The Doobie Brothers - What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits 1974

The Doobies team up with the Memphis Horns for an even more Southern-flavored album than usual, although also a more uneven one. By this time, Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, and company had pretty well inherited the mantle and the core (and then some) of the audience left behind by Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty, with Johnston songs like "Pursuit on 53rd Street," "Down in the Track," and "Road Angel" recalling pieces like "Travelin' Band," while Simmons' "Black Water" (their first number one hit) evoked the softer side of the "swamp rock" popularized by CCR. Actually, in some respects, given the range of instruments employed here, including an autoharp (courtesy of Arlo Guthrie) and viola, the songs on the original LP's first side suffer somewhat from a sameness that makes What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits a little less interesting than the albums that preceded it. The original side two had a lot more variety, which is as good as any full album the band ever recorded: Simmons' "Tell Me What You Want (And I'll Give You What You Need)" and Johnston's "Another Park, Another Sunday," which both outdo the Eagles and Poco at their respective country-rock games (and keep a certain soulful edge, too), Simmons' lyrical, ethereal, slightly spacy "Daughters of the Sea," and the very spacy, shimmering instrumental "Flying Cloud" (written by bassist Tiran Porter). In all, despite the weakness of its original first side, it's got a lot more to offer than the single hit, and has at least six numbers (out of 12) that rate with the better album tracks the group has ever done. AMG.

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Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds Of Silence 1966

Simon & Garfunkel's second album, Sounds of Silence, was recorded 18 months after their debut long-player, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM -- but even though the two albums shared one song (actually, one-and-a-half songs) in common, the sound here seemed a million miles away from the gentle harmonizing and unassuming acoustic accompaniment on the first record. In between, there had been a minor earthquake in the pop/rock world called "folk-rock," which resulted in the transformation of their acoustic rendition of "The Sound of Silence" into a classic of the new genre, complete with jangling electric guitars and an amplified beat that helped carry it to the top of the charts. The duo hastily re-formed, Paul Simon returning from an extended stay in England with a large song bag (part of which he had already committed to vinyl, on his U.K. album The Paul Simon Songbook). Simon & Garfunkel rushed into the studio in the fall of 1965 to come up with a folk-rock album in a hurry: fortunately, they'd already recorded two sides, "Somewhere They Can't Find Me" (actually, Simon's rewrite of their first album‘s title track) and "We've Got a Groovey Thing Goin'," both featuring a band accompaniment. Davy Graham's bluesy "Anji," a rare instrumental outing by Simon, filled another slot, and "Richard Cory" filled another. The latter, Simon's adaptation of poet Edwin Arlington Robinson‘s work, was a sincere effort at relevance -- Richard Cory has every material thing a man could want but still takes his own life, a hint at one aspect of middle-class teenaged angst of the mid-'60s; high school English teachers were still using it to motivate students in the '70s. Though a rushed effort, this was a far stronger album than their debut, mostly thanks to Simon's compositions; indeed, in one fell swoop, the world learned not only of the existence of a superb song-poet in Paul Simon, but, in Simon's harmonizing with Art Garfunkel, the finest singing duo since the Everly Brothers. But it also had flaws, some of which only became fully apparent as their audience matured: the snide, youthful sensibilities of "I Am a Rock" and "Blessed" haven't aged well. And the musical concessions, on those tracks and "Richard Cory," to folk-rock amplification have also worn poorly; even in 1966, the electric guitars, piano, organ, and drums, sounded awkward in context with the duo's singing, like something grafted on, though in fairness, those sounds did sell the album. The parts that work best, "Kathy's Song" and "April Come She Will," two of the most personal songs in Simon's output, were similar to the stripped-down originals Simon had cut solo in England, and among the most affecting (as opposed to affected) folk-style records of their era; similarly, Simon's rendition of the folk-blues instrumental "Anji" is close to composer Davy Graham's original, just recorded hotter, while "Leaves That Are Green" is pleasantly if unobtrusively ornamented with electric harpsichord, rhythm guitar, and bass. AMG.

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The Don Rendell and Ian Carr Quintet - Dusk Fire 1966

A superb blending of both jazz and classic elements into a third stream. Both the concept and the trumpet sound are very obviously indebted to Miles Davis, but that does not change the fact that this is beautiful music to behold, whether one is looking to intensely focus on the minimalism of every note or just medidate to the overall experience. AMG.

