5 April 2013 (Day 95) – Completing The Atlantic Soul Legends Box

Another day behind my computer loomed at work and so I thought it would be a great opportunity to go through the remaining items in the Atlantic label Soul Legends box set of 20 original albums, starting with:

(# 260) William Bell – The Sound Of A Bell (1967)

Considering that he’d scored very few major charting records, it’s amazing how often Bell appears in soul compilations that I have from the classic 1960s – early 1970s period.  On this debut album, he utilises his very smooth voice on a nice range of material including his very own You Don’t Miss Your Water and classy covers such as Do Right Woman – Do Right Man and I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now).  Other gems on this album include Everybody Loves A Winner, Eloise (Hang On In There), Never Like This Before and You’re Such A Sweet Thang.

(# 261) Howard Tate – Self Titled (1972)

I don’t think I’d heard of Tate before I got the box set but I’m rapt this was included.  This is a great album of mainly urban sounding soul with funky horns on many tracks.  There’s some magnificent material on this album such as She’s A Burglar, Where Did My Baby Go, Jemina Surrender and It’s Your Move.  But the highlight is his absolutely inspired cover of Dylan’s Girl Of The North Country in which he almost convinces you that Mr Zimmerman is really a soul man.

(# 262) Clarence Wheeler & The Enforcers – Doin’ What We Wanna (1970)

Wheeler and the Enforcers stare at you from cover in a wonderful photograph that is deliberately confrontational.  I have no idea why this was needed because this is an absolutely sensational jazz/soul/rock hybrid of mostly instrumental material that is essential listening for anyone’s musical education.  Side 1 of the original vinyl album appears to consist of covers or tunes written by others, commencing with a magnificent 8 minute arrangement of The Beatles’ Hey Jude with the horns replacing the Na-Na-Na’s of the original.   Theme From Electric Surfboard emphasises the organ in a manner reminiscent of its author "Brother" Jack McDuff, for whom Wheeler had previously played.  Side 2 consists of tracks written by Wheeler and the band.  It starts off with Right On, a clear declaration of black power which utilises a chorus of voices singing phrases (such as Right On) at various points throughout.  Dream Bossa Nova which follows is exactly as the title implies whilst and the title track is inspired.  I think I’ll need to hunt down more of their albums.

(# 263) Sam Dees – The Show Must Go On (1975)

Now I know I hadn’t heard of Dees before I got this box set.  This album appears to be split between two types of material, socially aware and standard soul. Employing a lush sound and vocals to boot, the wonderful socially aware tracks – Child On The Streets, Troubled Child and What’s It Gonna Be in particular – are very much in the Curtis Mayfield Superfly tradition.  Much of the remaining material is very slick and possibly even too slick for my tastes.

With the box set completed, I decided on a change of pace and went for, you guessed it ….:

(# 264) Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will (2011)

I’m not sure what’s happening in my head, but the early tracks on this album, now with keyboards playing a dominant role remind me of the futuristic sounds of the Tortoise album (Beacons Of Ancestorship) I played on Tuesday.  After 3-4 tracks, the guitars start to assume their rightful position on tracks like San Pedro and George Square Thatcher Death Party with other instrumentation thrown into the extremely clear mix.  The album ends with a track called You’re Lionel Richie which I’ve only noted, so in the interests of all-inclusiveness, I can say I’ve referred to him in my posts.

4 April 2013 (Day 94) – Planty, Townes & Colin

It was a day of many commitments which significantly reduced the time available for playing much. 

During the day, yet another colleague at work gave me a briefing of the last of the major Bluesfest acts to have made their way through town.  This time it was Robert Plant who played at Rod Laver Arena last night.  My colleague thought the show was a bit on the short side and he played too many reworkings of Led Zeppelin tunes in preference to his last couple of solo albums Band Of Joy and Mighty ReArranger.  (At best, he estimated, only 1 or 2 tracks were played from each album.) The entire upper seating level of the venue was curtained off which indicated the show hadn’t sold as well as intended.  Despite this, he saw nothing wrong with either Plant’s performance or what he described as his “crack” backing band the Sensational Shape Shifters.  Both I could sense disappointment even if he wouldn’t acknowledge it.

