Rabbiting On: Big Ears' Journal
 

Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel (Columbia 1966)

American duo have got a groovy thing goin'


http://kjhk.org/web/wp-content/uploa...of-Silence.jpg


Sounds of Silence Tracklist:

Side One
1. The Sound of Silence (3:08)
2. Leaves That Are Green (2:23)
3. Blessed (3:16)
4. Kathy's Song (3:21)
5. Somewhere They Can't Find Me (2:37)
6. Anji (2:17) Davey Graham

Side Two
7. Richard Cory (2:57)
8. A Most Peculiar Man (2:34)
9. April Come She Will (1:51)
10. We've Got a Groovy Thing Goin' (2:00)
11. I Am a Rock (2:50)

Bonus Tracks Reissue 2001
12. Blues Run The Game (2:55) Jackson C. Frank
13. Barbriallen (4:06) Traditional
14. Rose of Aberdeen (2:02) Traditional
15. Roving Gambler (3:03) Traditional

All compositions are credited to Paul Simon, except where stated


Sounds of Silence Lineup:

Paul Simon: Lead vocals, guitar
Art Garfunkel: Lead vocals
Fred Carter, Jr.: Guitar
Larry Knechtel: Keyboards
Joe South: Guitar
Hal Blaine: Drums

Produced by Bob Johnston


Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and Garfunkel (following Wednesday Morning, 3AM, 1964), produced by Bob Johnston and released on Columbia in 1966. The duo went on to record many famous songs, culminating in the best-selling Bridge Over Troubled Water album for the same label in 1970.

The Sound of Silence (the song, singular) has a characteristically sparse arrangement, but a big sound (pun intended), making its presence seem like that of Born to Run on Springsteen's breakthrough album. In other words it is unlike anything else on the album, but it fits and is the strongest track, casting a shadow over the subsequent tracks. The following track, Leaves That Are Green is gentle by contrast. Blessed is more stirring and reminds me of the Everly Brothers and The Byrds, which leads me to wonder if it was inspired by The Searchers. Paul Simon spent time in England, from April 1964, when he stayed with Martin Carthy, and his reference to the down-and-outs of London is the first of many relating to the experience, "I got no place to go . . . I've walked around Soho for the last night or so." Certainly, Simon 'borrowed' ideas from English folk musicians, including Scarborough Fair from Carthy. Kathy's Song is an example, about a girl he met in Essex, with its dropped 't' from 'when you start your day' to the reference to 'England, where my heart lies'. Whatever its sources, Kathy's Song is a delicate and beautiful Paul Simon-led track. Somewhere They Can't Find Me is a busier upbeat arrangent with brass and full harmonies. Side One closer is English folk guitarist Davy Graham's most well known acoustic instrumental, Anji.

Richard Cory is a song about a wealthy man who owns a factory, but, like his workers, he is not happy, although this is for different reasons. Richard Cory is followed by the similarly themed, A Most Peculiar Man, about the sort of person who never speaks to anyone and is therefore ignored himself. Glen Campbell and Hal Blaine play on the album and this track has all their hallmarks of twanging guitar and echo-y drums repectively. April Come She will is another gentle traditional-sounding folk song, this time led by Art Garfunkel. We've Got a Groovy Thing is reminiscent of The Beatles, although I don't recall ever hearing them employing the word 'groovy'. I Am a Rock closes side two of the vinyl on a big sounding chorus, "I am a rock, I am an i - i - island."

The 2001 CD has four bonuses, all folk songs, starting with Blues Run the Game, which, despite its English reference, is by American musician Jackson C. Frank, "Catch a boat to England, baby, maybe to Spain". Frank was also a friend of Simon and died in tragic circumstances. Barbriallen is a traditional lullaby-sounding ballad of unrequited love. Rose of Aberden and Roving Gambler are more traditional folk songs. The latter has a very familiar melody, but name dropping various US States along with a country, Spain, presumably because it rhymes with game! One of the singers laughs, reflecting the pleasure they had from working together.

Occasionally, one or other of the duo leads a song, but mostly the singing is dominated by their close harmonies and Simon's guitar. Ostensibly a folk duo, Simon and Garfunkel's arrangements are diverse and often threaten, if not deliver, rising choruses, while the sound can be as big as any rock 'n' roll band. Everything is wonderful and points to the glorious achievements to come with the Scarborough Fair-dominated Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Bookends and the towering Bridge Over Troubled Water. I had not heard this album from start to finish for at least thirty years, so it came as a breath of fresh air. I lost count of how many times I played it, I think about eight or nine, and I enjoyed every song.

Originally written June 2012, revised October 2012

__________________

Welcome to the music journals, Big Ears. Cool title too! Interesting choice for a first review, but I certainly liked what you wrote. Your writing shows a real knowledge of the subject, which is always important. Looking forward to further reviews, now that you've got your feet wet, as it were! :beer:

Thank you Trollheart. I am surprised to see the journal has been accepted so quickly. That's MB's customer service for you! Could a moderator please change the spelling of the heading for me, as it is incorrect and should be 'Rabbiting'?

Hearing Earring: A Biography of Golden Earring




Golden Earring was formed as The Tornados by George Kooymans and Rinus Gerritsen, with guitarist Hans van Herwerden and drummer Fred van der Hilst, in the Hague, the Netherlands, in 1961. When the Tornados discovered their name was already being used by Billy Fury's band, the name The Golden Earrings (in the plural) was adopted. With Frans Krassenburg on vocals, Jaap Eggermont replacing Van der Hilst on drums and Van Herweden jettisoned, their debut single 'Please Go' was also the first hit, reaching number eight in the Netherlands' chart in 1965. An album, Just Earrings, produced by manager Fred Haayen, was released in the same year (Peter de Ronde also plays rhythm guitar). Haayen arranged for the next single, 'That Day', to be recorded at the Pye Records studios in London, a decision which paid off, as it reached number two in the Dutch charts in 1966. 'That Day' was only kept from the number one spot by The Beatles' 'Michelle'. Augmented by session piano player, Cees Schrama, the Golden Earrings recorded the Winter Harvest album, which was released in January 1967.

Original singer Frans Krassenburg was replaced by Barry Hay in 1967 and a year later, the band finally achieved their first number one hit in the Netherlands with the typically Euro-titled, 'Dong Dong Diki Digi Dong'. The same line-up of Hay, Kooymans, Gerritsen and Eggermont recorded the Miracle Mirror, which was released in 1968. On the Double, in 1969, was the last album to feature Eggermont, with Sieb Warner replacing him on drums for Eight Miles High in the same year (released under the name The Golden Earring - singular). Eggermont switched mainly to production work and later became known for the 'Stars on 45' dance medley records of the early 1980s. DJ Neil Kempfer-Stocker began playing the band on US East Coast FM radio and they embarked on two North American tours in 1969, however the Perception Records label in New York failed to capitalise on the Golden Earring album, aka Wall of Dolls, with the Back Home single, in 1970. Golden Earring is the first album credited to 'Golden Earring' and introduces drummer Cesar Zuiderwijk. This 'classic' line-up would remain intact for more than 40 years.

During this period with Barry Hay, Golden Earring evolved into a hard rock band. They enjoyed brief international superstardom in 1973-74 when the shortened version of 'Radar Love', from the Gold-certified album Moontan, became a hit single in both Europe and the USA. For a while, Cesar Zuiderwijk was a minor celebrity for jumping over over his drum-kit at the end of TV performances of 'Radar Love'. Between 1969 and 1984, Golden Earring completed 13 US tours. They performed as the opening act for such luminaries as Santana, King Crimson, The Doobie Brothers, Rush and .38 Special. When 'Radar Love' was a hit, they even had Kiss and Aerosmith as their opening acts. Being signed to Track Records, a UK label, the band hired the quadraphonic sound system used by The Who. Indeed, because of their successful transition from makers of hit singles in the early sixties to full rock band in the seventies, they were compared to The Who.

Eelco Gelling joined Golden Earring, as a second guitarist alongside Kooymans (replacing occasional keyboardist, Robert Jan Stips of Supersister), in 1973, and first appeared on Contraband (1976) which was released in the US as Mad Love. Gelling's haunting slide work is highlighted on a number of tracks, particularly on the single Bombay. The group released its first live album, Golden Earring Live, in 1977, on which Kooymans's and Gellng's dual guitars breath new life into extended versions of the classics, including 'Radar Love'. An edited version of the latter returned Earring to the UK singles charts in 1977. Gelling also played on the group's Grab It For A second album of 1978. During a tour of the United States, he left the band, following differences over improvisation, and after his favourite guitar (a Gibson Les Paul Custom) was stolen from a cab in New York. Returning to the Netherlands, he played in several bands including his own Eelco Gelling Band.

Golden Earring enjoyed a short period of US stardom but were unable to secure further chart success until 1982's Twilight Zone. An accompanying music video, directed by Dick Maas, was one of the first rock videos played on the recently launched MTV and helped the song become a top ten single. 'When the Lady Smiles' was an international hit in 1984, reaching number 3 in Canada and becoming the band's fifth number one hit in their native country, but it received a disappointing reaction in the United States. The reason for this lack of success was attributed to the promotional video being banned from MTV, due to nudity and a scene portraying the rape of a nun. An edited version of the video was shown, but to little avail. While touring the US, the band played at the Great Arena of Six Flags Great Adventure on 11th May 1984, when a fire at the Haunted Castle began on the opposite side of the theme park, killing eight teenagers. Following this tour, Golden Earring returned their focus towards Europe, where they continued to attract large audiences.

In 1991, Golden Earring released the excellent Bloody Buccaneers album and scored another hit in the Netherlands with 'Going to the Run', about a motorcycling friend of the band who who was killed in a road crash. A 'run' is motorcycle jargon for a group of motorcyclists riding to a particular destination. Until recently, Golden Earring were performing over 200 concerts a year, mainly in their home country and occasionally in Belgium, Germany and the UK. These performances have been released on several live albums: the aforementioned Live, recorded at London's Rainbow Theater in 1977; 2nd Live, 1981; Something Heavy Going Down, 1984 (also released on DVD as Live from the Twilight Zone); and Last Blast of the Century, a live recording of their last concert of the 20th century (available on both CD and DVD). Furthermore, there are the band's acoustic live albums including: The Naked Truth (1992), Naked II (1997) and Naked III (2005). Their latest live album, Live from Ahoy 2006, is a DVD with bonus CD.

Golden Earring have not toured outside Europe since 1984. However, the Millbrook USA album was recorded at Frank Carillo's studio in New York. They performed two gigs in the UK, for the first time in 30 years, with one concert on 14th March 2009 at The Shepherd's Bush Empire in London and another on 13th March at Ipswich Regent Theatre. Golden Earring celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2011 and have been performing almost continuously since their formation in 1961. From 1970 onwards, they have had the same core of four musicians, occasionally augmented with keyboardist, Robert Jan Stips of Supersister, and of course for a while, Eelco Gelling, making them one of the longest surviving unchanged lineups. Barry Hay relocated to the Dutch Antilles island of Curaçao in the Caribbean.

On 10th October 2011, at the Historical Museum of The Hague, PostNL presented the first postage stamp with music, issued in honour of Golden Earring's 50th anniversary. When the stamp is held up to a smartphone with a special app, Golden Earring’s 'Radar Love' plays. This stamp is the first in a series of music stamps with real sound, highlighting the most successful pop albums released in the Netherlands. PostNL was the first post office in the world to initiate this concept. Band member and co-founder Rinus Gerritsen accepted the first sheetlet from PostNL. The 50th anniversary was also celebrated at the museum, with a special temporary exhibition on the band, called 'Golden Earring - Back Home', featuring their music, background and influences.

Originally written in March 2012

Great review there Big Ears and I've always been a fan of Simon & Garfunkel too. I think Sounds of Silence is a good album, but their crowning glory from that era for me has to be Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (or Rhyme as I always call it).

What type of stuff are you going to be putting into this journal? Is it going to be random or have some kind of theme?

I like how you are obviously familiar with the history of both Art and Paul as well as their album and its influences like Martin Carthy and Davy Graham. Great stuff :)

Changed! Seems like a promising journal.

^ Thank you everybody, for the positive comments. There is no theme to my journal, US, everything is random. I like seventies heavy and progressive rock, which is reflected in my biographies, but my reviews will cover these, along with other eras and genres. I had not considered a theme, but I am probably not prolific enough to sub-divide my writing into themes. Not all forums allow more than one journal, so I suppose that is why themes did not occur to me.

