James Brown And The J.B.s - Slaughters Big Rip Off 1973

1973 was an extremely busy year for Brown. Not only did he continue to release two-plus albums a year, he was also producing and writing for the J.B.'s, plus other acts. During the early '70s Brown was still doing great work, but not much of it shows up here. While the earlier Black Caesar soundtrack found Brown engaged enough to offer great tracks, particularly, "The Boss" and "Down and Out in New York City," this one, also a soundtrack, finds him preoccupied. The swaggering and slick title track kicks things off here. "Trying to Get Over" and "Big Strong" both fall into the traps of bad movie music. Since an album of Brown doing chase themes seems horrifying, Slaughter's Big Rip Off does offer more. Throughout this effort he recycles some of his classic tracks; the oddly titled "Happy for the Poor" is actually a Latinized version of the J.B.'s 1971 single, "Gimme Some More." He goes back even further for his own 1970 classic, "Brother Rapp," which makes an appearance and has the "live" crowd removed. While it's unclear why he would resort to such odd song choices, he had one more shocker in store. "Sexy, Sexy, Sexy" uses the exact backing track from his 1967 hit "Money Won't Change You," with new vocals and lyrics on top. The sad part is that it works too well. While Slaughter's Big Rip Off proved that he wasn't going to be a soundtrack innovator, the idea of Brown in the film-scoring business has its own appeal. AllMusic.

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Marvin Gaye - At The Copa 1966

Generally regarded as an iconic nightclub in the history of New York City, the Copa represented that and more to Motown owner Berry Gordy. For Gordy, the Copa was one of many benchmarks indicating that his little experiment called Motown was successful, and having his artists there was the ultimate symbol of how far he had come. The Supremes already had their shot at the Copa, and a live album was issued shortly thereafter. Next up was Gordy's rebellious but chart topping prodigy, Marvin Gaye. In many respects this was the ideal performance for Gaye, as many of the singers he grew to idolize shared the stage there at one point or another, with names like Sinatra and Cole. This was also Gaye's shot at branching out beyond the starched suit of formulaic (but highly successful and groundbreaking) songs that Gordy and Motown urged him to sing. In many instances, Gaye felt the material beneath him, and patiently waited for the day when he could croon his way to the top (a batch of unreleased recordings in this style would resurface in 1997's excellent Vulnerable compilation). The performances came and went, and everything was in place to release the results. However, this never came to pass (according to the outstanding liner notes, it was largely attributed to the tumultuous relationship between Gaye and Gordy; they had an ongoing feud that continued in one variation or another until the end of Gaye's life) and the project was ultimately shelved. Fast forward to 2005, and the folks at Motown Select had the good sense to remaster and release these recordings in a limited pressing. Marvin Gaye at the Copa is a survey of Gaye's finest performances during that two-night stint and the results are nothing short of striking. A balance of standards, ballads and Motown favorites in medley form comprise the 17 tracks on the disc, and with every performance Gaye's velvet-smooth delivery is more than evident; it's addicting. His longing to be out from under the contrived entertainment and choreography -- the juggernaut of the Motown formula -- bleeds through on tracks such as "The Shadow of Your Smile," "Strangers in the Night," and "The Song Is You." And if anything, the release of these tracks not only serve as a kind of vindication -- Gaye could not only capably sing in this fashion, he could do it better than Gordy would ever allow him credit for. It's somewhat liberating to have this collection readily available, but also somewhat sad that his career and his dreams never fully came to fruition. Of all Gaye's previously issued live works, this ranks with the best of them. For fans of Gaye's early years, this is musical manna from heaven. AllMusic.

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Jimi Hendrix - The Cry of Love 1971

This was the first of the posthumous releases in the Jimi Hendrix catalog and probably the best as it collected most of the studio tracks that were either completed or very near completion before Hendrix died. Some of these tunes, like "Angel" and "Ezy Rider," have become well-known pieces in the Hendrix canon, but they sit alongside lesser-known gems like "Night Bird Flying" and the Dylanesque "My Friend." Cry of Love as an album has been rendered as a footnote, since the Hendrix estate has recompiled, to Hendrix's specifications, First Rays of the New Rising Sun. This (originally) double-album set contains not only the entire Cry of Love LP, but the best studio tracks from Rainbow Bridge, War Heroes, and Crash Landing, presented in drastically improved sound. AllMusic.