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Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly 1958

When Buddy Holly & the Crickets broke through nationally in 1957, they were marketed by Decca Records as two different acts whose records were released on two different Decca subsidiaries -- Brunswick for Crickets records, Coral for Holly records. But there was no real musical distinction between the two, except perhaps that the "Crickets" sides had more prominent backup vocals. Nevertheless, coming three months after The "Chirping" Crickets, this was the debut album credited to Buddy Holly. It featured Holly's Top Ten single "Peggy Sue" plus several songs that have turned out to be standards: "I'm Gonna Love You Too," "Listen to Me," "Everyday," "Words of Love," and "Rave On." The rest of the 12 tracks weren't as distinctive, though Holly's takes on such rock & roll hits as "Ready Teddy" and "You're So Square (Baby I Don't Care)" provide an interesting contrast with the more familiar versions by Elvis Presley. This was the final new album featuring Holly to be released during his lifetime. Every subsequent album was an archival or posthumous collection. AMG.

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Flight - Incredible Journey 1976

Flight was an eclectic jazz rock band from Florida led by American musician Pat VIDAS in the late 70's. They released three albums where the first two are an exceptional mixture of jazz rock with some symphonic influences. Vidas was the very prominent and playful lead vocalist who also played brass instruments, which made Flight sound not like a regular fusion band, but more like brass rock of ChicagpO inspired by Emerson, Lake & Palmer or even Gentle Giant, so their albums can be recommended to all who love very technical but at the same time accessible music.

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Marlena Shaw - The Spice of Life 1969

Marlena Shaw's penchant for stylistic variety is certainly evident on this, her sophomore release. Cut for the Cadet label in 1969, Spice of Life ranges from soul and proto-funk to jazz and MOR-hued material. Shaw shines throughout, showing her power on politically charged, Aretha-styled cuts like "Woman of the Ghetto" and "Liberation Conversation," while also delivering supple interpretations of such traditional jazz fare as "Go Away Little Boy" (shades of Nancy Wilson). And with a gutsy take on "Stormy Monday," it's clear Shaw doesn't shrink from the blues either. Across this sound spectrum, arrangers Richard Evans and Charles Stepney envelope Shaw in unobtrusive yet exciting pop-soul environs, throwing kalimba runs (a few years before Earth, Wind & Fire picked up on the instrument), psych guitar accents, and bongo-fueled organ riffs into the mix. Their widescreen touch is particularly well essayed on strings-and-brass standouts like the Bacharach-inspired Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil composition "Looking Through the Eyes of Love" and Ashford & Simpson's "California Soul" (a classic reading heavily favored by the crate-digging set). A perfect way to get familiar with Shaw's impressive early work. AMG.

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Gold - Gold 1970

Rock band formed in 1969 in San Francisco's Mission District. The roots of the Gold are traceable in the garage band Lost Cause, formed in 1967 by the guitarist Ed Scott. In the following two years the group changes his name, first Golden Gate then Gold, and the line-up settles down with the bassist Chico Moncada, the drummer Louie Goursau, the lead guitarist Joe Bajza and the vocalist Richard Coco. By the end of 1970 Robin Sinclair (former Salloom-Sinclair & The Mother Bear) takes the place of Richard Coco. Between 1969 and 1971 they play live several times becoming one of the hottest bands in San Francisco with their groovy and powerful blend of early Quicksilver/ Santana/ Big Brother & The Holding Company. But despite the support of Bill Graham and a remarkable airplay the group did'n never gained a major record contract (only a single in 1970). By 1972/73 new members came and went but eventually in September 1973 they disbanded. Since mid-90s the band has been rediscovered thanks to the release of some early 70s unreleased recordings. 

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Johnny 'Guitar' Watson - Listen 1973

When Johnny "Guitar" Watson recorded Listen for Fantasy in 1973, he was three years away from the major comeback he would enjoy with 1976's Ain't That a Bitch. The singer/guitarist still had some very devoted fans, who remembered him for his blues output of the 1950s. But Watson was going after young R&B audiences in 1973, which is why Listen is a soul-funk album and not a blues album. You won't find another "Gangster of Love" or "Hot Little Mama" on Listen, an LP that was produced and arranged by Watson himself and makes it clear that he was paying close attention to what black radio (or "soul radio," as it was called) was playing at the time. Black radio, of course, was playing very few 12-bar blues numbers in the early '70s; nonetheless, R&B still had plenty of blues feeling, and Watson knew that soul and funk (just like rock) were very much an outgrowth of the blues. So he sounds quite comfortable on soul items like "You're the Sweetest Thing I've Ever Had," "It's All About You," and the sentimental "You Stole My Heart." However, Listen isn't a great record -- decent, but not great and not in a class with subsequent DJM gems like Ain't That a Bitch and 1977's A Real Mother for Ya. This LP, although likable, is only recommended to serious Watson collectors. AMG.

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Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou Dahomey - Le Sato 1974

Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou (sometimes prefaced with T.P. or Tout Puissant, French for "All Powerful") is a band from Cotonou, Benin, originally active from the 1960s to the 1980s and founded by singer-guitarist Mélomé Clément. They reformed in 2009 to international recognition. Their work has mixed styles such as funk, afrobeat, psychedelia, jazz and local voodoo influences. The Guardian called them "one of West Africa's best dance bands." 

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