Golden Earring Discography





1965 Just Earrings
Singles: Please Go / Chunk of Steel (1965)
Lonely Everyday / Not to Find (1965)

1966 Winter-Harvest
Singles: That Day / The Words I Need (1966)
You Leave Me / Waiting for You (1966)
Things Go Better / Rum and Coca Cola (1966)
Daddy Buy Me a Girl / What You Gonna Tell (1966)
Don't Run Too Far / Wings (1966)

1967 Miracle Mirror
Singles: In My House / Smoking Cigarettes (1967)
Sound of the Screaming Day / She Won't Come to Me (1967)
Together We Live Together We Love / I Wonder (1967)

1968 On the Double (double album)
1968 Greatest Hits (Polydor)
Singles: The Truth About Arthur / Gipsy Rhapsody (1968)
I've Just Lost Somebody / The Truth About Arthur (1968)
Dong-dong-di-ki-di-gi-dong / Wake Up - Breakfast! (1968)
Just a Little Bit of Peace in My Heart / Remember My Friend (1968)

1969 Eight Miles High
Singles: Where Will I Be / It's Alright, But I Admit Could Be Better (1969)
It's Alright, But I Admit Could Be Better / Song of a Devil's Servant (1969)
Another 45 Miles / I Can't Get a Hold on Her (1969)

1970 Golden Earring (aka Wall of Dolls)
1970 The Best of Golden Earring (US)
Singles: Eight Miles High / One High Road (1970)
Back Home / This Is the Time of the Year (1970)

1971 Seven Tears
Singles: Holy Holy Life / Jessica (1971)
She Flies on Strange Wings, Part 1 & 2 (1971)

1972 Together
Singles: Buddy Joe / Avalanche of Love (1972)
Stand by Me / All Day Watcher (1972)

1973 Hearing Earring (compilation)
1973 Moontan
Singles: Radar Love / The Song Is Over (1973)

1974 Singles: Instant Poetry / From Heaven From Hell (1974)
Candy's Going Bad / She Flies on Strange Wings (1974)

1975 Switch
Singles: Tons of Time / Love Is a Rodeo (1975)
Ce Soir / Lucky Number (1975)
The Switch / The Lonesome D.J. (1975)

1976 To the Hilt
1976 Contraband (titled Mad Love with different cover art and alternate track listing in the USA)
Singles: Sleepwalkin' / Babylon (1976)
To the Hilt / Violins (1976)
Bombay / Faded Jeans (1976)

1977 Live (double album)
1977 Story (compilation)
Singles: Radar Love (live) / Just Like Vince Taylor (live) (1977)

1978 Grab It for a Second
Singles: Movin' Down Life / Can't Talk Now (1978)

1979 No Promises...No Debts
Singles: Weekend Love / It's Only a Matter of Time (1979)
I Do Rock 'n Roll / Sellin' Out (1979)

1980 Prisoner of the Night (1980)
Singles: Long Blond Animal / Triple Treat (1980)
No For an Answer / Annie (1980)

1981 2nd Live (double album)
1981 Greatest Hits, Vol. 3
Singles: Slow Down / Heartbeat (1981)

1982 Cut (1982)
Singles: Twilight Zone / King Dark (1982)
The Devil Made Me Do It / WShadow Avenue (1982)

1984 N.E.W.S. (1984)
1984 Something Heavy Going Down (live)
Singles: When the Lady Smiles / WOrwell's Year (1984)
Clear Night Moonlight / Fist in Glove (1984)
N.E.W.S. / It's All Over (1984)
Something Heavy Going Down / I'll Make It All Up to You (1984)

1986 The Hole (1986)
Singles: Quiet Eyes / Gimme a Break (1986)
Why Do I / Gimme a Break (rock version) (1986)
Why Do I / Love In Motion (1986)
They Dance / Love in Motion (1986)

1988 The Very Best, Vol. 1
1988 The Very Best, Vol. 2
Singles: My Killer, My Shadow / My Killer, My Shadow (alternative version) (1988)

1989 Keeper of the Flame
1989 The Continuing Story of Radar Love (compilation)
Singles: Turn the World Around / You Gun My Love (1989)
Distant Love / Nighthawks (1989)

1991 Bloody Buccaneers
Singles: Going to the Run / Time Warp (1991)
Temporary Madness / One Shot Away From Paradise (1991)
'Pouring My Heart Out Again / Planet Blue (1991)

1992 The Naked Truth (live acoustic album)
1992 Radar Love (compilation)
Singles: Making Love to Yourself / In a Bad Mood (1992)
Another 45 Miles (Live) (1992)
Radar Love / Bloody Buccaneers (1992)
I Can't Sleep Without You (1992)

1993 Singles: Long Blond Animal (live - acoustic) / Twilight Zone (live - acoustic) / Jangalane (live-acoustic) / Don't Stop the Show (live - acoustic) (1993)
As Long as the Wind Blows (live - acoustic) / Please Go (live - acoustic) / Sound of the Screaming Day (live - acoustic) (1993)

1994 Face It (partially acoustic)
1994 Best of Golden Earring (Europe only)
Singles: Johnny Make Believe / Minute by Minute (1994)
Hold Me Now / Freedom Don't Last Forever / Livin' With Me (Ain't That Easy) (1994)

1995 Love Sweat (cover album)

1996 Singles: Gotta See Jane / Try a Little Tenderness (1996)
This Wheel's on Fire / My Little Red Book (1996)

1997 Naked II (live acoustic album)
Singles: Burning Stuntman / Bombay (1997)

1998 The Complete Naked Truth (compilation)
1998 70s & 80s, Vol. 35 (compilation)
Singles: The Devil Made Me Do It [unplugged] / Mood Indigo (1998)

1999 Paradise in Distress
Singles: Paradise in Distress / Are You Receiving Me? (1999)
Whisper in a Crowd / The Vanilla Queen (1999)

2000 Last Blast of the Century (live)
2000 Greatest Hits
2000 The Devil Made Us Do It: 35 Years (compilation)
Singles: Miles Away From Nowhere (2000)
Yes! We're on Fire / Yes! We're on Fire (orchestral version) (2000)

2002 Singles 1965-1967
2002 Bloody Buccaneers/Face It

2003 Millbrook U.S.A.
2003 3 Originals
Singles: Albino Moon (2003)
Colourblind (2003)

2005 Naked III, Live at the Panama (live acoustic album)
Singles: I've Just Lost Somebody (2005)
Angel (2005)

2006 Live In Ahoy
2009 Collected (triple CD)
2012 Tits 'n' Ass

Originally written in August 2012, updated October 2012

Analog Man by Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh is an analog man . . . or is he?


http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_SS500_.jpg


Analog Man Tracklist

1. Analog Man (Joe Walsh, Drew Hester, Gannin Arnold) 4:03
2. Wrecking Ball (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 3:45
3. Lucky That Way (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 4:14
4. Spanish Dancer 3:49
5. Band Played On (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 4:03
6. Family (Joe Walsh, Tommy Lee James) 4:21
7. One Day At A Time 3:18
8. Hi-Roller Baby (Tim Armstrong) 3:18
9. Funk 50 1:57
10. India 3:44

Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
11. Fishbone 3:49
12. But I Try (Little Richard, Dale Peters, Jimmy Fox, Joe Walsh) 6:40 (Recording of James Gang & Little Richard from 1970)

All songs by Joe Walsh, except where indicated.


Analog Man Lineup

Joe Walsh: Guitars, vocals, bass guitar (track 10), drums (track 10), piano (track 6)
Jeff Lynne: Drums, bass, keyboard, guitars, backing vocals
Steve Jay: Percussion
Bruce Sugar: Percussion, programming
Ringo Starr: Drums (tracks 3 and 5)
Rick Rosas: Bass (track 3)
Kenny Passarelli: Bass (track 5)
Joe Vitale: Keyboards, sitar (track 5)
Jay Dee Maness & Greg Leizs: Pedal steel guitar (track 3)
Tommy Lee James: Backing vocals
Graham Nash & David Crosby: Vocals (track 6)
Richard Davis: Synthesizer, programming (track 6)
Tim Armstrong: Guitar (track 8)
Little Richard: Piano & vocals (track 12)
Dale Peters: Bass (track 12)
Jimmy Fox: Drums, background vocals (track 12)

Produced by Jeff Lynne and Joe Walsh


I was one of those who thought when Joe Walsh joined the Eagles, it was a waste of a strong solo artist that had triumphed with albums like Barnstorm (1972) and The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (1973). Walsh hit pay dirt, however, when the Eagles had a massive international hit with Hotel California (1976) and he became a long term member. Analog Man is Joe Walsh's first solo album since Songs for a Dying Planet (1992), which was released twenty years ago. Walsh's former sparring partners in the James Gang, Kenny Passerelli on bass and Joe Vitale on keyboards & sitar, are back for one track, Band Played On, while Ringo Starr (for whom he worked in the All Starr Band) plays drums on two tracks, Lucky That Way and the aforementioned BPO, and Graham Nash & David Crosby add harmony vocals to another, Family. The album is co-produced by Walsh and Jeff Lynne, both of whom play a variety of instruments.

Opening track, Analog Man, reminds me of the single Life's Been Good from But Seriously Folks in 1978, with its personal and witty lyrics, "Some 10-year-old smart ass has to show me what to do . . . I access my email, read all my spam, I'm an analog man." Despite the slightly cynical nature of the lyrics, Walsh, in a recent interview, said the album was less about the difference between analogue and digital recordings (it was recorded digitally), and more concerned with the fact that a person can use their mobile phone, while driving, legally, in the US, and they are the one who drives into the back of his car. These people are in a digital world, which is not real.

Wrecking Ball, not to be confused with Springsteen's song of the same title, has a plodding Lynne production and is reminiscent of his work with Tom Petty and the Travelling Wilburys. Lucky That Way is more of Walsh's humorous biographical work, again close to Life's Been Good, in which he relates, with mock immodesty, "If anybody asks me - Joe how do you do it 'Cause you do it with such style and grace, I just shake my head and smile, Look 'em in the eyes and say, I'm just lucky that way... just lucky." A wistful number arrives in the form of Spanish Dancer, complete with castanets and talk box. Jeff Lynne rarely conceals his influences and Track 5, Band Played On, is very Beatles-like, not only with sitar and Ringo on drums, but in style. I am not sure what the song is about, but Joe Walsh keeps a straight face, while raising a laugh with, "We're all up **** creak without a paddle, Just trying to stay afloat."

Family is the track that I like least on the album. There is no doubting Walsh's sincerity in the ode to his family, but it just comes across as mawkish to the indifferent listener. With Walsh's former producer, Bill Szymczyk, in absentia, The Eagles not contributing and Barnstorm playing a minor role, a clue may be offered as to the reasons for the lack of familiar collaborators in One Day at a Time, when, as funny as ever, he admits, "All the friends I used to run with are gone, Lord, I hadn't planned on livin' this long."

When The Who* returned to the studio for the Endless Wire album, Pete Townshend reworked the Baba O'Riley intro for the Wire and Glass mini-opera. Likewise, the Meadows (or My Woman from Tokyo's) riff is recycled for One Day at a Time, which sounds the most like Jeff Lynne's Traveling Wilburys catalogue, to the extent that I can imagine Walsh as a member. Apparently, Lynne could see it too and nicknamed Walsh Lumpy Wilbury! Hi-Roller Baby is jaunty and reveals even more of Life's Been Short in a reggae motif. One of Barnstorm's most well known pieces, Funk 49, is continued in Funk 50, but with a dance-y feel. Walsh and Lynne remain firmly in club land with India, a full-on dance track, that paradoxically contains some of the best guitar work on the album. India ends abruptly and in so doing, closes the standard album.

The Deluxe Edition of the album has two bonus tracks. Fishbone is a darkly comic blues song, played straight as always, "My baby got a fish bone stuck down here where she swallows, can't talk louder than a whisper, usually she hollers." But I Try is an interesting collaboration between the James Gang and Little Richard from 1970, originally intended for the Thirds album. It rocks!

It would be difficult not to like Analog, with its atmosphere of self-mockery and contentment; and Joe Walsh's laconic sense of humour is irresistible. But, while the album has some toe-tappers, it has none of the riff-based tracks, like Turn to Stone or Rocky Mountain Way, which endeared Walsh to a heavy rock audience. Jeff Lynne's experimental days with The Move and early ELO seem long behind him, and I found myself wishing his chugging Wilburys' production would make way for some liberating heavy rock.

* Joe Walsh was inspired by Pete Townshend to use ARP synthesizer with Barnstorm. He also worked with Who bassist John Entwistle on the latter's solo album, Too Late the Hero (1981) and a shortlived supergroup, The Best (1990). However, John Entwistle had already passed away by the time Endless Wire was recorded. Walsh's original producer Bill Szymczyk produced Face Dances by The Who in 1981. So is it a coincidence that Joe Walsh mimicked a similar technique to that of The Who?

Originally written in July 2012, updated October 2012

From the Beginning: A Biography of Emerson, Lake and Palmer


With the metamorphosis of psychedelia into progressive rock, during the late nineteen-sixties, Emerson, Lake and Palmer came to epitomise the new genre. They were also one of the first so-called supergroups, combining well-known musicians from established bands into a progressive rock hybrid. Emerson, Lake and Palmer were known for the dominant synthesizer playing of Keith Emerson as well as their often classically inspired arrangements. Along with their exemplary musicianship, one of the band's unique features was that, despite the sidelining of guitars, they remained a heavy rock band.

Emerson Lake and Palmer were formed in late 1969 after a chance meeting between Keith Emerson, keyboard player with The Nice, and Greg Lake, singer and bassist with King Crimson. They later added drummer Carl Palmer from Atomic Rooster, when an original plan to link up with Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell came to nothing, and made their debut at The Guildhall, Plymouth, on 23rd August 1970. But, it was their performance six days later, at the Isle of Wight Festival, that drew attention to the band. Keith Emerson had already established a reputation as an adept organist and was a showman who had stirred up controversy with The Nice by burning the stars and stripes during a performance of Leonard Bernstein's America. Greg Lake had cut his teeth with The Gods (a prototype Uriah Heep) and King Crimson, being possessed of a high quality choir boy-type voice and an underrated guitar-playing ability. Carl Palmer had played with Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds, at the age of sixteen, then joined The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, with Vincent Crane, and accompanied the latter to Atomic Rooster. Emerson and Lake were beginning to stagnate with their respective bands, but gelled with each other immediately. Carl Palmer was reluctant at first, as Atomic Rooster was his new band, but when he played with Emerson and Lake, they all knew this was a unique and dynamic trio which would combine musical finesse with showmanship.

