So much love (Eric Burdon) (LP 2091 - 2095)

Earl Klugh and Bob James  Two Of A Kind (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1982) *****  

Brian Auger's Oblivion Express  Straight Ahead (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1974) ***  

Eric Burdon  Darkness Darkness (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1980) **

Eric Burdon  I Used To Be An Animal, But I'm Alright Now (Vinyl, Striped Horse Records, 1988) ****   

Donovan  Love Is Only Feeling (Vinyl, Interfusion Records, 1981) ****  

Genre: Jazz (modern variety); jazz rock; pop/rock; folk rock

Places I remember: These are all from Slow Boat Records - which I visited a few weeks ago.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Lady Of The Flowers (Donovan)

Gear costume: Half Moon Bay (Donovan) 

Active compensatory factors: The Bob James/Earl Klugh album is the second of their three collaborations and quite possibly their best, although third effort, Cool, is also great.

They coexist happily as musicians - each one shining throughout, without getting in each other's way.

I was a little disappointed with the Auger album. Given it only has five tracks I was expecting quality wig outs aplenty but on the first couple of listens it hasn't impressed me much. Noodling is great as long it develops eventually into something memorable.

The eighties weren't too kind to rockers like Eric Burdon. He can be hit or miss during that decade. These two are a good example of that. I Used To Be An Animal is much the better of the two with some nice horn work fleshing out the sound, plus a variety of new looks from Eric. 

His vocals are always spirited but after a couple of decades he's entitled to ease up a tad. On Darkness Darkness he sounds pretty done in.

That leaves the latest Donovan album to enter my collection. I really like it! It feels like he's very comfortable in his own skin. 

The musicianship and recording are high class here and he's a good lesson for others in the eighties - basically just keep doing your thing and don't be a slave to the new technologies/ sounds.

Really, this album could have come from the late sixties, seventies or nineties! Go Donovan!

Pity about the cover though. 

Where do they all belong? My other purchases from the Wellington trip have gone into the collection and I'll get to them in time.