Intrigued by these comments I looked up online reviews before I wrote this post and found that Plant might have fallen victim to the infamous Melbourne audience.  One of the things I’ve noticed, especially in comparison to gigs I’ve attended overseas or interstate, is the Melbourne audience can, on occasion, be quite a difficult one to please.  It is an audience that even established acts on their upteenth visit here should never take for granted.  On many occasions I’ve seen audiences which did not get excited until provoked by the act or in response to something thrilling on stage.  Very few acts handle this type of audience well and of all the acts I’ve seen confronted by this, only Bryan Adams has managed to effectively turn it around.  Adams is not an act I would choose to see but he was on the bill of the final date of The Police’s Synchronicity World Tour at the Showgrounds.  Known at the time for only one hit, Cuts Like A Knife,  which he played early on in his set, the audience soon lost interest.  Then during a long number, he tried to rouse the audience and failed.  He then let out a burst of anger, shouted the immortal lines, “Come on Melbourne, even Sydney was better than this!” and slammed his microphone into the stage.  Unbelievably, this was sufficient for the crowd to responds positively for the rest of the set.  At least he seemed prepared for this type of scenario unlike some other acts who I've seen roll onto a stage expecting adoration without playing a note. 

Sometimes the Melbourne audience’s attitude can get to an act who, unlike Adams daring the audience to support him, responds by criticising it or cutting the show short.  As I wasn’t there, I cannot say that this happened but apparently Plant made some comments about the crowd indicating a bit of real frustration.  

But back to today’s playlist.  I did keep true to my promise to play something less abrasive and went for the first live album from an act that could very well have posed a challenge to the Melbourne audience had he ever played in front of an audience of any size here;

(# 258) Townes Van Zandt – Live At The Old Quarter, Houston Texas (1977 release of a 1973 concert performance)

From what I could work out Van Zandt played only two shows here in September 1990 at what appears to have been a very small venue.  (I’d missed it as I was backpacking around Europe at the time.)  I suspect that the performance might not have been all that different to this except for a deteriorating voice; solo with only a guitar for company.  But from what I’ve heard of his music this is all he really needed to make his memorable country or folk based songs come alive.   Championed by many singer songwriters, notably Steve Earle who has cut an album of his tunes, this album can also be heard as an overview of his earliest and best work.  Pancho & Lefty, If I Needed You, For The Sake Of the Song, Cocaine Blues and Tecumseh Valley are all present and accounted for as well as some well chosen covers (especially Who Do You Love) and his between song repartee.

(# 259) Mull Historical Society – Us (2003)

Mull Historical Society is basically a performing name for Scottish singer/songwriter Colin MacIntyre.  It is full of beautifully constructed and polished indie/pop tunes on which MacIntytre has played almost all the instruments.  Some writers have suggested he is a Scottish version of The Eels but I don’t think he shares either the caustic wit or bleak world view of E.  On this album, his second and most successful, I think the closest comparison, especially on the latter tracks would be with the pre Girlfriend output of Matthew Sweet. 

3 April 2013 (Day 93) – A Couple Of Staples And A Lack Of Logic

Sometimes I do things that defy any rational thought.  Take today for instance.  I knew that an in house seminar was going to account for half of my day at work so I thought taking three CDs and the iPod should do.  After attending the seminar, I sat down at my desk and played a most wonderful album;

(# 255) Pops Staples – Peace To The Neighborhood (released 1992)

This was one of a very few albums released under Pops’ name during his lifetime.  Working with a number of producers including Al Green’s long time producer Willie Mitchell and Ry Cooder, it is a clever mixture of Pop’s originals, traditional gospel/soul numbers and more contemporary covers. In the latter category are wonderful versions of Jackson Browne’s World in Motion (including vocals from the songwriter and typical guitar work from track co-producer Bonnie Riatt) and Los Lobos’ (Peace To) The Neighborhood. Mitchell produced most of the Pops’ numbers which are all of a high standard including the wonderful Pray On My Mind with his daughter Mavis on lead vocals.  But the highlights are undoubtedly the two Cooder produced tracks, Down In Mississippi and I Shall Not Be Moved.  Cooder contributes guitar to both and his unmistakable vocals to the latter.  None of these collaborators though deflect the attention away from Pop’s vocals and understated guitar work.

