domingo, 24 de agosto de 2014

'Spider' John Koerner - Spider Blues 1965

"Spider" John Koerner has been an influential practitioner of traditional folk music and country blues since the days of the late-'50s/early-'60s folk revival. Both in his group, Koerner, Ray & Glover, and on his own, he has helped popularize early folk and blues music through his performances and recordings, directly affecting the careers of Bob Dylan and Bonnie Raitt, and influencing many others.
Koerner grew up in Rochester, NY, where he was initially interested in flying, not music. He obtained a student glider-pilot license at 15, and when he graduated from high school in 1956, he enrolled at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to study aeronautic engineering. But in 1958, he was introduced to folk music by a campus acquaintance and took to it heavily, learning to play the guitar and dropping out of college to travel the country as a folksinger. He briefly joined the Marine Corps, then returned to Minneapolis in the fall of 1959, where he became a fixture in the coffeehouses of Dinky Town, the bohemian area around the University of Minnesota. There he encountered and played with a new undergraduate, Bob Zimmerman, who soon took the stage name Bob Dylan. He also met guitarist Dave Ray, who introduced him to harmonica player Tony Glover in the spring of 1962 while they were in New York City. The three began to play together there and back in Minneapolis formed the group Koerner, Ray & Glover. They adopted nicknames in the manner of old blues players: Ray became "Snaker," Glover "Little Sun," and Koerner, in reference to his long, skinny arms and legs, "Spider."
Koerner, Ray & Glover recorded an album, Blues, Rags & Hollers, that was released on the tiny Milwaukee-based independent Audiophile Records label in June 1963. Folk label Elektra Records then signed the group and bought the album from Audiophile, reissuing it in an abridged form in November. Lots More Blues, Rags & Hollers followed in June 1964. The trio appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in July, and their performance was recorded for the Vanguard Records album Newport Folk Festival 1964: Evening Concerts III (released in May 1965) and filmed for the motion-picture documentary Festival (which opened in October 1967). The group was always a loose aggregation, frequently breaking down in performance into duos and solos, and it was natural for the three to play separately. In 1965, Koerner and Ray each made solo albums for Elektra (actually assembled by the label from solo performances done at Koerner, Ray & Glover recording sessions). Koerner's was Spider Blues, released in May. He then appeared at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, his performance captured on the Vanguard LP Festival -- Newport Folk Festival 1965, released in 1966. Koerner, Ray & Glover made one more album for Elektra, The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover, released in October 1965, and an archival album of 1963-64 live recordings, Good Old Koerner, Ray and Glover (aka Live at St. Olaf Festival), was released by Mill City Records in January 1972. But the trio ceased to be a full-time act by 1966.
Koerner continued to play the folk circuit as a solo performer, appearing at such prestigious clubs as the Ash Grove in Los Angeles and Club 47 in Cambridge, MA. He made a trip to England in 1968 and again appeared at the Newport Folk Festival in 1969. That year, Elektra released his second album, Running, Jumping, Standing Still, which featured piano player Willie Murphy and included many original compositions, among them "I Ain't Blue," which Bonnie Raittlater covered on her self-titled debut album. By the early '70s a lack of success prompted Koerner to retire to Copenhagen, Denmark, after recording the album Music Is Just a Bunch of Notes for Dave Ray's Sweet Jane Records label. (The LP was released in May 1972.) His European retirement lasted for a year or so, its ending formally marked by another Sweet Jane release, Some American Folk Songs Like They Used To, in October 1974. The album showed that he had moved more toward traditional folk music rather than the folk-blues with which he had been associated.
Koerner moved back to Minnesota in 1977 and maintained his career on a part-time basis while also working outside music. He returned to greater national visibility due to his association with Red House Records, which released his first album in more than 11 years, Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Been, in 1986 (it had been recorded in 1980), followed by Raised by Humans in March 1992 andStarGeezer in May 1996. Red House also reissued theKoerner, Ray & Glover albums Blues, Rags & Hollers, Lots More Blues, Rags & Hollers, and The Return of Koerner, Ray & Glover, as well as Koerner's Running, Jumping, Standing Still, on CD. In 1997, a new Koerner, Ray & Glover live album, One Foot in the Groove, was released on Tim/Kerr Records. Koerner underwent emergency triple bypass surgery in January 1998, but recovered and returned to performing. Lacking health insurance, he suffered astronomical medical bills, but a series of benefit concerts paid them off. In the early years of the new millennium, he continued to perform, both solo and as a member of Koerner, Ray & Glover. AMG.

