7 May 2013 (Day 127) – Music From The Last 50 Years

Back to work today feeling less refreshed than I would ordinarily but then again it was a one day weekend.  Struggling to even think of something to hear, I returned to my old trick of starting the day with a jazz classic.

(# 340) Art Pepper – Intensity (1963)

I’d bought this CD a number of years ago when I mistakenly thought one of the tracks here was used in a key scene in Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery.  It was an easy enough mistake to make; the track concerned was Too Close For Comfort a double bass driven number which I thought was superbly used in a scene where Woody and his wife (played by Diane Keaton) are nearly caught searching for clues in the apartment of a neighbour they suspect has murdered his wife.  But the compensation was hearing the entire album, arguably the best album by this master of the jazz saxophone.  Leading a quartet including bass, drums and piano, Pepper powers though a number of classy tunes including I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me, Come Rain Or Come Shine and I Wished For The Moon.

(# 341) Derek And The Dominoes – Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs (1970)

Let there be no question about it; this is Eric Clapton’s finest album.  Backed by a crack band and spurred on by the presence of Duane Allman on a number of tracks, Clapton opens up on guitar in a way he never has in the course of his career.  Bookended by the type of laid back tracks (I Looked Away and Thorn Tree In The Garden) that was to characterise many of his subsequent solo releases, most of the remaining tracks feature some of his flashiest and most fiery playing.  Keep On Growing, Anyday, Tell The Truth and Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad stand out in this regard, although everything is overshadowed by the legendary title track and its Jim Gordon piano coda. Superb cover versions of Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out, Big Bill Broonzy’s Key To The Highway, Jimi Hendrix’s Little Wing and Billy Myles’ Have You Ever Loved A Woman add to the spectacle.  Unbelievably, the album barely sold on its initial release and it would have been very interesting to see how Clapton’s career would have developed if this had been a hit.  Certainly Clapton’s insistence on featuring tracks from this album in his shows today indicates the high regard he now has for it.

(# 342) Prince – Controversy (1981)

Last year I was fortunate enough to see Prince’s epic second night of his three night stand at Rod Laver Arena.  The other shows were, apparently, the routine – though musically satisfying – shows he puts on these days.  The second night was something else, one of those magical nights where something happened, and his muse was fully engaged.  The title track of this album - on record a seven minute funk extravaganza – served as the vehicle for a massive 30 minute jam that started the show and grew to incorporate covers of portions of his own Sexy Dancer, Chic’s Le Freak, Sly Stone’s Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Again), Wild Cherry’s Play That Funky Music, dancers and stage invaders, the last of whom was Public Enemy’s Flavor Fav who rapped out 911  Is A Joke.  It was unquestionably one of the finest things I’d ever been privileged to hear live and it sent me back to this album.   It was the first time I’d played it for about 20 years and found that infectious title track, Sexuality and Jack U Off still retain their capacity to shock.  Annie Christian and Ronnie Talk To Russia are intriguing and rare examples of Prince attempting to address real world concerns. 

(# 343) King Tubby & Friends – Dub Like Dirt 1975-1977 (released 1999)

This is one of at least three compilations of dub produced by King Tubby that was released by the Blood And Fire Label.  This one is credited to King Tubby & Friends, meaning that it also showcases the work of other producers at his studio.  Songs originally recorded by artists including Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, John Holt and Leroy Smart are all given the riddim treatment.  To the uninitiated, many dub tracks sound identical – after all it is the rhythm section that is being highlighted in these reworkings – but a King Tubby dub is something special.  Like those produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry at his Black Ark studio, there is a particular sound and feel that is readily apparent.  In Tubby’s case I sense a thickness (or heaviness if you will) to the actual bass strum that no one else seems to have been able to replicate probably due to his working knowledge about electronics. For evidence listen to the Tubby dubs on tracks 1 – 4 of this album and the comparison to the others is apparent (well at least to me.)

At home tonight, I decided on another spot of viewing. 

(Audio visual 7) Various Artists – Later.…Even Louder (2005)

This is one of a number of themed DVD compilations from the British music show Later…. With Jools Holland.  The show has one of the best set ups on music television.  In each episode a number of acts – usually from a diverse range of the popular music spectrum – are set out in the one performance space.   Each act plays anywhere between 1 – 3 tracks in front of their peers and a studio audience.  Some of the best moments from episodes I’ve seen are cut aways to the acts who aren’t playing checking out and reacting to music they would not normally see live.  Holland himself, an accomplished pianist, usually plays with at least one of the acts per episode and also interviews an act or two.

This DVD contains 30 performances culled from episodes recorded between 1992 and 2004.  It is the second compilation that focusing mostly on alternative or hard rock acts with performances arranged in such a way as to imply a concert.  There’s barely  a dud track on this, although I suspect some acts might not have been featured to best effect by the need to provide a bit of musical light and shade in the overall package.  Green Day provides an appropriate start with American Idiot and the early momentum is sustained by The Killers (Somebody Told Me) and Jane’s Addiction (Been Caught Stealing).  The first real highlight is a tremendous version of Venus In Furs by John Cale that is very much in the spirit of the Velvet Underground’s original.  It’s power is such that it even overshadows the next track, Metallica’s King Nothing.  Queens Of The Stone Age deliver a blistering The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret which goes some way to explaining how the Rated R version of the band obtained their reputation as a great live act.  Screaming Trees’ Halo Of Ashes is suitably intense and The Datsuns provide a powerhouse In Love (How this band didn’t conquer the world is beyond me) and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion detonate the place on Sweet ‘n’ Sour with Holland desperately trying to keep up.  The disc is wrapped up by four magnificent numbers - Orpheus by Ash, Sonic Youth’s Drunken Butterfly, The Cure’s criminally underrated alt.end and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ There She Goes My Beautiful World complete with gospel choir.