The next album was a logical choice:

(# 256) Mavis Staples – Have A Little Faith (2004)

This is a rousing gospel influenced album that shows off Mavis’ incredible voice to best effect.  Events that occurred in the considerable period from its predecessor provided her with appropriately powerful material including the death of Pops (Pop’s Recipe) and the events of 9/11 (In Times Like These and the title track which is not the John Hiatt tune). Wisely, most of the musical backing is not allowed to overwhelm Mavis’ voice without detriment to the songs.  A beautiful version of the standard Will the Circle Be Unbroken? rounds things up nicely.

Having played this, you would have thought the next task would have been to play something by The Staple Singers.   The Freedom Highway compilation is on my iPod and it doesn’t even occur to me to play it until I sit down to write this post.  Instead my mind casts about for something different and I achieve that with:

(# 257) Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling (2008)

Scotland’s most accomplished sculptors of mostly instrumental, melodic noise continued the process of developing a more accessible sound that was initiated on Mr. Beast with this release.  It starts off with the superbly titled and sounding I’m Jim Morrison I’m Dead which maintains a coiled tension for its duration.  Batcat increases the intensity which is maintained over the next couple of numbers.  An extremely quiet Kings Meadow leaks into the epic I Love You I’m Going To Blow Up Your School which eventually explodes into a glorious sustained blast of sound.  Closing track The Precipice is aptly named.

After this I think I’ll need something quieter tomorrow.

2 April 2013 (Day 92) – Work After Easter And Bruce

The first work day after the Easter break is one of the quietest days of the year as many people take an additional day off.  As the school holidays have kicked in, other stake leave for the entire week in order to spend quality time with the kids.  This year seems to be no different. 

I speak to a colleague of mine who went to Springsteen’s final Hanging Rock gig.  Sadly (for me), that show turns out to the night to go, a massive 29 song marathon which is essentially an expanded version of my night (sans Red Headed Woman), plus Incident On 57^th Street, Jackson Cage, The Rising, Lonesome Day, Candy’s Room and Prove It All Night.  Despite this, my colleague is still disappointed that, despite going to two shows on the tour, she did not get to hear Thunder Road.  I point out that it is practically the only track that’s been played at every one of the five I’ve seen in my life.  I don’t think this dented her positive feelings but I know it picked up mine. 

My colleague also repeated Bruce’s promise from the stage that he will return to Australia within a much shorter time frame than in the past.  Most acts say this and very few deliver on the promise.  In any case, I figure I’m in a win/loss situation.  If Bruce returns soon, say within 2-4 years, it will be a win.  The overwhelmingly positive reviews of the shows and full houses will almost certainly ensure that the next Melbourne gig will probably involve Etihad Stadium.  This will probably be a loss as the relative intimate nature of Rod Laver Arena will be lost.  Having said that, I’ve seen gigs there from both AC/DC and U2 who both were able to create an amazing atmosphere there with their fan base so there’s still hope.

After that, it was to my desk for some serious catch up work.  This can be seen in that most of my sections for the day were dominated by instrumentals:

(252) Bela Fleck & Flecktones – Greatest Hits Of The 20^th Century

I think I’d be right in guessing that Bela Fleck would be the only artist with albums in my Collection whose primary instrument is the banjo. As the title of this album infers, this is a compilation of tracks from his career to the end of 1999.  The Sinister Minister kicks things off in fine fashion, a track that sounds appropriately titled.   A live Stomping Grounds continues the good times but many of the remaining tracks are played a little too safe for my liking, a situation not helped by Communication with vocals from Dave Matthews. 