From the outset, Emerson, Lake and Palmer established a reputation among fans as a furiously active trio of unsurpassed technical ability, but the press were quick to accuse them of having no sense of humour and a lack of feeling. The most common adjectives being, 'bombastic', 'overblown' and 'pretentious'. BBC Radio One DJ John Peel famously accused them of being, "A waste of talent and electricity." Peel added that his colleague, Alan Freeman, had turned Emerson, Lake and Palmer from millionaires into even wealthier millionaires.

The first self-titled album (Island, October 1970) achieved reasonable chart success and the second, a concept album, Tarkus (Island, June 1971), made inroads into the American market. Emerson, Lake & Palmer contained many classical adaptions which was to give ELP their distinctive style and they continued to use this approach until their final album. The Barbarian is an arrangement of Hungarian composer Bela Bartók’s piano piece, Allegro Barbaro (1911). Knife Edge is borrowed from the first movement of Polish composrer Leoš Janácek's Sinfonietta (1926), apart from the organ solo, which is a quotation of the Allemande of JS Bach's 1st French Suite in D minor, BWV 812. Pictures at an Exhibition (Island, November 1971) should have been the second album, but was witheld by the record company because, as a live performance of a classical piece by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, it seemed too esoteric. However, the success of Tarkus resulted in Pictures' release as a budget album and it built on the success of its predecessors. Another facet of ELP's work is comedy songs, making a nonsense of the press criticism that the band lacked a sense of humour, and Tarkus has Jeremy Bender and Are You Ready Eddy? (a tribute to their producer Eddie Offord).

Trilogy (Island, June 1972) became the band's breakthrough work and was followed by the epic Brain Salad Surgery. Trilogy continued the classical influences with Abbadons Bolero, an adaption of Maurice Ravel's piece with two beats/rhythms, hence the overdubs, and Hoedown from Aaron Copland's Rodeo. Comedy come in the form of The Sheriff. Whereas, ELP had Greg Lake's solo piece Lucky Man (which includes a groundbreaking synthesizer solo), Trilogy has From the Beginning. The title track has a lilting introduction but becomes much heavier and is very experimental in its use of synthesizers. Living Sin is full-on heavy rock.

Brain Salad Surgery (Manticore, November 1973), the first album on the band's own label, continued the experimentation and Carl Palmer has said that, by this stage, every time the band tried something, it worked. Jerusalem is a heavy rock version of Hubert Parry's hymn and shows the influence of church music in the formative stages of British progressive rock musicians. The instrumental, Toccata, is based on the Fourth Movement of Alberto Ginastera's 1st Piano Concerto, arranged by Keith Emerson with special synthesised effects; Carl Palmer adding a percussion accompaniment using newly-developed drum synthesisers. Unlike Bernstein, Alberto Ginastera liked Emerson's arrangement of his work. Still . . . You Turn Me On is a Greg Lake solo track. Benny the Bouncer is a sinister comedy song about a doorman's clash with a greaser. Karn Evil 9, in three impressions, dominates the album and is about the creation of computers, which are subsequently blamed for man's inadequecies. The lyrics were co-written with former King Crimson lyricist, Pete Synfield, who went on to work with Bucks Fizz and Celine Dion. Artwork for the album is by HR Giger, similar to, but created sometime before his 'organic' designs for Ridley Scott's Alien. Brain Salad Surgery, despite a murky production, is Emerson, Lake and Palmer's masterpiece and stands as one of the great progressive rock albums alongside Court of the Crimson King, Nursery Cryme, Dark Side of the Moon, Close to the Edge and Fragile.

Originally written in April 2012

From the Beginning: A Biography of Emerson, Lake and Palmer Pt. 2


At the height of their success, ELP released a triple live album, Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends (Manticore, August 1974). It was recorded on the Brain Salad Surgery tour and became their last album for three years. During this period, the ever-present limitations that the group put on the members' individual aspirations came to the surface. Their first album had, after all, been a combination of solo pieces with group works, and this remained the case throughout their albums up to Brain Salad Surgery. Keith Emerson's compositions were becoming more pure classical works requiring an orchestra, while Greg Lake's songs relegated the other musicians to backing musicians and Carl Palmer was the peacemaker caught between the two. A series of solo albums was avoided, because each required an album's worth of material and was unlikely to sell on the scale of ELP records. Instead the compromise was a double album, Works Volume 1 (Atlantic, March 1977), that consisted of each member having a side of solo material and a fourth and final side comprising band pieces. Needless to say, the band material, Fanfare for the Common Man and Pirates, was by far the strongest and most cohesive. Coming after a succession of five consistently strong studio albums, culminating in Brain Salad Surgery, the record was massively disappointing. The impetus provided by Brain Salad Surgery was lost and, in the meantime, the revolutionary movement of punk rock, along with disco, had seen the baby thrown out with the bath water. The band hired a 70-piece orchestra for some concerts of the Works tour, but eventually had to dismiss the orchestra due to budget constraints that almost bankrupted the group. Works Volume 2 (Atlantic, November 1977) was a collection of solo experiments, single a and b-sides and outtakes dating back to Brain Salad Surgery. The next album of new material, Love Beach (Atlantic, November 1978), despite having a number of different and interesting ideas, was completed for contractual reasons, given a regrettable name and packaged in an inappropriate Bee Gees-style album cover. Ironically, however, it gave the band a hit single in For You.

Emerson, Lake and Palmer split up in 1979, with Greg Lake embarking on a guitar-led solo career with Gary Moore; Keith Emerson withdrawing from the band scene to compose some excellent fim scores; and Carl Palmer forming his own group PM, before joining another successful progressive rock supergroup, Asia. During the interim, different permutations of ELP worked with each other, either as Emerson, Lake and Powell or 3 with Robert Berry. Greg Lake even had a brief spell with Asia. A renewed interest in heavy and prgressive rock from the rise of grunge, along with the creation of Victory records as an offshoot of Atlantic, saw the return of the Manticore in the early nineties . . . but that is another story . . .


Lineup
Keith Emerson: keyboards
Greg Lake: vocals, acoustic and electric guitars, bass
Carl Palmer: drums, percussion


Discography

1970 Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1971 Tarkus
1971 Pictures at an Exhibition
1972 Trilogy
1973 Brain Salad Surgery
1974 Welcome Back My Friends to the Show That Never Ends... Ladies and Gentlemen
1977 Works Volume I
1977 Works Volume II
1978 Love Beach
1979 In Concert '73

1992 Black Moon
1993 Live at the Royal Albert Hall
1993 Works Live (In Concert '73 re-released)
1994 In the Hot Seat
1997 Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
1997 Live in Poland
1997 King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Greatest Hits Live
1998 Then & Now

2001 The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume One
2001 The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume Two
2002 The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume Three
2006 The Original Bootleg Series from the Manticore Vaults: Volume Four
2010 A Time and A Place
2010 High Voltage
2011 Live at Nassau Coliseum '78
2011 Live at the Mar Y Sol Festival '72

Originally written in April 2012

Paris by Paris (Capitol 1976)

Bob Welch trio cut a Zep-style gem

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C1a3rQZE-d...sue%2B2012.gif

Paris Tracklist

1. Black Book
2. Religion
3. Starcage
4. Beautiful Youth
5. Nazarene
6. Narrow Gate (La Porte Etroite)
7. Solitaire
8. Breathless
9. Rock of Ages
10. Red Rain

All songs written by Bob Welch


Paris Lineup

Bob Welch: Vocals, guitar
Glenn Cornick: Bass guitar, keyboards
Thom Mooney: Drums

Produced and engineered by Jimmy Robinson


Bob Welch's tragic suicide in June, this year, probably prompted Rock Candy to reissue Paris's first self-titled album, which was originally released in January 1976. Poorly received at the time, it subsequently became a cult and was reissued four times before his death. Paris were a hard-rock power-trio formed after Welch left Fleetwood Mac, consisting of himself on guitar and vocals with ex-Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick and former Nazz drummer Thom Mooney. They released two albums, this one, produced by Jimmy Robinson, and Big Towne 2061, produced by Bob Hughes, with Hunt Sales replacing Mooney on drums.

Black Book is a blatant copy of Led Zeppelin's Black Dog by opening the album, the use of the adjective 'black', the riff and the Robert Plant impersonation. Having got Black Book (or is it Black Dog?) out of their system, Religion is a more subtle interpretation of early British blues rock, in that it starts by sounding like Led Zeppelin covering Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac's Man of the World, but it develops into a phased workout more reminiscent of spacerock bands like Gong or Hawkwind. Starcage continues the theme of combining Feetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin, with a Peter Green vocal added to a Trampled Under Foot synthesizer riff. An impression of spacerock pervades, giving the impression that this album is more than just a Zeppelin copy.

By Beautiful Cage, Welch has moved further away from Zepplin, closer to fellow Californians Montrose - who were like Page and co, but somehow different. The same is true of Nazarene, on which Welch sounds like a combination of Sammy Hagar and Peter Green. Yet, there is still an indefineable something which sets this song, and others, apart from their sources. In equal parts, this is due to the strength of the songs, Welch's relaxed delivery, his fluid guitar playing and the rhythm section. All credit should go to Glen Cornick and Thom Mooney, who work really well together. Narrow Gate has an excellent lyric, solid riff and dreamy, synthesizer-led, cosmic passage, which evolves into a snappy The Song Remains the Same riff. The West Coast sound that Welch introduced to Fleetwood Mac, and which they later exploited to commercial effect, is present in Solitaire with added phasing.

Breathless is a funky respite, showing the band's ability to add more than light and shade. Welch's interpretation of Whole Lotta Love finally comes in the form of Rock of Ages. Red Rain represents more of The Song Remains the Same with one of the most unusual vocal arrangements since Manfred Eann's Earth Band's version of Blinded by the Light on The Roaring Silence (released in August 1976, seven months later than Paris).

Despite strong material, Paris's second album sold less well than the first. Hunt Sales' brother Tony subsequently replaced Glenn Cornick on bass, before the lineup dissolved. Welch intended the following album to be Paris 3, but, instead, it was released as his first solo work, French Kiss (1977), and brought him his greatest commercial success. He regarded the Paris project as a misjudgement, probably because it was financially disastrous, but with the benefit of hindsight, it produced one of the great lost albums. It would be an irony if, with the support of the press, the Rock Candy reissue turned out to be an, albeit modest, commercial success.

Written October 2012

Just read your ELP biography in two parts which was an interesting read. Well writ :)

Thank you tore. My biographies do not get many reactions as a rule.

Well here's another.
I personally don't like ELP: like you mentioned, I find the words "overblown", "pretentious" and "bombastic" to very much suit them, and I'd also add "self-indulgent". But here's the thing: your biography was excellently written, well researched and very interesting. Although ELP are not a band I would normally give the time to, it was intriguing to read about them, and I can see you certainly know your stuff.

Great writing as ever, and I must say this is absolutely turning out to be a real gem among the journals here. Glad you started, and you've without question put a lot of work into it. I'll be directing as many people as I can to it via the update thread on Sunday.

Power Supply: A Biography of Budgie




Why do I love Budgie so much? Because they are an uncompromising, all-out heavy rock band. At the height of their popularity, in the early seventies, they matched and rivalled groups like Black Sabbath, Stray and the Groundhogs. Here is my biography of this group.

Budgie were originally formed in the late sixties in Cardiff, under the name Six-Ton Budgie, by Burke Shelley (lead vocals/ bass), Tony Bourge (guitar/ backing vocals) and Ray Phillips (drums). After playing a number of gigs in the local area, they shortened the name to Budgie as a contradiction of their heavy-rock style. Their first self-titled album, produced by Rodger Bain and released in 1971 on MCA, introduced the hallmark crunching riffs and weird song titles such as 'Rape of the Locks' and 'Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman'.

As on all of the first five albums, the band are unorthodox; neither overtly blues-inspired like Cream or the Groundhogs, nor underpined by keyboards in the way of Uriah Heep or Deep Purple. Perhaps their closest contemporaries were Paranoid-era Black Sabbath, in the use of sheer heavy guitar riffs (although Shelley has said, as a Christian, he could not relate to the satanic imagery of Sabbath). Burke Shelley's high-pitched vocal is highly unusual and has inspired many copyists, such as David Surkamp of Pavlov's Dog and Geddy Lee of Rush, while Phillips has an economical approach to the drums. Tony Bourge is not an entirely original guitarist (his solo on the cover of 'Baby, Please Don't Go' can be heard on Juicy Lucy's 'Who Do You Love?'), but he is very unconventional - his guitar is made to flow, scratch and scream by turn. Burke Shelley has described Budgie's way of working as the bass and guitar playing off each other with the drums filling the gaps. Surprising, he cites Led Zeppelin as an influence, as they (Led Zeppelin) were heavy, not by having a 'thick' sound, but by having a 'thin' sound and then belting it out. The first Budgie album, largely ignored at the time, is now seen as a classic of the genre and set the benchmark high.

Squawk, the second album from 1972, continued the trend of heavy rock and weird titles, as in 'Hot as a Docker's Armpit', and sales in the UK reached gold status. But, it is with Never Turn Your Back On a Friend that Budgie reached their highest point. Released in 1973, it has everything: the rolling riffs of 'In the Grip of a Tyrefitter's Hand'; the thoughful, psychedelia-tinged melody of 'You Know I'll Always Love You'; the light and shade of 'You're the Biggest Thing Since Powdered Milk'; the cover of 'Baby Please Don't Go'; the epic 'Parents'; and their signature song, 'Breadfan'. A later critic described 'Breadfan' as insipid, but it flows effortlessly, while paradoxically twisting and turning. It perfectly sums-up their technique in one track. Indeed, Never Turn Your Back On a Friend is close to being the perfect heavy rock album. Ray Philips left the band soon after, to later resurrect the Six-Ton Budgie name, and was replaced by Pete Boot for album number four, In for the Kill.