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Marianne Faithfull - North Country Maid 1966

Faithfull was still known primarily as a pop singer when she put out North Country Maid, but this is in fact very close to a pure folk album, with a bit of influence from pop, rock, blues, and jazz. Largely overlooked even by Faithfull fans, it's actually a quite respectable effort, and probably her best LP (other than greatest-hits compilations) from the time when her voice was still on the high side. Ably backed by sessionmen including guitarists Jon Mark and Jim Sullivan, she interprets mostly traditional material on this record, including "She Moved Through the Fair," "Wild Mountain Thyme," "Sally Free and Easy," and "Scarborough Fair." There are some mid-'60s covers too, though, including Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street" and Tom Paxton's "Last Thing on My Mind." Sometimes, when the bass gets prominent and the arrangements swing, this isn't too far from early Pentangle, as unexpected as that comparison is. The use of sitar on "She Moved Through the Fair" and "Wild Mountain Thyme" is adventurous, and she sings pretty well throughout, with dignity and purity if not utmost imagination or grit. The 1990 CD reissue on Deram U.K. adds three worthwhile bonus tracks: "The Most of What Is Least" (from a 1965 EP) and alternate versions of "Come My Way" and "Mary Anne" (the originals of which had appeared on her 1965 album, Come My Way). AllMusic.

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Irish Coffee - Irish Coffee 1971

Irish Coffee played unremarkable bluesy hard rock on this rare 1971 LP. Like so many late-'60s and early-'70s albums of this kind that never got a wide hearing, a weirdly tense, negative attitude was prevalent in the basic minor-keyed melodies, noodling guitars, churchy organ, despondent lyrics, and half-screamed descent-into-hell vocalizing. It's more mundane than menacing, although creating a troubled atmosphere seems to have been part of the intent. There's a little more of a good-time soul-rock feel on the two-part "The Show," with funkish wah-wah effects. Considering the obscurity of the original release, the 2002 CD reissue is woefully short of detail, with no liner notes or even listings of members of the band, though it does cite its original release as 1971 on Triangle Records, and says that all tracks were written by W. Souffreau and J. Van Der. AllMusic.

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Refugee - Refugee 1974

Some four years after the demise of the Nice, bassist/vocalist Lee Jackson and drummer Brian Davison finally found a way of profiting from the prog rock gravy train they'd helped set in motion. With Patrick Moraz filling Keith Emerson's capacious boots, they recorded an album that in many ways surpasses anything the Nice ever recorded, and one whose ambition more than matched Emerson's new outfit, ELP. It helped that along with the standard panoply of prog keyboards -- organ, piano, clavinet, Mellotron, and Moog -- Moraz brought with him a jazz feel that clearly energized the rhythm section. Though there's no shortage of de rigueur complex time signatures here, this is also a band with fire in its belly, nowhere more so than in the last five minutes of the extended "Credo," where Jackson's bass runs and Davison's drumming combine to truly thrilling effect. Jackson's voice has always divided fans between those who find it an appalling croak, and those who relished its wry phrasing, but it has never sounded more impassioned than it does here. Perhaps the instrumentals "Papillon" and "Ritt Mickley" are a little too pleased with themselves to strike an emotional response. Yet elsewhere, despite the fearsome complexity of Moraz's arrangements and the odd lapse into portentousness, there is usually a soaring melody line to quell any doubts. All told Refugee's only album delivered enough to suggest that they could have delivered at least another two killer blows before punk finished them off. In the event, it functioned purely as a convenient shop window for Yes, who were in the market for a new keyboard player after Rick Wakeman's departure. AllMusic.

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Jerry Butler - Aware of Love 1961

Jerry Butler's third album, Aware of Love, is comprised of a dozen good if slightly uneven tracks, mostly pop-type ballads done in an early soul style with restrained string accompaniment, interspersed with a very impressive handful of originals. The latter, composed by Butler and Curtis Mayfield (and featuring Mayfield in a supporting role on vocals and guitar, roles he fulfills throughout this album), show real invention in the writing as well as the singing and arrangements, and outclass most of the rest here. The title track is a soaring soul ballad with a killer performance by Butler, backed by a lean electric band accompaniment and muted horns. "When Trouble Calls," "I'm a Telling You," and "Find Another Girl" are the other originals here, and between those four cuts that's most of the best parts of the album -- Butler does well enough on "The Wicked Man" and some of the other older-style, bluesier R&B tracks, but they're as stuck in the past as the originals point toward the future. AllMusic.

