John Lennon - Mind Games 1973

After the hostile reaction to the politically charged Sometime in New York City, John Lennon moved away from explicit protest songs and returned to introspective songwriting with Mind Games. Lennon didn't leave politics behind -- he just tempered his opinions with humor on songs like "Bring on the Lucie (Freda Peeple)," which happened to undercut the intention of the song. It also indicated the confusion that lies at the heart of the album. Lennon doesn't know which way to go, so he tries everything. There are lovely ballads like "Out of the Blue" and "One Day (At a Time)," forced, ham-fisted rockers like "Meat City" and "Tight A$," sweeping Spectoresque pop on "Mind Games," and many mid-tempo, indistinguishable pop/rockers. While the best numbers are among Lennon's finest, there's only a handful of them, and the remainder of the record is simply pleasant. But compared to Sometime in New York City, as well as the subsequent Walls and Bridges, Mind Games sounded like a return to form. AMG.

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The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Will The Circle Be Unbroken 1972

With all due respect to the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, it took the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band until this album came up with a merger of rock and country music that worked for both sides and everyone involved. The opening number, "The Grand Ole Opry Song," set the tone for the album, showing that this band -- for all of their origins in rock and popular music -- was willing to meet country music on its own terms, rather than as a vehicle for embellishment as rock music. The result, without a false or strained note anywhere among its 37 songs, was an all-star country project that worked (and transcended its country and rock origins), with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band serving as a catalyst and intersecting point for all of the talent involved, who gave superbly of themselves. Not only did this album result in exposure to a new and wider audience for the likes of Mother Maybelle Carter, Roy Acuff, Earl Scruggs, Merle Travis, and others, but this was the first real country album that a lot of rock listeners under the age of 30 ever heard. Thus, it opened up pathways and dialogue in all directions, across several generations and cultural barriers; the dialogue between Doc Watson and Merle Travis alone was almost worth the price of admission. AMG.

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Chalis - One Small Chance 1975

Another 70's US oddity, this time from Minnesota. Chalis' main songwriters were L. Jacobson, S. Germaine, and M. Robinson, their sole effort was released in 1974/75 on the obscure Ellen Abby label, apparently a private one. The music is far from consistent and heading to nowhere, but the material is decent enough as a whole. A mix of Pop, Folk, Psych, and Symphonic Rock, recalling the accessible tunes of Ambrosia and the softer side of Yes. Very good keyboard layers, some interesting guitar parts, and even some flute on rare occasions, never becoming excessive or complex, but moving along a secure path of tight songwriting with sentimental vocals. However, the bulk is built around cheesy multi-vocal harmonies, playful piano, acoustic guitar, and a generally quite pedestrian atmosphere, where striking tunes were more important than the music itself. And they are not so striking at the very end, many bands had built their career on better tunes. Still, there is a huge instrumental background for an amateur group with synths, organ, acoustic/electric piano, flute, and so on to keep things interesting all the way. 

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Elephant's Memory - Elephant's Memory 1972

Although chiefly remembered these days for their role as John Lennon's loose and ragged backup band on his Some Time in New York City album from 1972, Elephant's Memory has a bit more to their history than that. Formed in 1967 by drummer Rick Frank and saxophonist and clarinetist Stan Bronstein, who reportedly met on the New York City strip-joint circuit, the group specialized in an eclectic Frank Zappa-like mix of psychedelia, jazz, and acid-tinged rock, and delivered a truly bizarre stage show complete with inflatable stage sets. Their first album, simply called Elephant's Memory, was released in 1969 on Buddah Records, a label more famous for bubblegum pop groups than whacked-out horn bands.

Two tracks from the LP, "Jungle Gym at the Zoo" and "Old Man Willow," found their way onto the Midnight Cowboy movie soundtrack later that year, which gave the group some visibility, but it didn't exactly translate into sales for the debut album. A second LP, 1970's Take It to the Streets, had even less commercial impact. Then came John Lennon and Some Time in New York City, and Elephant's Memory had their moment in the sun. They released a third album, also called Elephant's Memory and featuring David Peel, on Apple Records later that year, then backed up Yoko Ono on 1973's Approximately Infinite Universe. Angels Forever, which turned out to be the group's swan song, appeared in 1974. Elephant's Memory left behind what is probably best described as a footnote legacy since they will undoubtedly always be linked chiefly to Lennon and Ono. An impressive number of musicians passed through the band in its seven-year run, including Frank and Bornstein, as well as Carly Simon (yes, that Carly Simon, who was a member of the group for about six months), Jon Sachs, Gary VanScyoc, Michal Shapiro, Chris Robinson, Martha Velez, John Ward, Chester Ayres, Myron Yules, Richard Sussman, Wayne "Tex" Gabriel, Daria Price, and John Labosca. Footnote they may be, but Elephant's Memory made more of an impact than anyone ever might have suspected from a scuffling New York City street band. AMG.