In For the Kill (1974) contains some of Budgie's best tracks like 'In for the Kill', 'Crash Course in Brain Surgery' and 'Wondering What Everyone Knows', but padding was beginning to appear, such as the intro to Hammer and Tongs (on which you can clearly hear the Led Zeppelin influences) or the instrumental passage in Running From My Soul. Steve Williams, an excellent drummer, replaced Pete Boot for the more consistent Bandolier (1975), which has 'Breaking All the House Rules' and 'I Can't See My Feelings', along with their greatest hit, Andy Fairweather-Low's 'I Ain't No Mountain'.

If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules (1976) was the first Budgie album to contain weak tracks and, worst of all, elements of cliche. Opener 'Anne Neggen', as the name implies, is repetetive and weary. So too is 'If I Were Britannia, I'd Waive the Rules', and these are the strongest tracks, meaning it is all downhill to the final Song. 'Black Velvet Stallion', a beautiful epic in the style of 'Parents', is the only track on the album to rank with the best of Budgie. Having switched labels from MCA to A&M, it was noticeable that the band appeared to be softening their sound in an attempt at commercial success in America, which had so far elluded them. Impeckable (1978), with 'Melt the Ice Away', is an improvement on its predecessor, but the West Coast-feel shows a further attempt at acceptance in America. Ironically, music from Impeckable, along with The Tubes, Head East and Billy Preston, was used in the cult comedy film J-Men Forever (US 1979), but by then it was too late.

Originally written in January 2012, updated October 2012

Golden Earring- I think this is the first time I've ever seen this band mentioned on MB, I know some of their stuff but I've long forgotten it. Which albums do you suggest? I know their discography is big.

Joe Walsh- I'm one of those that still believes that Joe Walsh was wasted going to the Eagles. An artist capable of putting out material to the quality of Barnstorm and The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get shouldn't really be playing 3rd fiddle in another band.

Emerson. Lake and Palmer- Never one of my favourite prog bands, but I think the debut, Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery all stellar albums. Your review of the band is probably one of the best I've ever read here or anywhere! This easily could've been from an official publication.

We Came, We Saw: A Biography of Budgie Part 2




1978, the year that saw the release of Impeckable, was a difficult one for Budgie. Myf Isaac joined them as a second guitarist for live work, but by the middle of that year both he and Tony Bourge had left the group to be replaced by Rob Kendrick from Trapeze. Later in the year, Budgie were dropped by A&M and Kendrick was replaced by 'Big' John Thomas, a fine player from the George Hatcher Band. The line-up of Shelley, Thomas and Williams recorded two albums for Kingsley Ward's Active Records, a sublabel of RCA: Power Supply (1980) and Nightflight (1981). A 12" EP, If Swallowed Do Not Induce Vomiting was also released on Active Records in 1980. All tracks on the EP are reasonable, but lack the originality of the early Bourge-era Budgie. The 1993 CD reissue of Power Supply featured the If Swallowed Do Not Induce Vomiting E.P. as bonus tracks. 1982 saw Budgie return to RCA for Deliver us From Evil (1982), their final recording for a major label.

In 1982, Tony Bourge rejoined original Budgie drummer Ray Phillips and bassist Alan Fish to form Tredegar with future members of Cloven Hoof, singer Russ North and guitarist Andy Wood. The band recorded a self-titled album in 1986 with Carl Sentance from Persian Risk on guest vocals. According to an article in Classic Rock maazine, Tony Bourge left Tredegar to become a French polisher, while Phillips continued the band as singer until the early nineties, when he resurrected Six-Ton Budgie.

Budgie, meanwhile, continued to have some success during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, playing the Reading Festival in 1980 and headlining in 1982. Also in 1982, they played in Poland, where they had built a following, and became the first heavy rock band to perform behind the Iron Curtain. They toured in support of Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz, but stopped gigging in 1988. John Thomas went on to play with Tom Galley's Phenomena project in 1985.

Strangely, although Budgie had very little commercial success in America, they enjoyed a strong cult following in Texas, due to Joe Anthony and Lou Roney playing a Budgie track every day on KMAC/KISS radio in San Antonio in the 1970s. The band reformed using various drummers for one-off gigs in 1995 and for outdoor festivals 'La Semana Alegre' in 1996, both in San Antonio, Texas. In 1999, Budgie was officially reformed. Life in San Antonio, a live album, was recorded and released in 2002, with a lineup of Burke Shelley, Steve Williams and Andy Hart on guitar. Budgie toured the United Kingdom in 2002-6, as well as the New York City/ New Jersey area, Dallas and a few shows in Europe, including the Sweden Rock Festival and a return to post-Communist Poland.

In February 2003, Simon Lees was asked to join Shelley and Williams in Budgie. In September of that year, Lees recorded seven songs with the band which would later appear as bonus tracks on four of Budgie’s remastered albums: Budgie, Sqwawk, Never Turn Your Back on a Friend and In For the Kill released on the Noteworthy Productions label. During 2005 and 2006, Lees co-wrote and recorded an album of new material You're All Living in Cuckooland with Burke Shelley at the latter's studio in Cardiff. The album was produced by Burke Shelley and released in the UK on 7th November 2006 on Noteworthy Productions, accompanied with a thirty five date tour of the United Kingdom. Also in 2006, Lees played classical guitar on Black Velvet Stallion (2006 Version) for the remastered If I Were Britannia, I'd Break the Rules for Noteworthy Productions. Lees was not credited on the album. The following year Budgie played dates in Sweden and Poland. Having played 115 gigs consisting of four UK tours and nineteen shows spread across five countries outside the UK, Simon Lees left Budgie on 4th July 2007, three months before the band were due to play a three date tour of Australia. Following the departure of Simon Lees, Dio lead guitarist and songwriter, Craig Goldy, offered his services while Ronnie James was completing commitments with Heaven & Hell on their World Tour. In February 2008, Goldy accompanied Budgie on their first (five date) tour of Australia and has continued playing with Budgie as 'guest guitarist' for all of their shows.

Budgie's November 2010 tour of Eastern Europe had to be cancelled as Burke Shelley was hospitalised on Tuesday 9th November in Wejherowo, Poland, complaining of pains in his abdomen. A team of surgeons was quickly assembled and a 6cm aortic aneurism was diagnosed. Tests revealed that Shelley's aorta was leaking blood into the outer wall of the aneurism which could have burst at any time. He underwent a two-hour, 40-minute operation in the evening and was kept in the intensive care ward. After surgery, he returned to Britain for recovery, but no decision has been made on the future of Budgie.

Burke Shelley posted the following under Latest News from The Budgie Camp on the band's official website: "I'd like to say sorry to all the Polish and Czech fans for the recent cancellation of the tour dates. This is because I became ill just before the tour began and had to have emergency surgery in Poland. I'm now recovering at home and I don't yet know what the future holds. Thanks to all those who supported me particulary the Polish surgeons. Thanks also to all those who sent messgaes and thanks to God the Father and Jesus Christ my saviour and the Holy Spirit." - Burke

Written in November 2011, updated 2012

With thanks to The Budgie Official Website, Wikipedia, Classic Rock Magazine and The New Musical Express Book of Rock 1 (1975) and 2 (1977) published by Star Books

Budgie Discography



Albums

1971 Budgie
1972 Squawk
1973 Never Turn Your Back on a Friend
1974 In For The Kill
1975 Bandolier
1975 Best of Budgie (1)
1976 If I Were Brittania I'd Waive the Rules
1978 Impeckable
1980 Power Supply
1980 If Swallowed Do Not Induce Vomiting EP
1981 Nightflight
1981 Best of Budgie (2)
1982 Deliver Us From Evil
1996 An Ecstasy of Fumbling - The Definitive Anthology
1997 Best of Budgie(3)
1998 Heavier Than Air - Rarest Eggs (live compilation of 1972-1981 material)
1998 We Came, We Saw... (live compilation of 1980-1982 material)
2002 Life in San Antonio (live)
2004 The Last Stage (a compilation of previously unreleased material)
2005 Radio Sessions 1974 & 1978 (double album)
2006 The BBC Recordings (live compilation of 1972-1982 material)
2006 You're All Living in Cuckooland


UK Singles

Crash Course In Brain Surgery/ Nude Disintegrating Parachutist Woman (1971, MCA MK 5072)
Whiskey River/ Guts (1972, MCA MK 5085)
Whiskey River/ Stranded (1972, MCA 2185) - US-exclusive release
Zoom Club (Edit)/ Wondering What Everyone Knows (1974, MCA 133)
I Ain't No Mountain/ Honey (1975, MCA 175)
Smile Boy Smile/ All at Sea (1978, A&M AMS 7342)
Crime Against the World/ Hellbender (1980, Active BUDGE 2)
Keeping a Rendezvous/ Apparatus (1981, RCA BUDGE 3)
I Turned To Stone (Part 1)/ I Turned To Stone (Part 2) (1981, RCA BUDGE 4)
Bored With Russia/ Don't Cry (1982, RCA 271)


TREDEGAR

1986 Tredegar - the debut album by Tredegar, featuring Tony Bourge and Ray Phillips
1994 Remix and Rebirth - Tredegar compilation album



A SELECTION OF YOUTUBE VIDEOS FEATURING BUDGIE

This is a famous clip from the Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast by BBC2 TV in June 1975:

Who Do you Want For your Love?


Budgie who do you want for your love - YouTube

I am not sure of the origins of either of these two clips. Breadfan became their signature tune and the cover of Andy Fairweather-Low's I Ain't No Mountain was their 'greatest' hit:

Breadfan


BUDGIE - BREADFAN - YouTube

I Ain't no Mountain


Budgie - I Ain't No Mountain - YouTube


BUDGIE LINKS

Budgie Official Website

Budgie The Original Welsh Rockers Web Site

Bandolier, the fan site approved by the band

bandolier : Budgie - This is Cuckooland!

Budgie in Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budgie_(band)
Burke Shelley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tony Bourge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_W..._(rock_drummer)
Simon Lees - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rob Kendrick - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
__________________

Yeah, I know how it goes. Responses have generally been sparse in this section of the forums, at least historically, but these days I get the impression people are more interested in journals than they were going back a year or perhaps three.

Thank you for the support, TH. Did I leave out 'self' or 'over-indulgent'? What's the matter with me? I see those adjective as terms of endearment. This is what The NME Book of Rock said of Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile from Electric Ladyland (1968), 'Criticised on release for apparent untogetherness and self-indulgence, Voodoo Chile was later accepted as one of his greatest achievements.' If Jimi Hendrix was regarded as self-indulgent, it's good enough for me and ELP!


US, your comments on my writing about ELP nearly brought a tear to my eye (I'm serious). Re Golden Earring, I recommend Moontan, of which there are two versions, and Live (1977) as essential. Make sure you hear the US version of Moontan as it has Big Tree, Blue Sea, from an earlier album, and leaves off the mediocre Suzy Lunacy. This configuration of Moontan, NOT the original, was a masterstroke from someone at the record company. Just Like Vince Taylor is pretty good, but the live version is much better anyway. The Contraband and Bloody Buccaneers albums are both strong. Earring's only weak album, in my view, is the new one, Tits 'n' Ass.


Tracklist for the US Version of Moontan - Recommended

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Moontan_US.jpg

1. Radar Love (6:24)
2. Candy's Going Bad (6:12)
3. Vanilla Queen (9:20)
4. Big Tree, Blue Sea (8:13)
5. Are You Receiving Me (9:32)

Confusingly, this is also the track listing for the original UK vinyl and cassette release, as well as early US LP pressings. The US version of the album was originally issued with the UK 'exotic dancer' cover, but it was quickly withdrawn and replaced with the literal 'earring' design. This later cover survived the CD release, so remember, bad cover = great album.


Moontan Original Tracklist (European/ UK version) - Not recommended until you've heard the above version

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._-_Moontan.jpg

1. Candy's Going Bad (6:12)
2. Are You Receiving Me (9:31)
3. Suzy Lunacy (Mental Rock) (4:24)
4. Radar Love (6:23)
5. Just Like Vince Taylor (4:33)
6. Vanilla Queen (9:16)


Contraband, known as Mad Love in the US:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Contraband.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...7_coverart.jpg


Live:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ing_-_Live.jpg


Bloody Buccaneers:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Buccaneers.jpg

I didn't mean specifically on this forum, as I am new here. I have written reviews and biographies on other forums and I am collating those that have not been lost in this section. Other forums tend not to have reviews in the journals, but I think it is a good idea on this site. I am not a prolific writer, in any case, so there is not a huge number of them. However, wherever I posted, my reviews did not get many reactions and my biographies got even less.

There is nothing lost by posting my reviews and biographies at Music Banter. I am relatively new to writing reviews and I want to perfect my technique. One of my problems is that I cannot just churn them out. Sometimes, I have to keep writing and re-writing them, while others do not see the light of day.

A forum equivalent of a creative writing group, called something like The Creative Review Writing Thread would be a good idea (in my opinion). Members could share critiques, pitfalls and tidbits from established writers. They could also exchange tips, solicit feedback on writing skills and, dare I say, even give mini-tutorials. These are just idle musings, as I am aware of the problems of setting up and running such threads.

