite Christmas song and so regardless of the circumstances, let's just be happy it exists.

BO HANSSON - Music Inspired By Lord Of The Rings 1972 (original Swedish 1970)

 

Thirty years before Howard Shore composed the musical score for Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy of movies, Bo Hansson had been there, done that and bought the T-shirt.

In the mid 70's I'd moved to New Zealand and was living in a house (almost a squat, but surprisingly legal) with many rooms and many people. At one point, 2 Swedish guys drifted through. Sitting at the kitchen table together having breakfast I noticed one of them was reading the Swedish language version of 'Lord of the Rings' - 'Sagan Om Ringen' - literally 'The Saga of the Ring'. I was reading the English version at the time so it piqued my interest.

I asked to look at his copy, turned to the chapter containing the songs of Tom Bombadil and even though the words were Swedish they still seemed to rhyme. Odd. My new friend then told me of a Swedish musician named Bo Hansson who had done a prog rock album based on his interpretation of the book(s). Being an avid collector of not only mainstream music but also the odd and obscure I had to find it. Fortunately after it's release the album was most popular in England and Australasia, so it had been marketed locally in NZ. Originally the Swedish version was titled the same as the book but when it was put out by Charisma, Tolkein and his publishers jumped in with a few conditions. They insisted the title be "inspired" by LOTR and they also squashed the idea of Hansson using voices on some tracks, forcing the whole album to be instrumental. 

The bottom line is that this is Prog Rock with a loose theme. If you can find any relationship between the music and the story you have better insight than I do, but as an album of the genre it fits right in. Bo played multiple instruments on the recording including organ, guitar, bass and Moog synthesizer. I suppose he may have set the scene for later works by people like Mike Oldfield, Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson although some have said his music has a more 'jazz' feel to it, whereas others have likened it to Pink Floyds early stuff. 

The nearest thing to a single release from the album was a promo that Charisma issued of 'The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford'.

If you're used to the light whimsical strains of Howard Shore's music about 'The Shire' and 'Bag End' or the pageantry and almost Gregorian chants of 'Khazad-dûm' be warned - this is nothing like that ! 

The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford

SIMPLY RED - Picture Book 1985

From one ginger to another, like Mick Hucknell for most of my life I've been simply red. Because of the perversity of Australian humour where they nickname bald men 'Curly', throughout my time in the Australian Army my red hair prompted everyone to call me 'Bluey'. In Micks case, before he was Simply Red he was part of a punk outfit called Frantic Elevators. After they collapsed in 1984 Mick got together a band of sorts and started using his nickname of 'Red' in the groups name .. 'Red and the Dancing Dead' (not very catchy), 'Just Red' and eventually 'Simply Red'. One thing he did bring with him from the Frantic Elevators was a song he had written back around 1977 and recorded with them in 1982. 'Holding Back the Years' became one of the most successful and popular songs of this Simply Red debut album, "Picture Book". 

The story goes that Mick got the idea for the song from his early life - his mother left the family when he was only three years old - and that maybe accounts for the lyrics ..
"Strangled by the wishes of pater
hoping for the arms of mater"

Whatever the deep-seated meaning, it really is a great song. The writing credits are shared between Mick and Neil Moss, but Mick is quoted as saying Neil didn't co-write that song but was included because of all the other songs they did write together.

The music video clip of the Simply Red version of the song was set in and around Whitby and the North Yorkshire Moors.

8 out of the 10 tracks on the album were written or co-written by Mick. The two exceptions are 'Money's Too Tight To Mention' and 'Heaven'. The original 'Money's Too Tight ...' (sometimes stylised as "Money$") was done as a soul-disco-funk song in 1982 by The Valentine Brothers and was a minor hit in it's own right. It gained a whole new audience when Simply Red got hold of it. It was also one of five tracks released as singles from the album. 'Come To My Aid', 'Jericho' and 'Open The Red Box' were the others.  Oddly, one of my favourites from the album, 'Sad Old Red' just got lost on side one.

The other cover is the Talking Heads song 'Heaven' from their 1979 album 'Fear of Music'. Mick, in line with one of the descriptions of his style, gives the song much more "blue-eyed soul" than David Byrne did.