(253) Tortoise – Beacons Of Ancestorship

Dating from 2009, this is the most recently released Tortoise album I own. This album incorporates quite a futuristic sound deftly integrating electronic sounds into the mix.  Indeed, many of the early tracks remind me very much of a similarly themed album, Future World by Trans Am albeit without guitars playing so prominent a role.  Things change a little on Minors, a track that could very well be adopted as the theme for a television detective series and the few tracks after that are more in Tortoise’s time honoured tradition.

(254) Aphrodite’s Child – 666

People who own this album are loath to admit it for two reasons; first the music is generally described as that most despised of genres, Prog[ressive] Rock and second, the band included in its membership both Demis (My Friend The Wind) Roussos and Vangelis (he of Chariots Of Fire fame).  But I don’t care about either factor when the music is as exciting as this.  Released in 1971, well before either act had recorded the music which made them [in]famous, this is a concept piece subtitled The Apocalypse Of John 13/18.  I’m assuming that this and the album title are biblical references to the end of the world with tracks including the words, Babylon, Four Horsemen, Beast, Locusts, Lamb and Trumpets in the titles. (And if anyone can explain to me how a track titled Altamont fits in, please let me know.) But the lyrics are not the reason to hear this but rather the music which I’d dispute is Prog at all.  If there is a dominant musical influence on this work, it is undoubtedly that of Frank Zappa which looms largest.   The double album concept, instrumentation used and the combination of mostly shortish tracks culminating in a large epic track near the end have all the hallmarks of Zappa’s work, especially Uncle Meat.  Another reference point, musically speaking, is undoubtedly the Mothers Of Invention live album Ahead Of Their Time which, although released decades after 666, is of a 1968 performance from a tour the musicians could very well have seen. 

1 April 2013 (Day 91) – Public Holiday Blues

After a frantic weekend, it was a relief to have the public holiday Monday to recover.  As I sit at the kitchen table and write, “M” takes the opportunity to whip up her magnificent vegetarian cannelloni.  The shell filling is her combination of pumpkin, sweet potato, ricotta, cracked pepper, fresh basil and freshly chopped garlic.  It’s placed in an oven pan on a bed of passata and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and more passata.

As today is the final day of the Bluesfest at Byron Bay, a festival I’ve never attended but would like to one day, I’m playing a number of blues CDs.  “M” appears happy to listen to my selections for once and is even prepared to share her views, starting with:

(249) Joe Louis Walker – Silvertone Blues

Walker is one of the last authentic bluesmen having played with a range of the greats over the course of his career.  Knowledgeable in all forms of the blues a la Taj Mahal, he is a solid guitarist and possesses a tremendous voice that suits his selection of material.  This is a solid selection of Chicago blues which really catches fire during its second half, particularly on the title track, Crying Won’t Help You and Bad Luck Blues.

“M”s comment: “I like this type of blues.”

(250) Eric Bibb – Friends

This is one of around 30 odd albums that Bibb has released either by himself or in combination with other artists.  Using mostly acoustic instruments, Friends is as good a place as any to start given, as the title implies, this consists of a number of collaborations.  99 And A Half Won’t Do with Guy Davis is overlaid with gospel themes, Charlie Musselwhite shines on Six O’Clock Blues and Taj Mahal is his usual classy self on Goin’ Down Slow.  The highlight is Dance Me To The End Of Love (not the Leonard Cohen song) with piano from Jerry Yester, the producer of Tom Waits Closing Time which should give you an idea of the feel of the track. 

“M”’s comment: "I like how the tracks on this album change and use other instruments.”

(251) Mia Dyson – Parking Lots

Dyson is an Australian blues singer and guitarist with a strong playing style and a suitably raspy voice who’s been paid almost the ultimate compliment via a supporting slot on one of Eric Clapton’s most recent tours of Australia. This album, her second, probably was the release which got her that gig.  It consists of a nice mix of numbers that are well played and arranged culminating in Down, a fiery number and Fire Creek, an evocative instrumental.

“M”’s comment: “I don’t like this.  Her voice is too harsh.”

Our friends arrive for the afternoon.  I make a mental note to ask “M” to …………..