I wouldn't presume to tell people how they should/could write --- I have my own style and it may not suit everyone --- but I did put together an introduction to writing a journal here http://www.musicbanter.com/album-rev...c-journal.html with the basics. Don't know if you've seen it.

I think too few people would be interested, or at least continue to have an interest, in a thread about writing journals. Few enough people run them, even fewer maintain them; it just wouldn't be practical. That's what I think, anyway.

Nantucket Sleighride by Mountain (Windfall 1971)

A Mountain-ous achievement


http://images.uulyrics.com/cover/m/m...sleighride.jpg


Nantucket Sleighride Tracklist

1. Don't Look Around (Leslie West/ Sue Palmer/ Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 3:42
2. Taunta (Sammy's Tune) (Felix Pappalardi) 1:00
3. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 5:49
4. You Can't Get Away (Leslie West/Gail Collins/ Corky Laing) 3:23
5. Tired Angels (To J.M.H.) (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 4:39
6. The Animal Trainer And The Toad (Leslie West/ Sue Palmer) 3:24
7. My Lady (Laing/Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 4:31
8. Travellin' In The Dark (To E.M.P.) (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 4:21
9. The Great Train Robbery (Leslie West/Laing/ Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 5:43

Bonus Track
10. Travellin' In The Dark (To E.M.P.) [Live] (Felix Pappalardi/ Gail Collins) 5:14


Nantucket Sleighride Lineup

Leslie West: Guitar, vocals
Felix Pappalardi: Bass, rhythm guitar, piano, vocals
Corky Laing: Drums, percussion
Steve Knight: Organ, handbells


It became a cliche, by the mid-seventies, for the music press to describe Mountain as 'more Cream than Cream', while others said they were too heavy-handed. Although there were connections between the two bands (bassist Felix Pappalardi was Cream's producer and Jack Bruce/Pete Brown wrote for Mountain), their music is only similar in that they were both pioneers of heavy blues rock. Bruce and Eric Clapton tended to be crooners, while Leslie West, although not averse to crooning, had a raw and sometimes strained voice - hence, perhaps, the criticism of heavy-handedness. Most significantly, Leslie West's guitar playing was counterpointed by Steve Knight's keyboards, so they were not a three-piece, guitar-led supergroup. Nevertheless, Corky Laing may not have been the best drummer in the world, but he certainly remains one of the most distinctive, and Felix Pappalardi, predominantly a producer, was no slouch on bass either.

Nantucket Sleighride, the album, opens with one of Mountain's best and most dynamic tracks, Don't Look Around, still a staple of their live set when they reformed in the mid-eighties (along with the title track). I always think of the second track Taunta (Sammy's Tune) as a gentle intro to Mountain's masterpiece, Nantucket Sleighride (to Owen Coffin), which begins with West's melodic vocals and segues into his and Knight's weaving in-and-out of each other's instruments in a workout to rival Stairway to Heaven, Smoke on the Water, Echoes and Freebird. Nantucket Sleighride did not receive the accolades of the aforementioned, but it is equal to them all. The song and album title is about a true story of being towed in a small boat by a harpooned whale. Owen Coffin was a young seaman on the Nantucket whaleship Essex, which was rammed and sunk by a sperm whale in 1820. The lyrics were written by Felix Pappalardi with his wife, Gail Collins, who shot and murdered him in 1983. Those of us of a certain age can remember Nantucket Sleighride as the theme to the current affairs show, Weekend World, shown on ITV in the nineteen-seventies. According to journalist Keith Ling*, Leslie West told him that he did not like the song at first, "But Zakk Starkey told me that he and his father [Ringo Starr] used to wait by the TV each Sunday afternoon, so I ended up warming to the darned thing." Corky Lang's drumming thrillingly propels the song in a manner worthy of Keith Moon, but Pappalardi's best bass playing is heard later on the album.

You Can't Get Away! has a very catchy riff, but West tends to strain his voice. Tired Angels (to JMH) reminds me of Nantucket Sleighride, but with a more spiky guitar riff. The Animal Trainer and the Toad is a slowish blues with bizarre lyrics by Leslie West/Sue Palmer, but is the catchiest track on the album. It often appears, albeit incongruously, on Mountain compilation albums. My Lady flows, inconsequentially, into the lengthy Travellin' in the Dark, an anthemic piece with adept playing from Pappalardi and West. A live version of Travellin' in the Dark, not available on the original vinyl LP, is added as a bonus track to the CD and, although West's voice is shakier, the feel is more punchy and less-anthemic. Leslie West always demonstrates what a great musician he is on live material and this no exception. The penultimate track is The Great Train Robbery, about how, "The wages of sin are too hot to handle." Words which must be ringing in Gail Collins's ears!

Nantucket Sleighride is a truly great album because, like Cream, Mountain were among the first and best bands to create the template for the heavy rock bands to come. It is also a marvellous abum for the enduring quality of outstanding pieces like Don't Look Around and Nantucket Sleighride (to Owen Coffin). Mountain were no strangers to the epic, as Theme from an Imaginery Western had already been released on the first official album, Climbing! (1970) and stunning live versions of Nantuck Sleighride (to Owen Coffin) were yet to be issued.

* Keith Ling's article on Mountain can be found on his website: DAVE LING - MUSIC JOURNALIST

Originally writtten in July 2012, re-written October 2012

This is unbelievable, I was actually in the process of deciding whether I should include this album in my top 10 list for 1971 in my journal. I have the first eight places sorted out and was toying with the idea of including Budgie, Humble Pie or Mountain for the other two spots. I was actually thinking about this when I saw your above review, spooky eh!:yikes:

So I'll be listening today and tomorrow on these three albums to decide.

I fear you are right, TH. It was just a thought. Charles Dickens said words to the effect that we can live in hope, even if we die in despair (Dombey and Son).

Fragile by Yes (Atlantic 1971)

In and Around the Lake, Mountains Come Out of the Sky and They Stand There


http://wharferj.files.wordpress.com/...front-back.jpg


According to drummer Bill Bruford, Yes were formed as a jazz band, while soprano Jon Anderson held the view that they should be the next Fifth Dimension. Initially, they were completed by former choirboy Chris Squire on bass, guitarist Peter Banks and classically trained keyboard player Tony Kaye. Whatever the band members' individual intentions, they combined to create a sound which uniquely was progressive from the outset, blending The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and others with their own developing instrumental dexterity. After two promising, experimental albums (Yes in 1969 and Time and a Word in 1970), Banks, although a fine guitar player, departed to be replaced by Steve Howe from Tomorrow. Immodestly declaring that he was joining musicians of equal strength, Howe nevertheless complemented Anderson perfectly and the band found their style on The Yes Album (Atlantic 1971). Engineer and long term collaborator, Eddie Offord, switched to production at the time of The Yes Album. He produced their best known albums and remained until Relayer (1974), but assisted with Drama (1980) and Union (1991). Offord, also engineered albums by ELP at this time and went on to produce David Sancous & Tone, Pallas, Utopia and others. For Fragile (Atlantic 1971), Kaye was replaced by Rick Wakeman from The Strawbs and almost everything was in place for the album . . .

I should point out that my first introduction to Yes was on Sounding Out, a BBC TV music documentary series shown on weekday mornings during the school summer holidays. By then Rick Wakeman was keyboard player and already sharing amusing anecdotes. I recall another episode featured Stephen Stills. Soon after, I heard Roundabout on weekend radio, blissfully unaware that it was a radio edit, until I bought Fragile in a WH Smith's sale a few years later. It came in a gatefold cover with Roger Dean artwork, lyrics and a booklet containing photographs of the band members. Most notable is Steve Howe with his considerable collection of guitars arranged in a circle.

Fragile, in its original vinyl form, was not made up entirely of Yes band tracks. Instead, it consisted of four band tracks, two on each side, among which are four short solo pieces, one by each member of the group. So, between Roundabout and South Side of the Sky, on side one, are Wakeman's Cans and Brahms and Anderson's We Have Heaven. Bruford's Five Per Cent for Nothing is out on a limb, opening side two, followed by the band's Long Distance Runaround. Between this and Heart of the Sunrise are Squire's The Fish and Steve Howe's Mood for a Day. Incredibly, Fragile was recorded and released in one month (November 1971). Thus:


Fragile Tracklist

Side One

1. Roundabout (8:30)

2. Cans and Brahms (Extracts from Johannes Brahms' 4th Symphony in E Minor, Third Movement) by Rick Wakeman (1:38)
3. We Have Heaven by Jon Anderson (1:40)

4. South Side of the Sky (8:02)

Side Two

1. Five Per Cent for Nothing by Bill Bruford (0:35)

2. Long Distance Runaround (3:30)

3. The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus) by Chris Squire (2:39)
4. Mood for a Day by Steve Howe (3:00)

5. Heart of the Sunrise (11:27)

2003 Remaster Bonus Tracks

10. America W. by Paul Simon (10:33)
11. Roundabout (Early Rough Mix) (8:35)


Roundabout begins with a single, rising note, which becomes a folk-inspired classical guitar into, but soon develops into Squire's propulsive, melodic bass sound. Rick Wakeman's keyboards are fully formed and it is as though he has been a member of the group from the outset. The song has various vocal parts, the backing voices shared between Jon Anderson and Chris Squire, while Roundabout's lyrics are concerned with an occasion when the band were travelling in a van, from Scotland to the north of England, through a cold mountain and lake landscape. Anderson's dry but sweet vocal delivery, the surreal lyrics and the sublime melody merge to produce a glorious piece of music of which The Beatles would have been proud. Unlike the 7" single edit, there is a bass-led instrumental passage at around 3:20 minutes and the second half of the track has such a commanding keyboard solo from Wakeman, it is unsurprising that almost overnight he became the most famous musician in the band.

Rick Wakeman's solo, Cans and Brahms, on which he plays all the parts on keyboards, sounds pleasant, but should have been part of a longer track or discarded. The same applies to Jon Anderson's We Have Heaven, on which he sings all the harmonies and plays instruments. The solo tracks cry out for the band and show a lack of cohesiveness in Yes.

Southside of the Sky does not sound unlike Roundabout in conjuring up another journey through a cold, mountainous landscape. However, it is quicker and more urgent, with Jon Anderson showing he can rock and Steve Howe playing frantically as though he cannot hear the rest of the band. In this respect, it predates his playing on Going for the One, but unlike Yes's late seventies work, this piece hangs together brilliantly. There is a Wakeman acoustic piano section at just over two minutes, balancing the energetic intro, followed by a multi-part harmony segment from Anderson, Squire and Howe. Before closing the song and side one of the vinyl, we are back to a fast passage, which fades with soloing from Howe.

Side two of the vinyl opens/opened with Five Per Cent for Nothing, where the band follow Bill Bruford's drumming, and the least successful of the solo pieces - such that it should have been left off the album. Long Distance Runaround has a jazzy feel but this is not jazz rock; it is full blown progressive rock music but with sprightly, complex and intricate playing. When Rick Wakeman invited Jon Anderson to sing on his solo album 1984, he said in a BBC radio interview, "Jon always gives a performance even when he is singing in the studio." A performance is in evidence here along with interesting lyrics, despite the criticism Anderson later took for his efforts.

Chris Squire's piece The Fish, the most successful of the solo works, flows naturally from the jazz-feel of Long Distance Runaround, thanks to Bill Bruford's inventive drumming, which combines well with the bass and demonstrates the excellent clarity of the remastered version of Fragile. Squire plays everything, apart from drums, on the bass guitar, which is multi-tracked. One cannot help thinking that Squire would make a more than competant lead guitarist if he chose to switch responsibilites. Steve Howe's Mood for a Day is more folk-inspired classical guitar, which, along with his work on the title track, may have led to Wakeman's observation that the Americans thought Yes were an obscure English folk group.

Last track on the album, Heart of the Sunrise opens with a group intro, but evolves into a typically distinctive Squire bassline which is joined by Wakeman's haunting mellotron. Squire's passage is fast, multi-tracked and fairly lengthy. Jon Anderson sings quietly, except for the later SHARP - DISTANCE passages - accentuated with upper-case letters in the album cover lyrics. His singing is really beautiful, showing why he one of the best progressive rock singers. Not to be outdone by Squire, Wakeman joins with some speedy synthesizer, again with a jazz feel. Heart of the Sunrise, although followed by a We Have Heaven reprise, is a fitting conclusion to the flawed masterpiece that is Fragile.

The remastered version of Fragile has two unusually high quality bonuses in Simon and Garfunkel's America and an early rough mix of Roundabout. America was recorded for an Atlantic sampler and released on Yesterdays, a compilation of early single a and b-sides with a distinctive Roger Dean cover. Coming from the Fragile-era, America was slightly out of place on the compilation. Here, it fits almost perfectly; the only discrepancy being that it is a cover version - a rarity for the classic-era Yes. However, the energy and dexterity of the playing, make it as strong as anything on the album and a far more satisfying piece than the short solos. Imagine if Jimi Hendrix played country or Mark Knopfler picked with dynamism and you would have Steve Howe's guitar workout from the halfway mark. Although a Simon and Garfunkel fan, when I think of America, it is this version which springs to mind. The early rough mix of Roundabout is not hugely different from the version which made it on to the original album, although Bill Bruford and Jon Anderson try out different ideas on percussion and vocal parts respectively. Chris Squire plays bass as though his life depends upon it, making this a surprisingly enjoyable bonus.

Although Fragile contains Yes's best song in Roundabout, more consistency was to come with their brilliant Close to the Edge album in the following year. Had the band put their collective talent into one more band track, instead of the five individual solo pieces, it would have competed with Close to the Edge as their best work. Ironically, a similar thing was said when the band split, following Relayer (Atlantic 1974), to concentrate on solo albums, before reconvening for Going for the One (Atlantic 1977) and the unsatisfactory Yes Tormato (Atlantic 1978).