This is/was a very powerful debut album. It holds up well today, great vocals, incredible brass from Tim Kellett and guests Ian Dickson and Ronnie Ross and an unexpected sophistication from an ex-punk singer with a sensitive side. 

It's easy to reduce Simply Red to two or three songs, but take the time to sit and listen to this album from beginning to end. It's all still there.

Frantic Elevators - Holding Back The Years 1982

Simply Red - Money's Too Tight To Mention

HENRY FIOL - Creativo 1991

 

I don't expect anyone reading this to actually own this album. It's not my usual demographic. I've included it for a totally different reason - the family connection.

Tracy's uncle, Frank Gimpaya, is a photographer of some renown. Walking around the East Village in Manhattan recently he noticed an exhibition of Latino music albums. After a few minutes of wandering around the gallery, a glimmer of recognition crossed his face. Moving in for a closer look he realised that he had taken the photos of Henry Fiol that appeared on the front and back of this album sleeve.

After making it known to the staff that he was the photographer he was given celebrity status, the album was taken off the wall and Frank was allowed to reunite with his artwork 30 years after the event. As for Henry himself, here's a bit of info.

"Henry Fiol (born January 16, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader and painter. He is known for his traditional approach to son cubano and other Cuban music styles, and he is considered a "cult favorite" among Latin music fans. He studied fine arts at Hunter College and became a teacher before starting his career as a musician in 1969. During the LP era he painted all his record covers himself, developing a distinctive red-and-black visual style, both in clothing and in covers."

As noted, because of his own artistic background Henry created many of his own album covers, so that makes Franks contribution even more memorable.

This album is available in it's entirety on YouTube along with other examples of Henry's work.

EVA CASSIDY - Songbird 1998

As we get closer to Christmas, TV's everywhere will be showing the old stand-bys. At some point you'll either watch or actively avoid "Love Actually". If nothing else, the scene where Laura Linney's character Sarah finally has a moment with Karl is worth it just for the soundtrack. The hauntingly beautiful voice of the late Eva Cassidy gives a rendition of Christine McVie's "Songbird" that will bring a tear to the coldest soul.

Eva only released 2 albums in her lifetime. The first, 1992's "The Other Side" was duets and solos with Chuck Brown, a 'Go-go funk' musician. Singing a range of styles from 'Let the Good Times Roll' to 'You Don't Know Me' Eva really stretched her wings. Taking 'God Bless the Child' and 'Over the Rainbow' as her solos, this was the only studio album of Eva's that was released while she was alive. Her only other recording was "Live at Blues Alley". Had it not been for Eva's tenacity this record would never have seen the light of day. She couldn't get any major record labels interested enough to back her, so she cashed in her pension savings from her day jobs and self-funded the recording of this show. The actual recording was meant to be over two nights but due to technical problems the first nights tapes couldn't be used. Twelve songs from the show were used on the album, but in 2015 the whole show was released on a 2-CD 1 DVD set called "Nightbird".

Her third album, which was in fact her first solo studio recording, was released in September 1997. Tragically, Eva had passed away a year earlier in November '96 from melanoma at the too young age of 33. 

This featured album, "Songbird" is a compilation of those 3 albums, but it too almost didn't get made. After her death her 'Blues Alley' album was recommended by a local folk singer to one of her record company execs. He put together and released this compilation but it did nothing for almost two years. Eventually a producer on Terry Wogan's BBC radio show suggested it to him and after playing the album it went on to sell over 100,000 copies within a few months.

Posthumously Eva's fame grew and grew, being praised by critics and fellow musicians alike. This album is truly representative of Eva's "lack" of style. I mean that in the best possible way. It was one of the reasons she found it difficult to get a recording contract. She refused to be pinned into one genre. As I said at the beginning of this post, Eva stretched her wings, singing what she wanted, when she wanted, how she wanted. 

I've never particularly liked Sting. His voice tends to annoy me, but I will forgive him everything for one reason. He wrote 'Fields of Gold' and Eva recorded it. It begins this album and takes the song to an other-worldly place. The traditional 'Wade in the Water' has bounce and joy and then the mood changes again for the classic Johnny Mercer song 'Autumn Leaves'. Another traditional song 'Wayfaring Stranger' gets a smoky club feeling before the title track of this compilation 'Songbird'. If this doesn't make every nerve-ending tingle, you are dead inside.