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Soft Machine - Third 1970

The Soft Machine plunged deeper into jazz and contemporary electronic music on this pivotal release, which incited the Village Voice to call it a milestone achievement when it was released. It's a double album of stunning music, with each side devoted to one composition -- two by Mike Ratledge, and one each by Hopper and Wyatt, with substantial help from a number of backup musicians, including Canterbury mainstays Elton Dean and Jimmy Hastings. The Ratledge songs come closest to fusion jazz, although this is fusion laced with tape loop effects and hypnotic, repetitive keyboard patterns.Hugh Hopper's "Facelift" recalls "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson, although it's more complex, with several quite dissimilar sections. The pulsing rhythms, chaotic horn and keyboard sounds, and dark drones on "Facelift" predate some of what Hopper did as a solo artist later (this song was actually culled from two live performances in 1970). Robert Wyatt draws on musical ideas from early 1967 demos done with producer Giorgio Gomelsky, on his capricious composition "Moon in June." Lyrically, it's a satirical alternative to the pretension displayed by a lot of rock writing of the era, and combined with the Softs' exotic instrumentation, it makes for quite a listen (the collection Triple Echo includes a BBC broadcast recording of this song, with different albeit equally fanciful lyrics). Not exactly rock, Third nonetheless pushed the boundaries of rock into areas previously unexplored, and it managed to do so without sounding self-indulgent. A better introduction to the group is either of the first two records, but once introduced, this is the place to go. AMG.

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Neil Diamond - Just For You 1967

Neil Diamond was on the cusp of discovering a new genre with his second album, which perfectly straddled early- and mid-'60s Brill Building teen pop and the as-yet-unidentified (and unnamed) singer/songwriter genre. The production is as smooth and crisp (and solidly commercial) as anything ever to come from the renowned hit factory at 49th and Broadway by way of the MonkeesLittle Eva,the Raindrops, et al. But unlike his debut LP, this time out every song (including two carried over from his debut) is a Diamond original, and his voice and delivery are a lot more sophisticated -- on "The Long Way Home," "Red, Red Wine," etc., he sounds like he's living the lyrics, but in a more personal manner than, say, Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck -- and as they are Diamond's lyrics, the effect is natural rather than any performing artifice. Some of the slickness obviously flattens out what might have been some more personal edges to the songs: it would have been (and still would be) interesting to hear Diamond take the best of these songs and reinterpret them in the studio later in his career, when he had more to say and more control over how they were treated. And to be fair, a few, such as "You'll Forget," are a bit on the generic and trivial side (but are still eminently listenable, and solid pop/rock). Oddly enough, Diamond's then-current big hit "Kentucky Woman" isn't present here, though a pair of successes from the previous year, "Cherry Cherry" and "Solitary Man" (probably getting a second go-round because its serious emotions fit in this setting better than they did on the debut album), are aboard. But somewhat eclipsing them and everything else here, for the attentive listener, is a song and a performance that show Diamond rising to a new level as a musician and composer: "Shilo." His most personal song of this era, it represented the opening of a new chapter in his career, but one that Bang Records' chief Bert Berns was unwilling to turn the page to open, as he believed the company was better served by keeping Diamond identified with catchy pop/rock aimed at teenagers 16 and under, not deeply personal, confessional lyrics that might not appeal to them. Berns' refusal to release the song as a single led to a rift between Diamond and the label which, following Berns' death from a heart attack at the end of 1967, ended the singer's relationship with the company. Listening to the song tucked neatly into the middle of side two of this album, it still sounds like it exists on a whole different plane from anything else here. It was a deal-ender between Diamond and Bang, but also a career-maker in terms of getting him to a place where he could advance to his full potential. AMG.