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Ellen McIlwaine - Up From The Skies - The Polydor Years 1972-73

With her bluesy intonation and trademark gusty delivery, it is a wonder that singer/songwriter Ellen McIlwaine (guitar/piano/vocals) wasn't more commercially successful. This single-disc anthology encompasses her first two solo platters Honky Tonk Angel (1972) and We the People (1973), with a sole unissued reading of the soul classic "It's Growing." After spending a majority of her youth in Japan with her missionary parents, McIlwaine and family settled in Atlanta, Georgia in the early 1960s. Her first love was the Creole-based sound of artists such as Professor Longhair and Fats Domino, however, it was McIlwaine's admitted infatuation with the clean, stinging licks of bluesman B.B. King that would yield the more obvious inspiration. After moving to New York City in the mid-'60s, she was quickly ingratiated into the fertile electric folk scene, where she sat in with or opened up for the likes of Muddy Waters, Elvin Bishop and even befriended another newcomer named Jimi Hendrix -- prior to his U.K. defection in 1966. After forming the edgy and rowdy combo Fear Itself and releasing one all-but-dismissed long-player, McIlwaine decided to go it alone. After signing with Polydor, she commenced work on Honky Tonk Angel, which was documented both on-stage at the venerable Bitter End in New York City, as well as in the studio at the equally luminous Record Plant. Her aggressive and diverse cover versions were taken from a wide array of styles, such as Johnnie Taylor's Memphis soul on "Toe Hold" to the Kitty Wells country classic "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels." Perhaps most interesting is the thoroughly inventive reading of Guy Warren's African jazz on "Pinebo (My Story)." McIlwaine provided some a few stunning originals, including the woozy slide guitar blues rave-up "Losing You" as well as the upbeat and funky "Wings of a Horse." These strong compositions became a precursor to her follow-up We the People, as it drew more heavily upon her own material. Among the highlights are McIlwaine's profound fretwork on "Ain't No Two Ways to It (It's Love)," the languid and dreamy "Underground River" and the palpitation-inducing acoustic-raga, "We the People." The selection is not only the title track, but the album's sole live cut, recorded at Carnegie Hall during her support slot for the progressive Latin-fused funk of Mandrill. Talk about your eclectic double-bill! AllMusic

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Kaleidoscope (UK) - White Faced Lady 1971

No relation to the far better known American Kaleidoscope, though this British group was also psychedelic, and was active at almost exactly the same time in the late '60s. Highly esteemed by some collectors, Kaleidoscope epitomized certain of the more precious traits of British psychedelia with their fairy-tale lyrics and gentle, swirling folky sound. At times they sound like a far more melodic and accessible Incredible String Band. Their folky ballads have aged best, and although there's some period charm to be found throughout their two albums, it's all a bit too cloying to rank among the finest unknown psychedelia. Although they had a solid underground reputation in Britain, they never found wide success, and evolved into a similar group, Fairfield Parlour, by the end of the '60s. AllMusic.

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John Coltrane - Interstellar Space 1967

Not released for the first time until 1974 but now available in expanded form as a CD, this set of duets by tenor saxophonist John Coltrane and drummer Rashied Ali are full of fire, emotion and constant abstract invention. The original four pieces ("Mars," "Venus," "Jupiter" and "Saturn") are joined by "Leo" and "Jupiter Variation." Coltrane alternates quiet moments with sections of great intensity, showing off his phenominal technique and ability to improvise without the need for chordal instruments. Rousing if somewhat inaccessible music. AllMusic.

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Howard Roberts - Antelope Freeway 1971

Howard Roberts was a talented guitarist on the level of a Barney Kessel or Herb Ellis, who spent most of his career playing commercial music in the studios. Shortly after he moved to Los Angeles in 1950, Roberts was firmly established in the studios, although on occasion he recorded jazz (most notably twice for Verve during 1956-1959, a Concord session from 1977, and one for Discovery in 1979); however, most of his other output (particularly for Capitol in the 1960s) is of lesser interest. The co-founder of the Guitar Institute of Technology in Hollywood, Roberts was an enthusiastic and talented educator, and wrote a regular instructional column for Guitar Player. AllMusic.
"Here is an interesting jazz/rock road album from guitarist "Howard Roberts". "Antelope Freeway" incorporates lots of trippy outdoor sounds and psychedelic influences with a mixture of humor and artistic expression. I have also kept both sides of the album wrapped as it flows much better and would spoil the feel of each 20 minute side. I hope you like it, as I did." Thanks to Chuntao from
www.raremp3.co.uk