Do you want some gospel, along with swirling organ. Pete Seeger's 'Oh, I Had a Golden Thread' covers it. Ending the album with 'Over the Rainbow' is made even more poignant knowing that Eva had already passed when it was released. An amazing talent gone too soon.

Fields of Gold

Songbird

SANDIE SHAW - Love Me, Please Love Me 1967

 

                           

Here's another departure from the 'Vinyl' part of 'Vinyl Vault' ... I used to have this album on tape. Not cassette but the old school real stuff. At one point in the late 60's - early 70s, I can't quite remember, I decided to give some of my vinyl albums to a friend in exchange for a reel-to-reel tape deck and some tapes. This was one of them. I can't recall the model of deck I had but it looked something like the one pictured.

The exchange experiment was a failure, I didn't keep up any form of tape collection and soon went back to buying more vinyl, but this album was worth a listen and it was intriguing.

Sandie Shaw hit the ground running - in bare feet I might add - in 1964 with her version of '(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me'. In '63 Dionne Warwick did a demo of this Bacharach/David song, it was recorded in the US by Lou Johnson but then Sandie took it to #1 in 3 countries and charted in 9, with another two chart hits in a French language version. That wasn't unusual for her, she recorded quite a few of her singles not only in French but also German and Spanish so she created a bigger European audience.

Those singles came in a flood from '64 through '67 with 'Girl Don't Come', 'Long Live Love', 'Message Understood' and 'You've Not Changed' to name a few. In March '67 the unlikely but massive Eurovision hit 'Puppet on a String' saw Sandie on the world stage - literally. Despite it's popularity and success, Sandie is quoted as saying she totally hated the song .. "from the very first oompah to the final bang on the bass drum. I was repelled by its sexist drivel."

After all those commercial hits, this album may seem out of place. It's mainly covers of well-known songs by writers of standards, the likes of Cole Porter, Sammy Cahn and Jaques Brel. It's the Jaques Brel track 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' that drew me in. As she did with some of her earlier hits, Sandie sings in French (Rod McKuen did a popular English version of this song 'If You Go Away') but Sandie sticks to the original. There are a couple of Chris Andrews compositions - he wrote a lot of stuff for Sandie, but it's the classics that resonate, the smoky late-nightness of 'Time After Time' and the bounce of 'I Get a Kick Out of You'. It's a reflection on the change in attitudes when Sandie sings the words to 'Yes My Darling Daughter' and they can make us catch our breath ..

"What if he’ll persist, mama darling, doing things he hadn’t oughta

Mama, what should be my answer? Yes, my darling daughter"

REALLY !! That was then, this is now.

Any 60s compilation worthy of the name will contain one or more of Sandies songs, but the 'hit parade' tracks are only a part of her catalogue. Doing a deep dive can pay dividends. Just make sure you don't invest in the reel-to-reel version.

(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me

Ne Me Quitte Pas

JOHN SEBASTIAN & ARLEN ROTH – Explore The Spoonful Songbook 2021

One thing the internet provides us - rabbit holes. You start looking for one thing and get sidetracked and before you know it you're a long way from home and finding things you knew little or nothing about. 

A while ago someone on the Bob Dylan group posted a link to a Dylan cover done by the MonaLisa Twins. I checked them out and found that they were originally from Austria, living in Liverpool and amongst other things had a 2 year residency at The Cavern doing Beatles and assorted 60's covers. They've been recording since 2007 and on their 2017 album 'Orange' they had John Sebastian playing blues harp. On a recent post they wrote "We had the absolute pleasure of singing on John Sebastian’s & Arlen Roth’s latest album!...."

So from 6 degrees of separation (or 3 or 4) I found my way to this new album of old music. And what a treat. This is a bit premature - I've listened to this album but I don't have the physical vinyl. Yet. Regardless, it's worth a mention for a number of reasons. In the interest of full disclosure though I have to say that the vinyl album contains 12 tracks whereas the CD has 14. On the vinyl copy 3 tracks are instrumentals, 'Daydream', 'Rain on the Roof' and 'You Didn't Have To Be So Nice'. The CD adds 2 more instrumentals 'Younger Girl' and 'Do You Believe in Magic'.