30 & 31 March 2013 (Days 89 & 90) – Discovering Discovr

The Easter Weekend is a busy time of family commitments with little time for listening.  

Saturday also marked the start of the Australian Rules Football (aka footy) season with the first match for my team, The Western Bulldogs. “M” (only an occasional supporter) and I hook up with Mickey and his family.  We’ve watched (and suffered) together through decades of highs and lows without ever tasting ultimate success.  But we persist even with years like this when most of the so called footy experts forecast a bleak year.   Unusually for us, we’re reasonably confident this year we’ll be able to pull off a few surprises without necessarily challenging for major honours.

Mickey fills me in on his experiences at Springsteen’s final Rod Laver Arena gig.  He was really impressed by him as a live performer and had no problems with his seat behind the stage. Only three rows back, he indicated you get a sense of what the act experiences and you really feel very close to the action.  What’s intriguing about his enthusiasm is that it wasn’t until relatively recently that Mickey developed an interest in The Boss.  Previously, he had dismissed him as a parochial American who wrote only about cars and girls and only started to twig when he heard the acoustic material on The Ghost Of Tom Joad.  Who said you couldn’t gain new fans from diversifying?  Our conversation was ended by the start of the match.  The Bullies pull off a surprise by defeating Brisbane but the massive 68 point victory pleasantly shocks even us.

But not everything turns to gold like that.  Still feeling unsatisfied by my failure to catch the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion live, I purchased over the weeken:

(247) The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Meat And Bone

This is not how things are supposed to work out!  I feel worse.  How was I supposed to know that this would be their best album since Now I Got Worry? After a so-so opener, Bag Of Bones thrashes away in classic Blues Explosion style.  Boot Cut ramps up the tempo, and Strange Baby incorporates some wicked slide guitar reminiscent of Mick Taylor era Stones.  Remaining tracks are all of a high standard with Gadzooks bringing things to a satisfying close.

Happy after my teams unexpected thumping win, I make an interesting discovery on Saturday night.  Whilst going through the Apple Apps Store I found an app called Discovr which is an intriguing way to discover new artists.  The way it works is deceptively simple.  You start with a single field into which you type the name of a recording artist.  A circle appears on screen with an image of that artist.  Hit it once and a number of links are made to other similar artists, either from the same [sub] genre or with a historical connection (such as solo acts or subsequent bands, etc).  You hit those,  more connections are made and so on with the resultant  diagram continually reformatting itself as you establish new links.  At any astge, you can double hit an artist and this takes you to a new screen with a history for the artist, discography and tracks to listen.

But I’ll provide a consumer warning.  This app is so mesmerising that hours can go by without you realising it.  So far the only time I’ve stopped is when I seem to have overloaded the program by establishing hundreds of connections with linkage lines so complex that the task of following them really does your head in.  I’ve even taken to using it as a weird form of entertainment, for example, attempting to navigate between two completely different acts (say Otis Redding to Sonic Youth).

What’s really impressive is that the compilers have really left no stone unturned; I’ve found myself locating Harry Smith era Americana acts, Australian hip hop acts, Aboriginal musicians, Krautrockers, TV stars who’ve released albums and even comedians by using this.  It’s far from perfect; some of the links made are unintentionally hilarious, it occasionally has problems distinguishing between two acts with the exact same name (such as Nirvana), some obvious connections haven’t been made yet (for example, I can’t get it to acknowledge connections between Paul Rodgers, Free and Bad Company) and obvious connections sometimes take a while to emerge (for example, it took forever before a connection was made between Australian husband/wife acts Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter).  But it’s a great tool and I intend to use it to further my explorations.

Whilst exploring, I took the opportunity to play;

(248) Keb’ Mo’ – Peace….Back By Popular Demand

I first heard Keb’ Mo’ when he played a very satisfying opening set for Dr. John a few years back.  A bluesman with a smooth delivery and understated, fluent guitar style, her reminds me of Eric Clapton without the additional fiery Yardbirds/Cream/Derek And The Dominoes back catalogue. This album consists of a number of generally well known tracks performed in this style.  For What It’s Worth, People Got To Be Free and (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace Love And Understanding come off pretty well.  John Lennon’s Imagine doesn’t.