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Next - Dust Shoes 1971

Winnipeg's Next were an offshoot of regional heroes The Fifth. After a fairly successful run of singles in Canada, The Fifth split in 1970 with several members of the band defecting to other acts in the region. One such product of the split was Next. The band were quickly able to secure a contract with Warner Brothers and by late 1971, "Dusty Shoes" was released. With somewhat limited exposure and very poor distribution, the album sank without a trace and Next were history by the end of 1973. Members would later turn up in The Guess Who, Harlequin and The Litter.

"Dusty Shoes" is very much typical of the era from which it sprang. Overall, it's tastefully arranged organ/guitar driven pseudo hard rock that recalls Grand Funk Railroad quite a bit in places. With the soulfully gritty vocals of George Belanger, everything here has an edge which makes much of the material here sound harder than it actually is. That subtle dynamic is what carries most of this album and makes it a truly satisfying listen. Check out this obscure offering from Next, contributed by Orchman. Thanks for robotsforronnie.blogspot.com.

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Gallagher & Lyle - Seeds 1973

Gallagher & Lyle beef up their folk-based sound from previous albums on this recording produced by Glyn Johns. The duo adds several uptempo cuts in a more rock-oriented vein, using saxophone on the opening and most rock-oriented cut, "Country Morning." Harmonicas add energy to the second song, the uptempo "A Misspent Youth," one of several songs with a social edge. Both Gallagher and Lyle have thin voices, but on songs which have an edge of melancholy, such as "Remember Then," and "The Clearings," (two of the outstanding tracks) the voice quality lends itself to good effect. Although many songs on the album deal with regret or loss, there are several which tip the balance in favor of upbeat moods and feeling. Also, melodies and arrangements are strong throughout the album. Side One is particularly effective, with each song having a particular mood of its own. Although Gallagher & Lyle headed more into mainstream rock production values with their next effort, this transitional effort is their best album overall. AllMusic.

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Ferré Grignard - Captain Disaster 1968

Belgium skiffle-singer who surprised the world in 1965 with his international hit "Ring ring, I've got to sing".

Started of at the art academy, went to the USA (where he went to live in the negro ghetto's) and was expelled from there (for being an anarchist). When he came back to the cosmopolitan port Antwerp, he went to live in a mansion, the birthplace of Peter Benoît, where he made music, painted and partied with the 20 friends who lived with him and literally spent all his money at once.he was discovered by Hans Kusters (Yup, that's the same man who has the record company HKM that's now producing the music of the likes of Clouseau) in an Antwerp bar and the first "Jazz-festival" at Bilzen.


His debut album (Ring-ring) conquers the world with its powerful mixture of skiffle, folk-songs and improvised blues music.
From the book "Wit-lof from Belgium" : "After that famous first album and the ensuing international success, things started to go wrong and would continue to go wrong after that. Because Johnny Hallyday had a hit with one of his songs without paying the royalties, Grignard changed record-companies from Philips-France to Barclay. But the first Barclay-album "Captain Disaster" (he asked for it) didn't do as well as expected. A comeback at the beginning of the seventies failed, as did another come-back-again at the end of the seventies."

His manager recalls : "The success in 1966 came too suddenly. He enjoyed it too recklessly. He went to live in a mansion, the birthplace of Peter Benoît, where he made music, painted and partied with the 20 friends who lived with him. When he was paid 10.000 fr. for a gig on Saturday, he would come begging for 100 fr. on Monday to buy some bread. He also systematically refused to fill in his tax-forms, so after a while all royalties went directly to taxes. One big mess".

He died in Antwerp of throat cancer in 1982 (at that time he was living on an attic without heating, surrounded with empty bottles)

After his death however, his influence has continued to live on : many in the Antwerp scene (groups such as dEUS & Zita Swoon) cite Ferre Grignard as one of the influences on the way they make music. Belgian blueslegend Roland Van Campenhout recorded a version of "Hash Bamboo Shuffle" in 1998 for his cover-album "Waltz", citing Ferre Grignard & the Muze as one of the reasons he started making music back in the sixties.

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