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Jackie McLean - 'Bout Soul 1967

'Bout Soul does not mean the same thing as soul-jazz, as the opening track "Soul" makes abundantly clear. Written by Grachan Moncur III and poet Barbara Simmons, "Soul" is a tonally free tone-poem that features Simmons' spoken recital. It's about what the concept of soul is, not what soul music is, and that should not come as a surprise to anyone acquainted with Jackie McLean's work. Even as his Blue Note contemporaries were working commercial soul-jazz grooves, McLean pushed the borders of jazz, embracing the avant-garde and free jazz. 'Bout Soul is one of his most explicit free albums, finding the alto saxophonist pushing a quintet -- trumpeter Woody Shaw (who sits out "Dear Nick, Dear John"), pianist Lamont Johnson, bassist Scotty Holt, drummer Rashied Ali -- into uncompromising, tonally free territory. This is intensely cerebral music that is nevertheless played with a fiery passion. Although the music was all composed, it is played as if it was invented on the spot. Fans of McLean's straight-ahead hard bop, or even of his adventurous mid-'60s sessions, might find this a little off-putting at first, but 'Bout Soul rewards close listening. It is one of McLean's finest modern contemporary sessions. AMG.

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Roy Buchanan - Rescue Me 1974

Rescue Me (1975) was the final Roy Buchanan (guitar) studio album under his deal with Polydor Records. But, a loophole allowed the company control of his catalog outside of North America. Thus, a similar eight-song collection that bears the moniker In the Beginning (1974) is the U.S. equivalent.Buchanan's inimitable manipulation of the strings and equally definitive skills as an interpretive voice are without question the most cohesive factor on this otherwise limiting affair. In addition to the Tower of Power horns, Buchanan is joined by Neil Larsen (keyboards), Kenny Tibbetts (bass), Bill Stewart(drums), and at the suggestion of Ed FreemanBilly Sheffield (vocals). The opening track "Rescue Me" -- a cover of the 1965 Fontella Bass hit -- fails to truly ignite behind Sheffield's less than inspired pseudo-soul. The groove becomes decidedly stronger however, as the entire band gets in sync for Al Green's "I'm a Ram." One of the best pieces is the interpretation of Joe Zawinul's "Country Preacher," which takes the Cannonball Adderley (sax) tune to a new and thoroughly satisfying level. The instrumental shines under the influence of Buchanan's alternately stinging and wounded fretwork.Nick Gravenites and Michael Bloomfield's "You're Killing My Love" retains the Muscle Shoals sound that Otis Rush used on the original. The platter concludes with Buchanan weaving an intimate and bluesy adaptation of "Wayfaring Stranger" titled "Wayfairing Pilgrim." AMG.

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Stonefield Tramp - Dreaming Again 1974

The U.K. folk scene was exploding with ambitious young singer/songwriters and acoustic pickers in the early ‘70s, when Rob Van Spyk first banded together with some similarly inclined pals to form a group that mixed rootsy sounds with often-political lyricism, the latter mostly supplied by Terry Friend. They self-released their first LP in 1974, under the name R.J. Van Spyk & Friends, but after expanding the lineup and their sound, they changed their name to Stonefield Tramp and unveiled another D.I.Y. album, Dreaming Again, that same year. The album shifts back and forth between two modes. One has a folk-rocky, all-for-one collective feel, with the group's acoustic -- and occasionally electric -- axes riffing at length over the same vamp, while rough-hewn vocals deliver intense, socially conscious lyrics mostly written by Friend. The other is a more balladic folk singer approach, typified by "Social State Blues," a straightforward political folk song of the sort that had been filling coffeehouses all over England a few years earlier, but were likely in shorter supply by 1974. The penultimate track onDreaming Again is the mostly instrumental "Theme from Follow the Sun," the sort of tune tailor-made for riding off into the sunset, with its keening, cowboy harmonica and "happy trails" feel. Things close out with the low-key acoustic picking of "Doing Things Naturally," a kind of anti-anthem for the post-hippie era. In the end, there's an endearingly amateurish quality to the whole affair that imbuesDreaming Again with an amiable underground vibe even when the subject matter turns gloomy. AMG.