Fragile Lineup

Jon Anderson: Lead vocals
Bill Bruford: Drums, percussion
Steve Howe: Electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Chris Squire: Bass guitars, backing vocals
Rick Wakeman: Hammond organ, piano, RMI 368 electra-piano and harpsichord, mellotron, Moog synthesizer


Written August 2012

Great review on Fragile there. For years I could never make up my mind what I really thought about the album, despite its huge reputation. For years I felt it was disjointed despite having some classic Yes material and then I read somewhere, that the band had rushed the album in order to finance the newly recruited Rick Wakeman's electrical equipment (which was extensive) and that kind of answered my question. Recently though, I've listened to it again and my opinion has completely changed and I now regard it as a classic Yes release.

I had not heard about Yes rushing Fragile because of lack of finances, but it would explain a few things. After clearing his garage, Rick Wakeman decided to use these analogue instruments to make the Retro albums, but I found them (the albums) disappointing. He made me laugh in an interview, when he said, after switching the instruments on, smoke started to come out of the cabinets.

Clockwork Angels by Rush (2012)

Rush turn back the clock, but only so far



I first became aware of Rush when Finding My Way (the opening track of their first S/T album) was played on The Old Grey Whistle Test's new year's eve compilation show in the mid seventies. In those days, Rush were very Led Zeppelinesque, self-produced and comprised Geddy Lee on lead vocals/bass, guitarist Alex Lifeson and the late John Rutsy on drums. Fly by Night followed in 1975, with production by Terry Brown and Neil Peart replacing Rutsy on drums as well as writing the lyrics. By-Tor and the Snow Dog was a lengthy epic which, along with Bastille Day on the third album Caress of Steel (1976), pointed the way to the band's magnum opus, 2112 (also 1976) with its complex 20-minute title track (and much less of the Led Zeppelin influence). 2112, while still ranking as Rush's finest achievement, was the first part of a solid trilogy of albums, recorded over three successive years, also consisting of A Farewell to Kings in 1977 and Hemispheres in 1978. It was the middle album of the three which formed my next experience of Rush, as a show from the AFTK tour, at Hammersmith Odeon on 20th February 1978, was broadcast by Tommy Vance on his BBC Radio One Friday Rock Show (it became available in 1998 as the third part of the Different Stages 3x CD collection). Since then, Rush have released the highly rated, but repetitive, Moving Pictures, in 1981, and a string of albums throughout the ninteen-eighties, with shorter, more keyboard-orientated songs. Meanwhile, producers like Peter Collins and Rupert Hine have come and gone.

By the nineteen-nineties, Rush fans had divided into two camps: those who wanted a return to Terry Brown, the long tracks and Alex Lifeson to the fore, and those who felt the band had progressed. A hiatus was broken by a comeback album with a surprising choice of producer, Nick Raskulinecz, who had formerly worked with The Foo Fighters. Disappointingly, Snakes and Arrows (2007) was a dreary and uninteresting collection, but when a follow-up was mooted, Alex Lifeson indicated that the band would like to retain the services of Raskulinecz. In 2010, Caravan and BU2B were released as a download single, albeit well in advance, while stories of a concept album circulated. Clockwork Angels appeared in 2012 with a Hugh Syme album cover showing a clock face with the hands pointing at the hours and minutes in alchemical symbols. If you read the time in the twenty-four hour clock it says 21:12! We are told the concept is the story of a young man's travels through a world in the steampunk genre - a style of fantasy/ sci-fi, developed in the nineteen-ninties, in which steam power is used as part of the setting. Dave Everley in Classic Rock magazine (July 2012) has suggested that Voltaire's Candide (France 1759), an episodic quest for El Dorado, is also an influence.

Caravan, the first single, opens the album, while introducing the concept 'journey', and it has all the Rush elements: Geddy Lee's heavy Rickenbacker bass, Neil Peart's dynamic drumming and Alex Lifeson's restrained guitar. Commerciality comes from Peart's hook, "I can't stop thinking big, I can't stop thinking big", but it is riff-based and there is a slick instrumental taster towards the end (reminiscent of Drama-era Yes). BU2B [brought up to believe] continues the heavy bass riffing and introduces some space-rock keyboards. Peart's lyrics clearly describe an imaginary world of steam-liners and caravans, while Russian right-wing author Ayn Rand's curious work may have an enduring influence with, "Believe in what we're told/ Until our final breath."

By the title track, the first phase of the album is beginning to sound like a Geddy Lee solo work, with his voice, bass and keyboards dominating, this time adding what sounds like a harmonica microphone and phasing. Lifeson's guitar promises much, without cutting loose, and Peart's lyrics draw the landscape while remaining characteristically obtuse. At seven-and-a-half minutes, Clockwork Angels is the longest track on the album and it twists & turns as befits the imagery, "Clockwork angels, spread their arms and sing/ Synchronized and graceful, they move like living things." In contrast, The Anarchist is tight, with strings and more vocal effects, as Lee repeats, "A missing part of me that goes around me like a cage." A strong piece is Carnies, with sound effects, an Eastern feel and a toe-tapping riff. Light and shade is provided by Halo Effect, which has a slow, string-driven Led Zeppelin-feel.

Phase two of the album opens appropriately with the catchy Seven Cities of Gold, carried along with another great riff (again from Yes's Drama-era). Neil Peart's words conjure excellent imagery, "Seven Cities of Gold/ Glowing in my dreams, like hallucinations." His drumming is tasteful and avoids the ubiquitous double kick drum technique. What is more, Alex Lifeson almost solos. The Wreckers (single number three) has a chiming Searchers intro/ motif and is gently melodic. Lifeson plays off the orchestra, but fades! He really is the most frustrating guitarist. Nevertheless, Peart's lyrics are superbly atmospheric as in, "The breakers roar/ On an unseen shore/ In the teeth of a hurricane/ Oh, we struggle in vain." Without hesitation or delay is the dictionary definition of headlong and it fits the Headlong Flight (single number two as a radio edit, but full-length here), which powers into some funky guitar from Lifeson a-la Gypsy Sun and Rainbows, including a Hendrix-style solo. It was a long-time coming! Headlong Fight is choc-full of ideas, but listening to Geddy Lee's yodelling vocals is becoming hard work. A bit more variety and freneticism is needed in his singing.

BU2B2, with Lee accompanied by cello, is quiet, and, at just under a minute-and-a-half, is the shortest track on Clockwork Angels. Lee partly redeems himself by effectively providing both call and response on Wish Them Well. My favourite track on the album is the thoughtful The Garden, which closes the album and reminds me of the melancholic Rain's Embrace from Ukraine. Although I know little about the background, Peart's ever-obscure, but marvellously effective, lyrics are a revelation.

When I first heard Clockwork Angels, it seemed an improvement on Snakes and Arrows, but, besides Geddy Lee, another commanding presence on the album is Nick Raskulinecz's grungy and, dare I say, heavy-handed production, which does not match the complexity and detail of the music. Although I have to admit to warming to the collection of songs and musicianship, there is something missing; namely, more guitar from Alex Lifeson and a bit more anger in Lee's vocals. Clarity and sharpness from the return of Terry Brown or Peter Collins would also be welcome. Clockwork Angels has been played on my laptop and Walkman constantly for the last few weeks, but whether or not it is an album to which I will return, time will tell.




Clock Work Angels Tracklist

1. Caravan (5:40)
2. BU2B (5:10)
3. Clockwork Angels (7:31)
4. The Anarchist (6:52)
5. Carnies (4:52)
6. Halo Effect (3:14)
7. Seven Cities of Gold (6:32)
8. The Wreckers (5:01)
9. Headlong Flight (7:20)
10. BU2B2 (1:28)
11. Wish Them Well (5:25)
12. The Garden (6:59)

Lyrics by Neil Peart
Music by Geddy Lee & Alex Lifeson

Total length: 1:06:04


Clockwork Angels Lineup

Geddy Lee: Bass, bass pedals, vocals, synthesizers
Alex Lifeson: Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, twelve-string guitar, additional Keyboards
Neil Peart: Drums and percussion

David Campbell: String arrangement and conducting
Jason Sniderman: Piano & additional keyboards

Produced by Rush and Nick Raskulinecz


Review written in July 2012

Nice review, but I still haven't heard Snakes and Ladders, but I remember being let down by Vapour Trails, the production was just so loud, in relation to the singing and playing.

It's good to hear your experiences about these bands when you heard them for the first time back in the 1970s. Most of these bands I heard about in the 1980s. In the case of Rush, I always as a kid thought they must've been a heavy metal band:yikes: Because at the time as you probably know, most headbangers would be walking around with denim jackets with those sew-in type badges covering the jacket with stuff like Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Whitesnake and the Scorpions etc, and quite often I'd see a Rush badge. So when I first heard a Rush song around 83/84 It was "The Body Electric" from Grace Under Pressure and I quickly realized that they weren't a metal band. I much later discovered about their hard rock and progressive roots.

Ah, tis well I remember it! Jackets held together by willpower and about a hundred metal badges and cloth patches! Those were the days! :D

Captain Beyond by Captain Beyond (Capricorn 1972)

Dancing madly backwards (on a sea of air)



Captain Beyond Tracklist

All songs written by Rod Evans and Bobby Caldwell

Vinyl Album Side One
1. Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) 4:08
2. Armworth 2:50
3. Myopic Void 3:37

4. Mesmerization Eclipse 3:45

5. Raging River of Fear 3:48

Vinyl Album Side Two
6. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro) 1:30
7. Frozen Over 3:55
8. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone) 4:05

9. I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 1) 3:07
10. As the Moon Speaks (To the Waves of the Sea) 2:30
11. Astral Lady 1:15
12. As the Moon Speaks (Return) 2:16
13. I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 2) 1:11

Important note: Tracks 1-3, 6-8 and 9-13 segue together


Captain Beyond Lineup

Rod Evans: Vocals
Larry 'Rhino' Reinhardt: Guitars
Lee Dorman: Bass guitar, piano, Hammond organ, vocals
Bobby Caldwell: Drums, percussion, Hammond organ, bells, vibraphone, vocals


Among my memories of the summer 1972 are a string of great rock hit singles: School's Out by Alice Cooper, Silver Machine by Hawkwind, All the Young Dudes by Mott the Hoople, Hold Your Head Up by Argent and Standing in the Road by Blackfoot Sue. Album releases were equally strong and included Close to the Edge by Yes, The Magician's Birthday by Uriah Heep, Machine Head and Made in Japan by Deep Purple . . . and Captain Beyond by Captain Beyond. The latter initially came to my attention when a friend of mine, who must have seen them live, bought the first album on its release. I remember his obsession being such that he burned the band's name on his mother's garden gate, with a magnifying glass - in a series of dots!

Captain Beyond was formed when singer Rod Evans, from Deep Purple, joined guitarist Larry 'Rhino' Reinhardt and bassist Lee Dorman, both from Iron Butterfly. They were augmented by Bobby Caldwell on drums and Lewie Gold on keyboards, although the latter left, due to personal reasons, before the first self-titled album was recorded. As part of a BBC Radio One interview, in the early nineteen-eighties, Richie Blackmore claimed Evans was sacked from Purple because he was a crooner and the guitarist had wanted a screamer like Ian Gillan. Deep Purple's loss was Captain Beyond's gain, but, although both bands made exceptional albums, it was Purple who went on to hard rock superstardom, while Captain Beyond slipped into obscurity. Captain Beyond proved to be very influential, but their record sales never reflected the considerable musical achievement of the debut album.




Captain Beyond (the album) has an unusual organisation in the tracklisting; the first three tracks are segued together, as are six to eight and nine to thirteen, but these 'sequences' are without collective titles. Tracks four and five stand alone. Captain Beyond begins with arguably their best known track, Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air), which opens with drums and Rod Evans' velvet voice. The pace increases with a driving bass riff and guitar solo; it is revealed that Evans can growl, if necessary, without being strained. The track is rightly famous because it is a masterpiece of restraint and heavy rock subtlety, with lyrics that are wistful and ethereal. It is not flippant and sets an effective precedent for the remainder of the album. As Dancing Madly Backwards closes on an almost jazz-rock pattern, Armworth starts with sprightly guitar and vocals, mixed with gentle harmonies. If the guitar sounds familiar, it was borrowed as the main feature of Martha and the Muffins' Echo Beach. Myopic Void begins with a space-y feel, but is a strongly percussive piece, with military drumming, and just as you begin to think it is too long, Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) reappears with sparkling guitar work. Thus ends the first sequence.

Mesmerization Eclipse is heavy and strident, with the vocals following the guitars and revelatory rolling drums from Caldwell. Ted Nugent and Derek Holmes must have been aware of this song when they made the first Ted Nugent album. There are changes of riff and a repeated phrase before the fadeout. Likewise, Badlands' were inspired by Raging River of Fear when they recorded the outstanding The River. Baker Gurvitz Army may have listened to it too. Raging River of Fear has a bluesy guitar and Voodoo Chile-like riff, while the mention of a battlefield recalls ELP's Tarkus (Eddie Offord produced Tarkus and although BGA's production is credited to Paul Gurvitz, some believe Offord was responsible).