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Bee Gees - Idea 1968

The Bee Gees' third album is something of a departure, with more of a rocking sound and with the orchestra (apart from a few well-placed harp arpeggios) somewhat less prominent in the sound mix than on their first two LPs. The two hits, "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" and "I Started a Joke," are very much of a piece with their earlier work, but on "Kitty Can," "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry," and "Such a Shame" (the latter written by the group's then lead guitarist, Vince Melouney), among other cuts, they sound much more like a working band with a cohesive group sound, rather than a harmony vocal group with accompaniment. Their writing still has a tendency toward the dramatic and the melodramatic, which would manifest itself prominently again on their next album, Odessa, six months later, but here the group seemed to be trying for a somewhat less moody, dark-toned overall sound, and some less surreal lyrical conceits, though "Kilburn Towers" (despite some pop-jazz inflections) and "Swan Song," as well as "I Started a Joke," retain elements of fantasy and profundity. [In 2006, as part of the shift of the group's back catalog to Reprise Records, Idea was reissued in remastered form, with seriously improved sound and expanded to two CDs with a brace of chronologically-related outtakes -- comprising some of the most fascinating material of their history -- initially as part of the collection The Studio Albums 1967-1968.] AMG.

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Catalyst - Perception 1973

People living anywhere other than southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or New York in the '70s missed the Catalyst experience. A four-man jazz combo from Philadelphia, the band played a blend of avant-garde, contemporary bop, soul, and funk at the dawn of the big fusion explosion. The original members were Eddie Green (keyboards, vocals), Sherman Ferguson (drums, percussion, marimba), Odean Pope (sax, flute, oboe), and Al Johnson (bass). Tyrone Brown replaced Johnson after Catalyst's self-titled debut album on Cobblestone Records in 1972. Producer Skip Drinkwater discovered them playing at the Aqua Lounge in West Philly; this resulted in a contract with Cobblestone Records, with Drinkwater producing. Green was a disciple of the Bud Powell school of pianism and was instructed on chord changes by Powell's brother, Richard. Pope was tutored by Ray Bryant, Benny Golson, and others; strains of John Coltrane are revealed when the aggressive sax player expands. Ferguson was a bop drummer whose effortless tempo changes and impeccable timing kept Catalyst tight. Johnson, who joined Weather Report after Catalyst's first album, was self-taught, but influenced by classical music. They rehearsed hard and inspired one another to push farther into unknown territories where all the music they liked could be wrapped into a holistic sound. Jazz clubs in Philly were plentiful in the '70s, which may account for the group's lack of trips outside the region. The band's eponymous funk-jazz debut, Catalyst, is highly regarded as a fusion masterpiece; many regard the set as being superior to better-known recordings from the era by Weather Report and Return to Forever. Billy Hart, from Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi ensemble, accompanied Catalyst on this spacy, illuminating set. A second album, Perception, was issued in 1972 on Cobblestone as well. It featured some brilliant avant-garde work that won the hearts of jazz purists and increased their cult following. This was a creative period -- the recording deal was fresh, and they were eager to please and expand their already stimulating original material. In 1974, the band recorded Unity for Muse Records, which had acquired the Cobblestone label. A final album, 1975's A Tear and a Smile, also appeared on Muse, differing yet again from those that preceded it because it was steeped in funk. Stylistically, Catalyst never made the same album twice. Four sterling efforts with no significant sales made the group leery of the recording business. They put a lot of time into their albums; they weren't jam sessions but were carefully thought-out, well-rehearsed studio executions that Muse kept shelving as if they were contaminated. Disheartened and unable to get any lucrative gigs, the members of Catalyst parted ways in 1976. Green played with Pat Martino, and accompanied many of Philadelphia International Records' biggest acts, including Billy Paul, MFSB, and the Three Degrees live; he also taught music. Pope and Brown joined Max Roach for a time. Pope was also a founder and integral member of the acclaimed Saxophone Choir. Johnson left early to play with Weather Report, and Sherman Ferguson has bopped around with Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Burrell, Bud Shank, and others.

The acquisition of the Muse catalog by the late Joel Dorn's 32 Jazz venture and the reissuing of Catalyst material on CD has rekindled interest and introduced the band to a new generation of hip-hop, dance music, soul-jazz, and funk fans. First out of the box was Groove Jammy: Rare Groove Classics from the Muse Catalog in 1998, a compilation CD that featured Catalyst and other Muse artists. The release created a spark and listeners demanded more of the quartet, resulting in The Funkiest Band You Never Heard in 1999, a two-disc CD containing all four Catalyst albums from the '70s. Their individual albums have since been re-released in the 21st century on LP by Scorpio Distribution's reissue department and their catalog was issued in two volumes from Porter Records on both CD and LP in 2011. AMG.