29 March 2013 (Day 88) – A Day For Reflection

It’s Good Friday the one day of the year where I do not think about playing music, at least until well into the afternoon.  This reflects my Catholic upbringing and education and the influence of “M”.

I’ve been fortunate in that my religious upbringing and views have never brought me into conflict with my choice of listening matter.  There has rarely being an instance where I’ve felt my faith being challenged by a song or musician.  It’s all a question of context; I simply don’t read lyrics on a page and get outraged. Sometimes I understand that the musician is playing a role.  I can remember one of my religious teachers launching an attack on Alice Cooper in class.  Even then I understood that Alice was a character and that he was drawing inspiration from horror movies and the like.  I also understand that some artists have views that they work into their music but I realise all they’re doing is trying to express their own inner feelings and are not necessarily seeking to convert the listener.  It’s easy to tell the difference; those seeking to convert the unconverted are usually fanatics in the first place and thus put the message first and the music second.  Inevitably, with very few exceptions, they turn out to be quite boring.

I also generally do not seek to endorse or condemn any musician for their chosen lifestyles.  As I see things, musicians are no different to any other group in society be they actors, painters, authors, footballers, politicians or priests.  In each of these groups there will be individuals who will break the law and commit unspeakable deeds.  All are in positions within society which gives them the opportunity to influence others through their actions but to single out any one group to the exclusion of others is simply unfair.

Certainly there are some musicians out there who produce entire bodies or work or individual albums, songs, verses or lines with which I disagree.  But we do live in a society that encourages freedom of expression and there are various ways that I can respond.  I can choose to ignore the musician with the body of work with which I disagree.  There are songs on albums that I can skip on the CD player and there are verses or lines that I can simply ignore.  Obviously the situation would be different if I were a parent but I would hope that I’d understand that no amount of parental supervision and positive action is going to shield my child away from music I might not agree with. (Well, I’d try to shield him or her from some acts but this would be purely on musical grounds.) But such concerns also apply to anything in the modern word – TV programs, news reports, radio airplay lists, video games, internet use etc.  All I think I could do is to take the action I think is appropriate, educate the child as to why I think this action is necessary and develop their critical mindset so that they can eventually take what I hope will be a responsible decision.

The absolutely worst thing to do, I think, for anything attractive to kids is, unless what’s being espoused is illegal, to seek to ban something without explanation.   From what I’ve seen in my life all this does is to turn the item into forbidden fruit that children then actively attempt to seek out.  And the explanations better make relative sense.  The attack on Alice Cooper I mentioned previously, made by one a religious Brother went something like this; “Now look at that Alice Cooper and what he’s doing.  He’s coming into town, makes you pay money to see him and then he leaves.”  That was just about it; I remember everybody looking at each other in class thinking, “Is he arguing that it is a sin to hold a concert?”  A few nights later I stayed up late to watch a TV screening of the Welcome To My Nightmare concert movie and still couldn’t figure out what the Brother was on about.  The key thing here was that I hadn’t planned on watching it until the Brother voiced his concerns. 

There are some things that I would never choose to listen to under any circumstances, for example, anything deliberately racist or sexist (both with exclusions for time bound “historical” recordings such as that found in 1920s or 1930s blues or Americana), promoting Satanism (and which doesn’t have a nudge and a wink attached) or sacrilegious (that is, anything which deliberately sets out to mock people’s religious beliefs). But mostly these would probably belong to extreme musical genres, such as Norwegian death metal, that I won’t think of exploring in the first place. 

By the time we returned from church, it was time for our time honoured Easter tradition. “M”and I sat down to indulge in our annual viewing of Ben Hur with Charlton Heston. (Now there’s a good anology – should I ban watching Ben Hur because of Heston’s support for guns?)  By the time that finishes I discover there will be a 9.30 screening of the greatest film in Hollywood history – The Godfather.  What the hell it’s doing screening on Good Friday has me beaten but it ensures a music free day other than for its memorable score.