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Jonesy - Keeping Up 1973

Rhythm team David Paull and Jim Payne left Jonesy after the release of the band's debut No Alternative. In their stead came Gypsy Jones and Plug Thomas, along with trumpeter/woodwind player Alan Bown and string arranger Ray Russell upending their previous sound. "Masquerade," which opened their sophomore Keeping Up set, immediately introduced the new crew across a dizzying array of genres. Shades of new romantics to come haunt the early passages, but then the song rounds on funk, delves deep into moody waters, pooling around woodwind and trumpet solos whipped to a froth by the lush strings while operatic vocals soar overhead. The new players weren't the only changes to be heard within; guitarist John Evan Jones had recently discovered the delight of the wah-wah pedal, and showcases it across many of the tracks. It predominates on sections of "Questions and Answers," a number encompassing jazz, funk, and Beatles flavored psychedelia along the way, as well as a military tattoo and a rollicking R&B piano. But these kinds of crossovers were second nature to Jonesy, with the epic "Children" even throwing Baroque organ and Stax-styled horns into the mix. Not all the numbers were adventures in genre busting: introspective pieces like the short "Duet," the lavish "Preview," and the unimaginatively titled but rich and emotive "Song" all picked a style and stuck with it. While Jonesy's previous album was adventurous, Keeping Up was even more so, for what the band lost in jazzy overtones they here gained in new instrumentation and effects. With hard hitting lyrics and themes, "Critique (With Exceptions)," although a bit overblown, is still amusing; "Song"'s celebration of peace, while noting the inevitably of more war to come, will certainly resonate today. The fast maturing Jonesy were here reaching their peak. AMG.

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Country Joe McDonald - Paradise with an Ocean View 1976