Some may think that's a bit of a liberty, taking away the vocals from so many popular songs, but the instrumentals stand up on their own, in no small part thanks to the brilliance of guitarist Arlen Roth. Arlen also does vocals on 'Nashville Cats' and, keeping it in the family, his daughter Lexie takes lead on 'Didn't Want to Have to do it'. Maria Muldaur (of 'Midnight at the Oasis' fame) comes in on 'Stories We Could Tell' and her husband Geoff Muldaur chimes in on 'Jug Band Music' and 'Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind'.

The inclusion of the MonaLisa Twins came from someone sending John a clip from 2015 of them doing a version of 'Daydream'. From there, as mentioned above he played on one of their albums and then he invited them to sing on this one. You can see them working together on the video clip for 'Waiting For The Waiter' - a nice blues number.

John's voice is an older voice. He's 77 now, not the kid from 1966 who gave us 'Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful' (Vinyl Vault 9 August 2021) but he's mellowed the songs to suit and he brings another quality to the tracks we've known for so long. Alongside Geoff Muldaur he rolls along to 'Jug Band Music' like a guy in a rocker just singing along to an old tune to pass the time. And it's great.

Look for this album wherever you can .. vinyl, CD or digital .. drop the needle, press the button or load the file, then close your eyes and let it wash over you. You'll feel better for it.

Jug Band Music

Waiting For The Waiter

AVERAGE WHITE BAND - AWB 1974

 

There are some instrumental tracks that cross-over into everyday listening but have specific genre roots. These are often the ones that tease people - they know the tune, they hum along but they can never think of the title. Chuck Mangione's smooth jazz 'Feels So Good' is one that comes to mind, the R&B 'Green Onions' and 'Time Is Tight' by Booker T. & The MG's and one from this album by AWB, the Funk/Soul earworm of 'Pick Up The Pieces'.

Average White Band - abbreviated to AWB for a while before reverting back to the full name - are perhaps the most unlikely funk group to appear in the 70's. Earth, Wind and Fire, Sly & The Family Stone, Parliament - Funkadelic etc. took black influenced R&B and soul and made a new style of predominately African-American music called Funk. 

Exporting the music around the world it came to the attention of some Scottish guys in London. Some of them had played together in Scotland but had all made it to London separately. Reuniting in 1972 after bumping into each other at a 'Traffic' concert, the six main members,  Alan Gorrie, Malcolm "Molly" Duncan, Owen "Onnie" McIntyre, Michael Rosen, Roger Ball and Robbie McIntosh formed AWB. Hamish Stuart replaced Michael Rosen and the line-up was ready to go.

I think it's funny that they met up at a 'Traffic' show, because as soon as the vocal kicks in on side 1 track 1, 'You've Got It' my mind immediately went to Steve Winwood. Apart from the "funky" intro, the voice could have been plucked directly off 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys' or any Winwood led track.

Going back to Sly Stone, one of my favourite Sly albums, 1971s 'There's a Riot Goin' On' (Vinyl Vault 22 July 2020) is due for a 50th Anniversary re-release in December 2021. There's quite a lot about this AWB album that reminds me of Sly et al .. it stays very true to the meaning of funk.

This was AWB's second album, the first "Show Your Hand' did nothing, but had a new lease of life after this album proved popular. It was re-issued in '75 with a fresh cover, different opening track and new title "Put It Where You Want It".

After 'Pick Up The Pieces' AWB received a nod from James Brown. One version is that he was a bit annoyed that AWB used a bass riff from his song 'Hot Pants Road' so he got his backing group, the JB's, to record 'Pick Up The Pieces One By One' under the pseudonym A.A.B.B. (Above Average Black Band). The other version is that it was done as a sincere tribute to their honest approach to funk, with a wordplay on the band's name.