Acoustic guitar and cymbals lead us into the first quiet track on the album (and the second 'sequence'), Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Intro). When the whispered vocals enter, it has an eerie feel, redolent of Faith No More's equally diverse, but much later The Real Thing album. Just as you expect this to segue into something menacing, it develops the catchy riff of Frozen Over. Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone) has excellent lead vocals and open chords, later used by Genesis and Gordon Giltrap, and ends on scat singing with harmonies - giving it a jazz-rock feel. With editting, it could have provided a much-needed hit single. Frozen Over, like Raging River of Fear, has a heavy riff and the voice follows the guitar.

I Can't Feel Nothin' Pt. 1, of the third and final 'sequence', has sparse guitar notes with sustain, but closes on a funky riff - variety being the spice of life, where Captain Beyond are concerned. Throughout the album, Larry Reinhardt's playing is consistently tasteful, with excellent solos, and appropriate to the song. Indeed, the instruments in the band are constantly together, without any 'showing-off'. With other vocalists, spoken word songs are a poor substitute for singing, but Rod Evans' performance on As the Moon Speaks (to the Waves) adds full dramatic effect to the final sequence. Astral Lady, at only sixteen seconds, is a linking guitar instrumental to the beautiful As the Moon Speaks (Return), which has delicate Beatles-like harmonies, phased voices and superb vocals from the sadly underrated Evans. Curiously, the track closes on a percussive Santana-like passage, pointing to the band's future direction, before Captain Beyond bow out on an abrupt I Can't Feel Nothin' Pt. 2.

In short, Captain Beyond is a glorious album, loved by fans, but ignored by the media. It was the product of the chemistry between all four members, and when drummer and co-songwriter Bobby Caldwell departed, soon after, to join Rick Derringer, the magic went with him. Like a spectacular firework, they lit up the sky and were gone. If I have a criticism of the album, it is that the production is dated and, with its combination of echo-y vocals and Fifth Dimension harmonies, sounded this way even in 1972! Caldwell was briefly replaced by Brian Glascock on drums, while Reese Wynans and Guille Garcia joined on keyboards and congas respectively. Glascock was subsequently sacked, Marty Rodriguez was brought in on drums and this six-man lineup recorded the group's second album, Sufficiently Breathless (in a different style). With the lack of cohesion, tension during the recording led Rod Evans to quit and the band imploded. The original lineup reformed in 1973, for a US tour, but split at the end of the year. Various versions of Captain Beyond were formed in the intervening years, until Larry Reinhardt developed cancer in 2003. Following treatment, he continued to perform until late 2011, when he again fell ill. He sadly died on 2nd January 2012. What of Rod Evans? Well, that's another story . . .


There is an interesting rock family tree for Captain Beyond on: Rod Evans. Captain Beyond History

Great review of this album and maybe you'll do one of Sufficiently Breathless as well. I always wondered what happened to Rod Evans and was shocked to see that he was last believed to be working as a medical professional in San Francisco, a far cry from his Slough days.

Thanks US and I might get round to Sufficiently Breathless. The story of Rod Evans, the dubiously reformed 'Deep Purple' and the subsequent court case is a real tragedy.

Heaven and Hell — The Devil You Know (2009)
Limited Edition with Bonuses

Onward and upward



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l5eG6TEB61...l+You+Know.jpg http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5hIvOoTJzH...Back+(2-2).jpg




The Devil You Know Tracklist

01. Atom And Evil
02. Fear
03. Bible Black
04. Double The Pain
05. Rock And Roll Angel
06. The Turn Of The Screw
07. Eating The Cannibals
08. Follow The Tears
09. Neverwhere
10. Breaking Into Heaven
11. Shadow Of The Wind (Bonus)
12. Ear In The Wall (Bonus)
13. The Devil Cried (Bonus)


The Heaven and Hell Lineup

Ronnie James Dio: Vocals, keyboards
Tony Iommi: Guitar
Geezer Butler: Bass guitar
Vinny Appice: Drums, percussion


Despite an illustrious past, some bands release an album which can point to an even rosier future - which they never see. An example is The Beatles with Abbey Road, on which they decided to go out on a high, but, had they decided to stay together, the next album could have been amazing. Heaven and Hell's studio album, The Devil you Know, released on 28th April 2009, is another case in point, ironically from the band regarded as The Beatles of heavy rock. Like The Beatles, Heaven and Hell's past is a chequered one. Ostensibly, they are the reformation of the Black Sabbath lineup for Mob Rules (1981) and Dehumaniser (1992) of: Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Vinny Appice on drums, Tony Iommi on guitar and Geezer Butler on bass. They were renamed Heaven and Hell, after the first Dio-with-Sabbath album, Heaven and Hell (1980), as original singer Ozzy Osbourne had filed a suit, in a New York federal court on 26th May 2009, to establish rights to the Black Sabbath name.

As if revitalised by the new name, after decades of uncertainty and instability, the band seemed to set out to make the heaviest album possible as evidenced by the opening track, Atom and Evil. With an enormous sound, H&H are here to break down your door and run off with your children. Tony Iommi adds a towering guitar solo to Ronnie James Dio's enigmatic lyrics, "Falling's easy/ Rising will never be/ So we must rise together/ Here are the changes/ Powerful harmony/ But then there's no forever." Fear is even heavier, with a great riff and Dioharmonising/multitracking his voice on the word 'fear'. Vinny Appice's drumming is excellent and, although he was in the band as Dio's friend, he works well with Iommi and they should have done more together. An Alice Cooper influence in the lyrics, brings to mind Dio's version of Welcome to My Nightmare for the Humanary Stew: A Tribute to Alice Cooper project (1999).

Bible Black was released as a single at the time of the album. It begins with a gentle acoustic guitar, joined by Iommi's characteristic 'in the distance' Gibson and a quiet vocal. But it soon becomes angry. Dio was never averse to a King Crimson reference, as when he used the 21st Century Schizoid Man riff for the vocal arrangement in Jesus, Mary and the Holy Ghost on Strange Highways (1993). The Devil you Know is getting heavier by degrees. Geezer Butler's fantastic bass and Iommi's solo are reminiscent of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973). With hindsight a number of songs, could relate to Dio's illness at the time the album was recorded; Double the Pain may be about his own physical pain. Dare I say it, Rock and Roll Angel is a touch cliched? "You've been wishing for the magic sign/ Here's where you will find your Rock and Roll Angel." There are references to Dio's former collaborator, Ritchie Blackmore, with, "Perfect strangers in the dark/ Waiting for their lives to start"; more of Iommi's distant-sounding guitar; and the acoustic guitar sounding a bit like David Gilmour and Pink Floyd.

We are on safer ground when the full-on heaviness of The Turn of the Screw kicks in. Could it be mere coincidence that Geezer's strident bass is a reminder of Lemmy's on Ozzy Osbourne's version of Hellraiser? Yet another excellent guitar solo shows that, unlike in the latter days of the Ozzy-era Sabbath, Iommi is inspired and has no shortage. "Here comes another," provides a link between the tracks as it refers back to the spider in Atom and Evil. Eating the Cannibals is a 'turning the tables' lyric and is fast paced, with more symbiotic work from Butler/Iommi. Follow the Tears has sinister keyboards with a fantastically heavy riff, reminiscent of Y&T's Black Tiger, and may be more about Dio's own pain. With Neverwhere, Dio reveals he is the original goth. It is instrumentally sprightly, rather like the Tony Martin-era Sabbath. Ronnie James Dio's final track with Black Sabbath is Breaking into Heaven. As the choir builds towards the end, his last line and farewell is appropriately, "And we're breaking into heaven."

There are three bonuses on the limited edition. Shadow of the Wind is more sludge than the sludge bands Heaven and Hell influenced. It is pervaded by familiar motifs, such as "Dark over the sun," and more spiders. We get yet another terrific guitar solo, but a slow vocal and instrumental passage at the end, replete with spooky drums, keeps the track phenomenally heavy. Dio declares, "I'm alive, I belong, I'll be back/ It's a half truth, still a whole lie." Ear in the Wall is a creepy Alice Cooper-inspired song, with a funky instrumental passage and a slick rock 'n' roll feel. Tony Iommi's solo on The Devil Cried sounds like there are ten Iommis. It is reminiscent of Rainbow's Man On the Silver Mountain, one of Dio's finest moments. The iTunes download has two live tracks, instead of the aforementioned bonuses; the first is a performance of I, on which Dio sounds more like a heavy rock Ian Gillan than his own operatic self. It possibly contains one of the best Iommi solos ever. Dio would introduce the second live track, Die Young, by saying, "We don't want this to happen to you"; his audience could not have foreseen that it would tragically happen to him. Die Young opens with a staggeringly good Iommi solo, which serves as a fitting swansong to the singer, because, in November 2009, Ronnie James Dio was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He died from the illness on 16th May 2010 at 7:45am . . .

. . . And then he was gone.

Standout tracks for me are of course the heaviest, such as Fear, Bible Black and Turn of the Screw. If I have any criticisms, and they are minor, it is that some of the material sounds a bit same-y. You could take the lyrics to Double the Pain and Follow the Tears and exchange them without too much trouble. Understandably, Dio wanted to write his own fantasy-based lyrics, but, although they are strong, some of Geezer Butler's more down to earth (if that is not an oxymoron) ideas may have provided a bit more variety. Strength also lies in the studio bonuses, but they are repetitive and whether they are essential to the balance of the album is debatable. They are certainly of interest as The Devil Cried was one of the first recorded tracks and was released as a promotional single. Credit should go to Dio, Iommi, Butler, Mike Exeter and the technical team for the production, which has clarity, sharpness and the ability to bludgeon your head. Tony Iommi told Billboard, in July 2008, that the material was "Really good, pretty powerful." He was right. He also explained, "We go onward and upward . . . Instead of going backwards in time, we're going forward and coming up with new stuff." How sad that Heaven and Hell could not have gone 'onward and upward' for a while longer.



Heaven and Hell Discography


Heaven and Hell as Black Sabbath

1980 Heaven and Hell
1981 Mob Rules
1982 Live Evil
1992 Dehumanizer
2007 The Dio Years - compilation with new tracks
2007 Live at Hammersmith Odeon - limited edition recorded in 1981 and 1982
2010 Mob Rules Deluxe Edition 2xCD - second disc is the above Live at Hammersmith Odeon

As Heaven and Hell

2007 Live from Radio City Music Hall
2009 The Devil You Know
2010 Neon Nights: 30 Years of Heaven & Hell - Live in Europe (US) Live in Wacken (Europe)


Written in September 2012

The Groundhogs Best 1969-72 (1974)

Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs!


http://991.com/newGallery/The-Ground...t-1-474435.jpg


Tracklist

Side One
1. Groundhog (5:48)
From Split 1971
2. Strange Town (4:19)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970
3. Bog Roll Blues (3:11)
From Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs 1972
4. You Had a Lesson (5:56)
From Hogwash 1972

Side Two
5. Express Man (3:57)
From Blues Obituary 1969
6. Eccentric Man (4:57)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970
7. Earth Is Not Room Enough (4:49)
From Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs 1972
8. BDD (3:47)
From Blues Obituary 1969
9. Split, Pt. 1 (4:29)
From Split 1971

Side Three
10. Cherry Red (5:46)
From Split 1971
11. Mistreated (4:03)
From Blues Obituary 1969
12. 3744 James Road (7:19)
From Hogwash 1972
13. Soldier (4:51)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970

Side Four
14. Sad Is the Hunter (5:21)
From Hogwash 1972
15. Garden (5:24)
From Thank Christ For the Bomb 1970
16. Split, Pt. 4 (5:50)
From Split 1971
17. Amazing Grace (2:22) John Newton
From Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs 1972


'Clapton is God' read the graffiti on a fence in a famous photograph from Cream's heyday. But what vandals and journalists alike overlooked was that the Holy Trinity, in the context of British blues-rock guitarists, was completed by the Hendrix-inspired maestro Robin Trower and the technical polymath Tony TS McPhee. Emerging from the shadow of the keyboard-dominated Procol Harum, albeit on their 1976 masterpiece, A Whiter Shade of Pale, Trower joined forces with Jim Dewar and made four sparkling blues-rock albums. Tony McPhee was, like Clapton, a bluesman from the outset, but unlike Trower, had more than one dimension to his playing. Added to this was a profound social conscience, a willingness to experiment with electronics and the ability to sing, play (various instruments), write, produce and engineer. His outlet was The Groundhogs who became an underground cult amidst the blues-inspired heavy rock bands of the mid-seventies.

The Groundhogs were formed in New Cross, London, in 1962, as part of the British blues boom of the period, when former telephone engineer Tony McPhee joined brothers Peter and John Cruickshank - who were both born in in Calcutta, West Bengal. Named after a John Lee Hooker song, 'Groundhog's Blues', they backed the Mississippi bluesman on his 1964 UK tour. The Groundhogs issued their first record, 'Shake It' b/w 'Rock Me' as a 7" 45rpm single on the Interphon label in January 1965. Their first album, Scratchin' the Surface, was not released until November 1968 with the lineup of: Tony McPhee on vocals and guitar, Pete Cruickshank on bass, Ken Pustelnik on drums and Steve Rye on harmonica. Steve Rye left soon after to become a geology lecturer, but sadly died in London on 14th July 1992.

Blues Obituary (September 1969) was appropriately named, being recorded by The Groundhogs as a three-piece with more of a heavy rock approach. The second single 'BDD' [Blind, Deaf & Dumb] failed to chart in the UK, although it reached number one in Lebanon! However, the group's following albums: Thank Christ For The Bomb (May 1970), Split (March 1971) and Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs (March 1972), all made the UK top ten. Thank Christ For the Bomb was concerned with McPhee's anti-war beliefs and the concept of alienation, the latter of which was more fully developed on their most successful and arguably best album. Split was about madness, ie. split personality, and showcased Tony McPhee's outstanding guitar technique, while moving the band even further from the traditional blues towards a more fully formed hard-rock. Side One has four tracks, Split Parts One to Four, that are of course thematically linked. The second side has four separate tracks. Split reached number 5, spending 27 weeks in the chart and achieving gold record status, while a single from the album, 'Cherry Red', was featured on BBC 1's Top of the Pops TV programme on 22nd April 1971.