Political and ecological issues were set to musical accompaniment by Country Joe McDonald, who co-founded and led the psychedelic folk-rock band Country Joe & the Fish, the leading left-wing band of the '60s. Since the group's breakup in 1971, McDonald has continued to musically espouse his political views through his original, folk-like songs.
A native of Washington, D.C., McDonald grew up in El Monte, CA, a suburb of Los Angeles, where his parents, Florence and Worden, had moved to escape political difficulties in the capital city. Music played an important role through McDonald's childhood, and he attended many concerts at El Monte Legion Stadium; after becoming enchanted by Dixieland music, he frequented the Lighthouse Club in Hermosa Beach.
At the age of 17, McDonald enlisted in the U.S. Navy. Following his discharge after three years, he attended City College in Los Angeles for a year. Although he moved to Berkeley to continue his schooling, McDonald was distracted by his love of music and spent most of his time playing in bands like the Berkeley String Quartet and the Instant Action Jug Band, which included future bandmate Barry Melton.
Joined by folk guitarist Blair HardmanMcDonald recorded his first tunes in 1964. Released originally by First American Records, many of the songs were later re-recorded by McDonald for his 1976 albumThe Goodbye Blues.
McDonald continued to be active in politics in the mid-'60s, and published a left-wing magazine, Rag Baby. After publishing the first few issues of the magazine, McDonald conceived the idea of recording a special "talking" issue. Released as an EP, the issue featured two songs, "I Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag," a Dixieland-like indictment of the Vietnam War, and "Superbird," a satire aimed at President Lyndon Johnson; both were credited to "Country Joe & the Fish." Following the completion of the project, McDonald and Melton agreed to form a more serious rock band.
With McDonald's political lyrics set to a dynamic rock beat, Country Joe & the Fish became popular in the San Francisco Bay area, performing frequently at the Jabberwocky coffeehouse in Berkeley and the Avalon and Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. Their second EP featured three of McDonald's tunes -- "Bass Strings," "Section 43," and "(Thing Called) Love."
Together with the Fish, McDonald performed at most of the major music festivals of the '60s. Their performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 was featured in the film of the event. In addition to performing with the group at Woodstock in August 1969, McDonald performed a solo set that was capped by his obscene altering of the "Fish Cheer" intro to "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die." Featured in the movie of the festival, the intro brought McDonald to international attention.Signed by Vanguard Records in December 1966, Country Joe & the Fish soon released their first album, Electric Music for the Mind and Body. Although "I Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag" was intended to be included on the album, the record label convinced McDonald to omit it. It was finally released as the title track of the band's second album. A single of the tune reached number 32 on the Billboard charts. McDonald & the Fish made their East Coast debut at the Cafe Au Go Go in 1967. Following the release of their third album, Together, in 1968, the band toured Europe, where they were met by enthusiastic crowds. Their fourth album, Here We Are Again, released in 1969, featured musical guests Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane and David Getz and Peter Albin of Big Brother & the Holding Company.
Beginning in April 1971, McDonald became active in the growing anti-war movement and appeared at demonstrations in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.. Together with Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, McDonald appeared during an FTA (Free the Army) tour of Vietnam that featured skits by former Second City members Ann and Roger Bowen. Although he became disenchanted with Fonda'spolitical views and left the show, the experience earned McDonald a spot on President Nixon's enemy list.By that time, however, McDonaldhad signed a solo contract with Vanguard and recorded two albums in Nashville -- Thinking of Woody Guthrie, released in December 1969, and Tonight I'm Singing Just for You, released in May 1970. McDonald continued to tour and record as a solo singer/songwriter. During a tour of England, he recorded an album, Hold On: It's Coming, with accompaniment by Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Greenand other British musicians. In Scandinavia, McDonald was contracted by film producer Knud Thorbjorsen to compose songs for a film based on Henry Miller'snovel Quiet Days in Clichy. The three songs he wrote -- "Mara," "Ny's Song," and "Henry Miller and the Hungry World" -- were included on the film's soundtrack. When Grove Films attempted to import copies of the film to show in United States theaters, they were seized by customs and dubbed "obscene." Grove Films eventually won a court battle, and the movie premiered in New York in 1971. McDonaldlater scored and appeared in a Chilean film, Que Hacer, documenting Salvador Allende's successful campaign for president.Woodstock, however, came during the final stages of the band's tenure. In the aftermath of the festival, McDonald was arrested in Worcester, MA for inciting an audience to lewd behavior, while Melton was arrested for possession of marijuana. Although they recorded a final album, C.J. Fish, with a new keyboard player and rhythm section, and had appeared in the 1970 film Zacharia, Country Joe & the Fishdisbanded in 1971.
McDonald's 1991 album,Superstitious Blues, was a mostly acoustic effort and included two songs recorded with Jerry Garcia of the Grateful DeadCarry On, released in 1995, was inspired by the death of McDonald's parents and featured his touching tribute to Florence Nightingale, "The Lady with the Lamp," and the title track, which featured Garcia on electric guitarBeginning in 1982,McDonald became involved with furthering the cause of Vietnam veterans and worked with such groups as Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Swords to Plowshares, and Vietnam Veterans of America. His experience peaked with the release of an album and video, Vietnam Experience, in 1988.The remainder of the '70s represented McDonald's most prolific period as he released seven albums -- Love Is a FireGoodbye Blues,Rock & Roll Music from the Planet EarthLeisure SuiteOn My OwnInto the Fire, and Child's Play. In 1977, Country Joe & the Fish temporarily came together again to record an album, Reunion.McDonald spent most of 1974 living in Europe. Returning to California in 1975, he joined a band, Energy Crisis, that featured former Fish Bruce Barthol and ex-Instant Action Jug Band member Phil Marsh. The band appeared onMcDonald's 1975 album, Paradise With an Ocean View. The album, which included the anthemic tune "Save the Whales," reflected an increase in McDonald's ecological commitment.Returning to the United States, McDonald recorded an EP with the San Fransisco-based band Grootna. A solo performance at the Bottom Line was released as a live album, Incredible Live!, in 1972. During 1972 and 1973,McDonald performed with the All-Star Band, a group mainly comprised of members of the Fish and Big Brother & the Holding Company. The band accompanied McDonald on his 1973 album Paris Sessions. AMG.

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