Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
RiversideWasteland(CD - InsideOutMuisc, 2018) **** Genre: Prog rock Places I remember:FOPP (Covent Garden) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:The Struggle For Survival - a 9 minute epic that showcases the band's strengths well.
Gear costume:The Night Before - meditative closer is the perfect final track. Active compensatory factors: I love Riverside. Much more than I love mainman Mariusz Duda's spin-off band Lunatic Soul. I have all of the CDs those bands have done (being a completist is tough at times) so I think I'm in a position to judge. Riverside is the big deal. For some reason Riverside's combination of musicians works for Duda, and the, even darker, solo stuff, although interesting, doesn't quite. The album is a return to bone crunching prog metal for the most part, with some ethereal tracks for variety. In total, I've only heard the album three times but The Struggle For Survival immediately stood out. Up there with the best of Riverside. Where do they all belong? Return to prog metal form after the death of a band member and the noodling electronica of the previous album, Eye Of The Soundscape (worth checking out if you like that sort of thing).
VariousThe Best of 2018(CD - Mojo cover mount, 2018) *** Genre: All over the shop - there's jazz, rock, power pop, indie rock, world, and more Places I remember: Free with Mojo #302 Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Elvis Costello - Stripping Paper. Each time I heard this it got better and better!
Gear costume: Kamasi Washington - Will You Sing Active compensatory factors: I'm wary of best of year sampler collections. But I trust Mojo. So I went into this with pragmatic high hopes. Some heavy hitters make an appearance: Elvis Costello is in good form on Stripping Paper; Ry Cooder; Cat Power, Christine and the Queens, and Kamasi Washington are on it in more ways than one. Everything Kamasi seems to do is massive and Will You Sing, positioned at track 8 is epic! A mountain of sound! Overall the CD's like 15 tracks from my ipod shuffle and works somehow by throwing disparate sounds together. Where do they all belong?Not sure 2018 has been a stellar year musically but Will You Sing seems to represent the possibility of producing order from the chaotic world of 2018.
SladeOld New Borrowed and Blue(CD - Salvo, 1974) *** Genre: English pop/rock Places I remember: HMV (Oxford Street, London) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Everyday (piano based ballad showed another side of Noddy and Jim)
Gear costume:My Friend Stan Active compensatory factors: Dave Hill's autobiography, So Here It Is, has been a fascinating read of late. Honest and unpretentious - just like the band in fact! Somehow, this album emerged after Don Powell's car crash (which put him in hospital and killed his girlfriend) and it continued the success of 1973 into another year. With all the drama and the touring during Slademania it's a wonder it came out at all. For me, it became the beginning of the slide into obscurity for Slade. I bought it on release back in 1974 because of the previous singles and Slade Alive (forever their best moment in my opinion), but I sold my vinyl copy in one of my periodic purges. It still sounds piecemeal to me - unlike Slade Alive and Slayed?, the highs are still highs though and I can now listen to it with greater context. Thanks to the pleasure I got from H's book, I bought it last week, along with their first two albums (Beginnings and Play It Loud - more on them to come) and nearly got all their eighties product as well. Nearly. The problem is that Slade Alive is such an iconic part of my youth and I'd stopped listening to Slade by the eighties. Everything else is in that album's shadow but who knows. If I can track down, Noddy's book could make me come back to them as well. Where do they all belong? After 74 it was Slade In Flame and some obscure lean pickings years.
Barclay James HarvestConcert For The People (Berlin)(Vinyl - Polydor, 1982) **** Genre: Progressive rock Places I remember: Chaldon Records and Books (Caterham on the hill) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Mockingbird (glorious version clocking in at over 7 minutes)
Gear costume: Child Of The Universe Active compensatory factors: Barclay James Harvest's prog rock tag is a strange one and I guess comes from the association with the Harvest label and their prog band roster (Pink Floyd most notably). The band members write great songs that don't fit into pop or rock categories - mainly thanks to the quietly distinctive vocals of John Lees and Les Holroyd (and before he left the band in 1979, Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme). This live album collects some of those great songs and with the help of some studio overdubs (the original live recording in Berlin had technical hitches) presents the band as they are in concert. It's all about the songs and the playing - no one would ever accuse the band members of being rebel rousing front men! Where do they all belong? Recorded in 1980 and released 1982, this one slots into their mid career adjustment following the departure of Woolly.
Daryl Hall/ John OatesAbandoned Luncheonette(Vinyl - Atlantic, 1974) **** Genre: American pop/rock Places I remember:Chaldon records and books (Caterham on the hill) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:She's Gone
Gear costume:Las Vegas Turnaround (the stewardess song) Active compensatory factors: 'Soul-inflected' is a great description of the guys' style. I was an early fan - buying the (almost perfect) single, She's Gone, and thrashing it, but not the parent album until a few weeks ago. I don't know why I didn't buy it before then as I've loved the cover and loved their vocal style for decades now. This is their second album and was successful to a point in the mid seventies. It's only since their mega success in the eighties that the album has grown in stature and sales. She's Gone stands out - how could it not? but the rest of the album has glimpses of the ecstasy that seems effortless in She's Gone. Apparently it's the duo's favourite album, so if you haven't experienced it yet - get in there! Where do they all belong? They are much better known for their huge late seventies/eighties monster hit smash records but there is a lovely glimpse of two guys meshing amid some cool smooth soul grooves on this record.
Cass ElliotCass Elliot(Vinyl - RCA, 1972) ** Genre: American pop/rock Places I remember:Chaldon Records and Books (Caterham-on-the-hill) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Disney Girls
Gear costume:I'll Be There Active compensatory factors: Obviously, Cass Elliot has become a tragic figure, dying young at 32 from a heart attack, but her vocals can instantly recall the sixties when she was Mama Cass. Here, she's in full on glamour mode, singing standards with lush backings - not really my thing. What made me take a punt on the album was seeing the immortal Disney Girls on the track listing. In this case she's also got Bruce Johnston and Carl Wilson appearing with her. Magic ensues! Where do they all belong? Back to those Mamas and Papas' greatest hits packages.