The third album also contained another of their most well known single releases, the title track 'Cut The Cake'. Sadly, between the two recordings, their drummer Robbie McIntosh died of a heroin overdose. Members of the group were at a party in L.A. in 1974 when both McIntosh and Alan Gorrie OD'd, but amazingly none other than Cher kept Gorrie awake and aware until the medics arrived.

Average White Band is more than the sum of their parts. Go beyond the two well known tracks and dig into their albums. Far from being 'Average' they are a force to be reckoned with.

Pick Up The Pieces

Cut The Cake

BILLY IDOL - Billy Idol 1982 (1983 reissue)

In the 1950's Elvis Presley curled his lip and the world went wild. Everyone imitated him, including the squeaky clean Cliff Richard in his attempt to look like a bad boy singing 'Move It'. Who knew that by the early 80's that curl would turn into a full blown sneer on the face of William Michael Albert Broad .. A.K.A. Billy Idol.

The lip curl wasn't new and neither was Billy. He'd been around for a while, not as a solo artist but as co-founder and lead singer of Generation X. They were moderately popular, skirting the lower listings of the charts with their 3 studio albums and a few singles, but after releasing the 'Kiss Me Deadly' LP which failed to make a mark they broke up. With only a few exceptions all their songs were written by Billy and fellow co-founder Tony James. The only single from that album was the groups version of 'Dancing With Myself'.

Billy left the group and the country and moved to New York in 1981. To this day he holds dual British and American citizenship. His first US recording was a 1981 EP 'Don't Stop' - two of the tracks were the Tommy James cover 'Mony Mony' and a remix of Gen X's 'Dancing With Myself'. Billys mate Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols played guitar on the track.

Then came this album. 

This copy came to me through marriage. It was in Tracy's collection and has it's own claim to fame. It's a bit of a hybrid. The original album was released in 1982 with a different cover and the track 'Congo Man' closing out side 2. In 1983 it was reissued with this cover and 'Congo Man' was replaced with 'Dancing With Myself'. This copy is the 1983 reissue however it is described as "Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, 2nd Cover, Original Track List". So, reissue, new cover, old tracklist. Hybrid.

Although this copy of the album didn't have 'Dancing ...' on it, there were two other stand-outs. Tracks 2 and 3 were 'White Wedding" and one of my favourites, 'Hot In The City'. All three of those songs were released as singles, none of them blew the lid off anything, although 'White Wedding' did get to US Rock #4. Nowadays of course, they are staple tracks on any radio station worth it's salt.

There's a few great anecdotes attached to Billy, firstly on how he got his name. 

On a school report he was described as being 'idle'. He wanted to incorporate that into a stage name but he was concerned that it would be a conflict with Monty Python's Eric Idle, so he changed the spelling to Billy Idol. 

When he was recording this debut eponymous album in Los Angeles he rented a bungalow at the Chatea Marmont Hotel. He woke up in the middle of the night and realised there was nothing left to drink, so he totally trashed the room. When the police arrived, Billy, who was reportedly still naked, gave himself up. Turns out the police weren't even there for him - John Belushi had died in the same hotel that night and the police had come to investigate.

'Rebel Yell' got it's name from a brand of bourbon he was swigging one night with Mick Jagger, Ron Woods and Keith Richards. 

Billy is still out there doing his 'Rebel Yell' and singing about 'Sweet Sixteen', 'Eyes Without a Face' and 'Flesh For Fantasy' and I'm pretty sure the trademark curled lip sneer has become more of a smirk these days.

Just one thing about the videos I've linked to. Can something be punk, rock, glam, new wave and camp all at the same time? I think so.

Dancing With Myself

Hot In The City

Alternate Take - BOB DYLAN - Carnegie Chapter Hall 4 Nov 1961

 OK, a word before we start. The recording(s) I have of this concert are not vinyl, which is why I've placed it in the 'Alternate Take' category. In fact apart from one song, none of it is official. It is however a milestone - exactly 60 years to the day that Bob Dylan made "His First New York Concert" appearance. Arriving in New York in January '61 Bob started playing around the clubs - Gerdes Folk City, Cafe Wha!, Gaslight Café. Reviewed at Gerdes by critic Robert Sheldon he was signed to Columbia by John Hammond. On 29 September he made it to the recording studios, not for his own work but playing harmonica on a Carolyn Hester album. A few weeks later Izzy Young promoted him for a concert at the Carnegie Chapter Hall, a part of the main Carnegie Hall building. Although it is capable of holding up to 200 people, only 53 seats were sold - at $2 each !!