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Alan Stivell - Reflets 1970

If there is a single savior of Celtic music, Alan Stivell is probably it. Since the end of the 1960s, he has done more to revive interest in the Celtic (specifically Breton) harp than anyone in the world and, in the process, almost singlehandedly made the world aware of native Breton Celtic music. Since 1971, he has been recording albums of extraordinary beauty and diversity, ranging from ancient Breton and Irish material to modern folk-rock, new age, and progressive rock. AMG.

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Bloomsbury People - Bloomsbury People 1970

A native of Milwaukee Sigmund Snopek III, perhaps one of the most interesting artists appeared in the late 60 's - early 70's. He created the "Bloomsbury People" in 1968. The group quickly achieved success and recognition from the local audience, speaking in Milwaukee and its suburbs, and recorded a couple of 45s in the next 2 years. They played an unconventional mixture of avant-garde rock, classical music, and baroque pop. Their self-titled and only album was released by MGM Records in June 1970. The band broke up shortly after their performance at the Atlanta International Pop Festival.

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Taste - On The Boards 1970

The second and final studio recording by Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher's neo-Cream trio reins in the playing to focus more on songwriting. The material is a virtual grab bag of blues-rock styles, moving from driving rockers ("What's Going On," "I'll Remember") and basic boogies ("Morning Sun," "If I Don't Sing I'll Cry") to a bottleneck blitz ("Eat My Words") and a pair of acoustic ballads. There's a pronounced jazzy tinge to his spiky guitar and never-again-heard alto sax on the slow blues of the title track and "It's Happened Before, It'll Happen Again," the latter giving the Richard McCracken-John Wilson rhythm section a chance to stretch out and swing fluidly. The lyrics, never a Gallagher strong suit, are pretty simplistic, but the chorus hooks do stick. It could all have added up to one big eclectic mess, but for the often one-dimensional, sometimes ham-fisted Gallagher, the laudable variety turns On the Boards into the high point of his recording career. AMG.

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Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) 1978

So titled because the original album, simply titled Bat Chain Puller, had to be ditched and rerecorded after a legal tussle involving Frank Zappa's manager, Shiny Beast turned out to be manna from heaven for those feeling Beefheart had lost his way on his two Mercury albums. Then again, what else could be assumed with a song titled "Tropical Hot Dog Night" that sounds like what happened when Beefheart encountered Miami disco and decided to make something of it? When it comes to singing, though, he's still the atypical growler, snarler and more of lore, conjuring up more wonderfully odd lyrical stories than can easily be measured, while the album as a whole gets steadily more and more bent. "You Know You're a Man" is at once straightforward and incredibly weird when it comes to love and gender, while other standouts include "Bat Chain Puller," a steady chugger that feels like a goofy death march, and the nervy freak of "Owed T'Alex." As for the Magic Band in general, keyboardist Eric Drew Feldman, guitarists Jeff Tepper and Richard Redus and drummer Robert Williams lay down the business with appropriately gone aplomb, as a listen to "Suction Prints" will demonstrate. AMG.
 

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Flaviola e o Bando do Sol - Flaviola e o Bando do Sol 1976

A rare album from 1974, exponent of the northeastern scene, Flaviola e o Bando do Sol is recovered and re-released

The 1970s were full of extraordinary psychedelic experiences, some of which almost no one remembers accurately because of the profusion of substances involved. In music, one of these experiences was undoubtedly the Pernambuco album Flaviola e o Bando do Sol, released 46 years ago, which brought together a group of musicians who would define the future of northeastern music: Lula Côrtes, Robertinho do Recife, Paulo Raphael, Zé da Flute, among others. In 1974, a year of great musical fertility, the only album released by the poet Flávio Lira, Flaviola, reached the most radical peak of the period's experiences (as did the albums by Marconi Notaro and the group Ave Sangria). To the delight of lovers of psychedelic sound, Polysom ​​is now re-releasing Flaviola's vinyl in 180 grams, in partnership with the Pernambuco record label Rozenblit, which had originally released it. The graphic restoration was carried out from the collection preserved by Luiz Calanca, from the Baratos Afins label – it is worth remembering that Flaviola's cover is absurdly similar to the cover of an album by the priest of space rock, the British Syd Barret: Opel, from 1988.

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Click - Click 1969

A pop psych-folk gem, the sole record by Click Horning. Could be the American equivalent of Nick Drake in a more orchestrated manner. Interesting album.