At the request of Mick Jagger, The Groundhogs supported The Rolling Stones on the latter's 1971 British tour and released an album , Live at Leeds, recorded at the university. Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs was the band's weakest album of the era and included Tony McPhee's experimentation on mellotron. For Hogwash (November 1972), drummer Ken Pustelnik was replaced by Clive Brooks, from the progressive rock band Egg, which ironically, gave the band an even heavier edge. June 1974's excellent album Solid saw a final return to the charts in the same year. Tony McPhee then disbanded the classic three-piece lineup in 1976 and re-emerged with a new band, including a second guitarist, Dave Wellbelove, Martin Kent on bass and the late Mick Cook on drums. This version of the group recorded two fine albums in Crosscut Saw (February 1976) and Black Diamond (October 1976, with Rick Adams replacing Wellbelove), as well as touring the UK, before themselves being dismantled. At around this time McPhee played a radio-contolled guitar, that he could play from the changing room, before appearing on stage. A short-lived Terraplane project, in 1982, featured McPhee with the late Wilgar Campbell, from Rory Gallagher's band, on drums and Alan Fish on bass.

The Groundhogs continued as a live act, rather than releasing new albums, with Tony McPhee admitting that he struggled to find enough new material to fill a 79-minute CD as many expected. In 2002, manager Roy Fisher put together a short-lived original lineup, including Cruickshank and Pustelnik, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the band. McPhee departed, leaving Cruickshank and Pustelnik to continue as The Groundhogs Rhythm Section, with invited frontmen such as Eddie Martin. Tony McPhee formed a new Groundhogs in 2007, with long-time bassist Dave Anderson (ex-Hawkwind) and Marco Anderson on drums. This incarnation toured England in 2008 with Dutch progressive rock band Focus and Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash. The 2009 lineup of Tony McPhee's Groundhogs comprised McPhee, Anderson and the returning Mick Jones on drums. The Groundhogs Rhythm Section's latest recruits, Bob Bowles on guitar & vocals and Jon Buckett on guitars, keyboards & vocals, joined in February 2011. As of last year, the new Groundhogs' lineup consists of McPhee, Anderson, Joanna Deacon (vocals) and Carl Stokes (drums).

The Groundhogs' Best 1969-72 was released as a double vinyl LP in 1974, coinciding with Solid, and spans the five post-Scratching the Surface albums for United Artists: Blues Obituary, Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split, Who Will Save the World? and Hogwash. Groundhog from Split is a solo blues effort, with metronomic timing, from Tony McPhee. He was to repeat this style on his solo album, The Two Sides of Tony TS McPhee (1973), which combined traditional blues with the synthesizer-laden epic, The Hunt. The compilation's first band track is the echo-heavy Strange Town from Thank Christ For the Bomb - an album that sounded dated by the mid-seventies, but now has a lightness of touch and dexterity. McPhee, Cruickshank and Pustelnik had played together in the clubs, night after night, since the early sixties, and epitomised the cohesiveness of many seventies hard rock bands. Strange Town is described by McPhee, in his sleeve notes for Thank Christ, as being about 'alienness of a community'. On first hearing, Bog Roll Blues seems like a Who Will Save the World? filler, but is actually a cleverly written and uncharacteristically chugging piece. Hogwash is possibly The Groundhogs' heaviest album, the other being Solid, but You Had a Lesson features a mellotron and shows that McPhee's solos on the instrument are rather like those of his on guitar.

Express Man is from Blues Obituary - their first heavy rock album, but with various nods to the blues past. Be warned, however, as this essential track is ommitted from CD versions of the compilation. McPhee makes a rallying call for the Eccentric Man, from Thank Christ, continuing the album's theme of 'alienation', this time of the individual. He was to later unify the ideas of madness in the relatively lengthy concept of Split Parts One to Four. For Who Will Save the World? McPhee began experimenting with synthesizers and mellotron, and, while interesting, it undoubtedly diluted his guitar playing, as on the ambitious Earth is Not Room Enough. McPhee was not to successfully integrate keyboards until the next album, Hogwash. BDD [Blind, Deaf, Dumb] is Blues Obituary's best track, combining a simple lyrical idea with a catchy hook and a memorable guitar solo. As always, the front man's lyrics are far from predictable, "I shouted and I screamed, till my face turned shades of blue." Never was Tony McPhee's guitar playing more refined and imaginative than on The Groundhog's magnum opus, Split. It is difficult to hear that album's opener in isolation from Split Part Two (or Part Four removed from Three, as it is later in the compilation), but it makes a fitting closer for the first vinyl album.


Written in September 2012

The Groundhogs Best 1969-72 (1974)

Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs! Continued


http://www.musicland-bayern.de/admin...36860001_v.jpg


If Split is The Groundhogs' best known album, Cherry Red is probably their most famous track. It has all of Tony McPhee's guitar-playing trademarks, such as tapping the top of one string, striking the start of the strings with a plectrum and playing slow notes or chords in conjunction with his incredible shredding. Never known for one particular effect, he uses sustain, fuzz and wah-wah throughout all four Split pieces; here on Cherry Red he brings them all together on a single track. Mistreated is another simple but tightly effective piece from Blues Obituary. A lengthy epic comes in the form of 3744 James Road, from Hogwash, which gives the band time and space to improvise. One of the greatest riffs of the seventies, to rank alongside Black Sabbath's NIB, is that of Soldier (alienness of a country), an anti-war tract from Thank Christ, which glides into the consciousness and explodes in a frenzy of band playing and guitar soloing.

As guitarist, frontman, songwriter and producer, Groundhogs Best 1969-72 is certainly Tony McPhee's show, but he could have achieved none of this without the Pete Cruickshank/ Ken Pustelnik, or Clive Brooks, rhythm section. Cruickshank was never better showcased than on Sad is the Hunter, to which he contributes a simple riff, but begins by playing slowly and becoming progressively faster as McPhee adds slide guitar. Again, as with The Hunt from his solo album, McPhee expounds his anti-bloodsport sentiments, "Sport is the label for this depravity, a distortion of the need to feed/ Innocents should never have to suffer with their lives for the pleasure of the few." There is more on alienation in the sophisticated Garden from Thank Christ for the Bomb, while Split Part Four shows McPhee's skill with the wah-wah. A guitar version of John Newton's Amazing Grace is a brave, but unsuccessful, experiment that gives the impression of being padding on Who Will Save the World? It is a shame that such a strong collection, spread over two vinyl albums, closes on a filler, but with the repeat option on CD/MP3 players, Amazing Grace is easy to ignore. Like Express Man, Amazing Grace is omitted from CD versions of the collection, but is far less essential.

Like Atomic Rooster's Assortment, Groundhogs Best 1969-72 is that rare object, an excellent compilation which ranks with the band's classic albums from which it draws. As an introduction to The Groundhogs it is vital, unless you buy the five United Artists albums: Blues Obituary, Thank Christ for the Bomb, Split, Who Will Save the World? and Hogwash. Solid is superb and ranks with the aforementioned albums. If you are a committed fan, The Two Sides of Tony TS McPhee, BBC Radio One Live in Concert (1994, on Windrush) and Crosscut Saw are only a notch down from the best. Black Diamond is by no means disappointing.


Lineup

Tony McPhee: Guitars, vocals
Pete Cruickshank: Bass
Ken Pustelnik: Drums
Clive Brooks: Drums

Status Quo - Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon (1970)

No longer maintaining the status quo


http://rock-musicland.com/status-quo/1970/big.jpg http://www.freecodesource.com/album-...easy-Spoon.jpg


Tracklist

1. Spinning Wheel Blues (Rossi/Young) 3:21 (listed as Spinning Wheel on the original LP)
2. Daughter (Lancaster) 3:01
3. Everything (Rossi/Parfitt) 2:36
4. Shy Fly (Rossi/Young) 3:49
5. April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays (Rossi/Young) 4:12
6. Junior's Wailing (White/Pugh) 3:33
7. Lakky Lady (Rossi/Parfitt) 3:14
8. Need Your Love (Rossi/Young) 4:46
9. Lazy Poker Blues (Green/Adams) 3:37
10. Is it Really Me/Gotta Go Home (Lancaster) 9:34


2000 Castle Music Remaster Bonus Tracks

11. In My Chair (Alternate Mix) (Rossi/Parfitt) 3:34
12. Gerdundula (Alternate Mix) (Manston/James, a pseudonym for Rossi/Young) 4:10
13. Down The Dustpipe (Alternate Mix) (Grossmann) 2:08
14. Junior's Wailing (Alternate Mix) (White/Pugh) 3:35


2003 Reissue Bonus Tracks

11. Is it Really Me/Gotta Go Home (Early Mix) (Lancaster)
12. Daughter (Early Mix) (Lancaster)
13. Down the Dustpipe (Grossmann)
14. In My Chair (Rossi/Parfitt)
15. Gerdundula (Manston/James, a pseudonym for Rossi/Young)
16. Down the Dustpipe (BBC Session) (Grossmann)
17. Junior's Wailing (BBC Session) (White/Pugh)
18. Spinning Wheel Blues (BBC Session) (Rossi/Young)
19. Need Your Love (BBC Session) (Rossi/Young)
20. In My Chair (1975 Promo Flexi) (Rossi/Parfitt)


Every now and again a comercially successful band changes their style to become an even more auspicious band: following the drug-induced illness of Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd graduated from psychedelic cult to progressive giants; after a breakup, progressive mainstays Yes regrouped as a crossover of rock and dance music; tired of a lack of control, Sweet switched from bubblegum to intelligent rock with the Level Headed album; and so it was for hitmakers Status Quo, when their first two albums failed to capitalise on the success of the singles. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon is their third album and the first to leave behind their early psychedelic approach in order to introduce the blues rock/ boogie style which remains their signature.

Spinning Wheel Blues is the prototype for most of the material to come, a chugging blues which is unpretentious and without any histrionics. The guitar solos are excellent as always and there is a harmonica solo for good measure. Spinning Wheel Blues is, to my knowledge, the first Francis Rossi collaboration with former roadie Bob Young. Daughter hits the ground running with a great riff, which could have been used on any of their future classic albums, but the vocals are a disconcerting throwback to the psychedelia past with off-key whining and echo. Roy Lynne adds a keyboard solo to increase the oldtime feel. Everything continues the psychedelia, being a quiet introspective track, with acoustic guitar and cello. It is carefully sung and reminds of the Sgt Pepper-era Beatles or Robin Gibb-led Bee Gees. Shy Fly has a silly lyric and a throwaway melody, although it proves that original drummer John Coghlan was their best, with perhaps the exception of Jeff Rich from Stretch. However, April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays, another Rossi/ Young song, reintroduces the heavy rock riffs. Keiran White and Martin Pugh's Junior's Wailing is full on blues rock (a Steamhammer cover).

Lakky Lady with acoustic guitar, bongos, maracas and weird lyrics would be an oddity at any stage in the band's career, with, 'When she wakes in the morning and her figure tells no lies/ My eyesight is broken when the light shines on her thighs.' The subject matter is perhaps more fully developed in the brilliant Big Fat Momma on their best album, Piledriver. Need Your Love (Rossi/Young) with its distorted bass, guitar riffs and changes of pace reminds me of Someone's Learning on the next album, Dog of Two Head, and demonstrates how Alan Lancaster was the backbone of Quo at this stage in their development. Status Quo always had a good ear for a song and Peter Green and Clifford Evans' Lazy Poker Blues (a Fleetwood Mac cover), with its shambolic introduction, is no exception. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon closes on Alan Lancaster's nine-and-a-half minute epic, Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home, with more heavy riffs, harmonies and guitar solos. The latter are an often underrated aspect of the band. While Rossi and Parfitt went on to self-parody, primetime celebrity and OBEs, Lancaster never received the credit and acclaim he deserved for making Status Quo into mainstream blues rock pioneers.

My copy of the album is the Castle Music remaster from 2000, offering four bonuses, beginning with the non-album single, In My Chair, and its jaunty b-side, Gerdundula (which was re-recorded for Dog of Two Head). Down the Dustpipe was written for Status Quo by Australian singer-songwriter Carl Groszman and, released as a non-album single in March 1970, became their first trademark twelve-bar boogie. An alternate mix of Junior's Wailing concludes this configuration of the album and I for one cannot have too many versions of Junior's Wailing. If you can track down the 2003 remaster, there are even more goodies, including a BBC session.


Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon Lineup

Francis Rossi: Guitar, vocals
Rick Parfitt: Guitar, vocals
Alan Lancaster: Bass, vocals
John Coghlan: Drums
Roy Lynes: Organ
Bob Young: Harmonica


Status Quo Discography 1968-1977

Psychedelia
1968 Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo (PYE Records)
1969 Spare Parts (PYE Records)

Transitional
1970 Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon (PYE Records)
1971 Dog of Two Head (PYE Records)

Classic era of blues rock/ boogie
1972 Piledriver (Vertigo)
1973 Hello! (Vertigo)
1974 Quo (Vertigo)
1975 On the Level (Vertigo)
1976 Blue for You (Vertigo)
1977 Rockin' All Over the World (Vertigo)
1977 Live! (Vertigo)


Written in September 2012