Dylan sang 22 songs, mainly traditional, some Woody Guthrie and a bit of Leadbelly and Bukka White, but importantly there were also some of his own compositions. 'Song to Woody', his homage to the aforementioned Woody Guthrie and his tongue in cheek autobiographical 'Talkin' New York'.

Out of those 22 songs, 7 have never been circulated and the remaining 15 are on a variety of incomplete recordings. The first 7 are on the unofficial 'Dylan's Root(s)' and 'Hard Times in NYC'. More appear on the 'Bob Dylan Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall, 1961 [SOUNDBOARD RECORDING]' boot with one track 'This Land is Your Land' included on the official 'Bootleg Series Vol.7 - No Direction Home'.

Two weeks after this concert, Bob was back in the studio recording his first album, the eponymous 'Bob Dylan' produced by John Hammond. Both 'Song to Woody' and 'Talkin' New York' appeared on this album and although it's probably more folklore than fact, John Hammond is famously quoted as saying the album cost a total of $402 to record.

Today is a landmark day in the history of Bob Dylan and his followers. Just two days ago, now aged 80, Bob started touring again. To be honest he never really stopped. Held up by the pandemic, after an unexpected hiatus, 'The Rough and Rowdy Ways' tour is on the road.

Bob Dylan Live at Carnegie Chapter Hall, 1961 [SOUNDBOARD RECORDING]

J.D. SOUTHER - You're Only Lonely 1979

Today is John David Southers 76th birthday so it's fitting to give him a re-run. I posted about him briefly before I started the Vinyl Vault blog so it's only right that I expand my first entry and include it on the V V page too.

J.D. Souther is the guy you've never heard of but you know him well. In his early career he teamed with Glenn Frey (Eagles) and performed as a duo - "Longbranch Pennywhistle", releasing their only album in 1970. He went solo for his 1972 eponymous album, then joined with Chris Hillman and Richie Furay as the "Souther-Hillman-Furay Band". Going back to solo work as a singer he is also widely known as a song-writer. Amongst the ones everybody knows he co-wrote ..
Eagles - 'Best of My Love', 'Heartache Tonight', 'New Kid in Town' and more ..
Linda Ronstandt - 'Faithless Love', 'Heart Like a Wheel', 'White Rhythm and Blues' etc
w/ James Taylor - 'Her Town Too'

He famously performed and did the vocal arrangements on the video "Roy Orbison and Friends: A Black and White Night", a stunning video and soundtrack showcasing not only Roy Orbison but also a whole raft of incredible musicians.

It's hard to pick a favourite from JD's work - I have 4 albums on vinyl and 3 more digital, but I think this one, 'You're Only Lonely' would have to be my go-to. The title track sets the scene for JD's gentle laid-back style and he follows through with the heart-wrenching 'Last In Love' and his definitive version of the song he gave to Linda Ronstandt - 'White Rhythm and Blues'
"All I need is black roses
White rhythm and blues
And somebody who cares when you lose
Black roses, white rhythm and blues"

That's not to say he's locked into tear-jerkers. He turns to rockabilly and solid C&W, even foot-stomping goodtime music. 'Til the Bars Burn Down' and 'The Moon Turned Blue' offer a change of pace and mood evoking sawdust floors and 'Fifteen Bucks' took a collaboration of 6 people to write !!

The guests who came along for the ride on this album are impressive. Glenn Frey co-wrote a couple of the tracks and played guitar. Don Henley took vocals, Phil Everly did harmony on 'White Rhythm and Blues', Jackson Browne popped up on the title track. John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful), Don Felder (The Eagles) and Kenny Edwards, founding member of Linda Ronstands old group The Stone Poneys were all there. The sound was filled out by some of the best session musicians in the business.

When you're in the mood for some country rock, JD is the one to call. If you can't dig out the vinyl you should look for his 2011 CD 'Natural History' - it's new recordings of some of his great songs. 

Her Town Too

White Rhythm and Blues