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The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers 1976

Compiled of demos the band recorded with John Cale in 1973, The Modern Lovers is one of the great proto-punk albums of all time, capturing an angst-ridden adolescent geekiness that is married to a stripped-down, minimalistic rock & roll derived from the art punk of the Velvet Underground. While the sound is in debt to the primal three-chord pounding of early Velvet Underground, the attitude of Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers is a million miles away from Lou Reed's jaded urban nightmares. As he says in the classic two-chord anthem "Roadrunner," Richman is in love with the modern world and rock & roll. He's still a teenager at heart, which means he's not only in love with girls he can't have, but also radios, suburbs, and fast food, and it also means he'll crack jokes like "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole...not like you." "Pablo Picasso" is the classic sneer, but "She Cracked" and "I'm Straight" are just as nasty, made all the more edgy by the Modern Lovers' amateurish, minimalist drive. But beneath his adolescent posturing, Richman is also nakedly emotional, pleading for a lover on "Someone I Care About" and "Girl Friend," or romanticizing the future on "Dignified and Old." That combination of musical simplicity, driving rock & roll, and gawky emotional confessions makes The Modern Lovers one of the most startling proto-punk records -- it strips rock & roll to its core and establishes the rock tradition of the geeky, awkward social outcast venting his frustrations. More importantly, the music is just as raw and exciting now as when it was recorded in 1973, or when it was belatedly released in 1976. AMG.

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Caravan - Cunning Stunts 1975

Contrasting the clever spoonerism from which Cunning Stunts derives its name, Caravan is heard on what is arguably their most uninspired material to date. The effort is certainly far from a total loss, but nowhere nearly as creative as their former studio effort For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night (1973) -- the likes of which sadly would not be equaled. Instead of commencing the affair with the aggression and spirit that informed previous LPs -- such as "Memory Lain, Hugh" or "Waterloo Lilly" -- which had christened their earlier albums, "The Show of Our Lives" comes off comparatively heavy and practically dirge-like. Caravan's trademark instrumental agility while perhaps temporarily mired, is not lost on Pye Hastings' uptempo rocker "Stuck in a Hole." Heavy-handed, superfluous orchestration -- possibly a residual effect of their New Symphonia project from late 1973 -- mars "No Backstage Pass" and the 18-minute "Dabsong Conshirtoe." There are a few trademarks and at times edgier passages, especially during the "Ben Karratt Rides Again" movement of the epic "Conshirtoe." Still, the orchestration is too slick sounding, as if it were teetering on the aural wallpaper that is (gasp!) Muzak. Caravan enthusiasts intent on including Cunning Stunts in their collections should be aware that the 2001 CD reissue contains a few choice supplementary selections. Chief among these is an unissued take on "Keeping Back My Love" -- which would ultimately be reworked three years later on Better by Far (1977). Here the band definitely displays signs and sounds of the Caravan of old. For that cut alone, the renovated offering can be sufficiently recommended. The other significant bonus track is a live "For Richard" recorded at Fairfield Hall in Croydon, England. Originally, it was included in the 1976 Canterbury Tales best-of but makes its digital debut here. AMG.

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Dave 'Snaker' Ray - Fine Soft Land 1967

Dave Snaker Ray split his second album about evenly between his own compositions and covers of songs from the likes of Sleepy John Estes, Arthur Crudup, and Leroy Carr. It's a tribute to Ray's feel for traditional blues styles that it's not easy to tell the originals from the covers, though overall it's just an average, if respectable, album. He accompanies himself on 12-string guitar on this set of acoustic blues, playing harmonica on his "Tribute" to Sonny Boy Williamson II, piano on the closing "Born to Surrender," and singing a one-minute snatch of Mose Allison's "Young Man" a cappella. The LP usually has a slow, relaxed ambiance that sometimes gets a little too low-energy after a few songs at a time. Some of the highlights include his bottleneck guitar on "West Egg Rag" and his unusual, almost raga-tinged guitar work on "Baby Please Don't Go," which in spots is rather reminiscent of the approach Davy Graham used in England on "Blue Raga." Future Rolling Stone editor Paul Nelson produced. AMG.

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Dana Gillespie - Box Of Surprises 1968

Although Dana Gillespie is probably best known for her early-'70s spell among David Bowie's most visible cohorts, her own career dates back almost as far as Bowie's himself, with the pair even sharing a record label (Decca) and producer (Mike Vernon) during the late '60s. Whereas Bowie was more intent on aping Anthony Newley and the English music hall traditions, however, Gillespie was turning in an album that stands as the missing link between period Marianne Faithfull and future Elastica. An angular pop edge dominates Box of Surprises, one that utterly defies the decades that have passed since its recording, while the gentler songs such as "For David, the Next Day" (not surprisingly written for Bowie) and "Grecian Ode" pack an alluring impact of their own. The years since Box of Surprises have seen Gillespie undergo any number of musical changes, from her flirtation with glam, through blues and folk, and even a spell of near-symphonic rock, alongside sometime-Mike Oldfield collaborator Tim Cross. This album predicts most of those moves and still sounds astonishingly fresh because of that. AMG.

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