I can't be your hero today (Jimmy Buffett) (LP 3508)

Jimmy Buffett  Buried Treasure Volume 1 (Record, Mailboat Records, 2017) ***

Genre: Folk, pop 

Places I remember: Vinyl Countdown

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Don't Bring Me Candy

Gear costume: Abandoned on Tuesday 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I went into this one blindly, not realising that Jimmy was going to be acting as a DJ for each track. I ended up skipping the introductions and just listened to the newly (for 2017) discovered songs from 1969.

He says that he was mimicking Gordon Lightfoot at the time, and you can certainly hear that but what the songs reveal is a young singer songwriter beginning the voyage of discovery. So, as long as you keep that in mind, it's a pleasurable cruise through his back pages.

If you are looking for the laid-back sea dog you will be disappointed. 

Where do they all belong? Not sure I'll jump aboard for any further volumes.

I've been driftin' (Burdon/ Witherspoon) (LP 3400 - 3403)

Ginger Baker's Airforce  Ginger Baker's Airforce 2 (Vinyl, Atco Records, 1970) ****  

Jimmy Buffett  A1A (Vinyl, ABC Dunhill Records, 1974) **** 

Eric Burdon & Jimmy Witherspoon  Black & White Blues (Vinyl, LA International Records, 1976 - originally released as Guilty! 1971) *** 

Dragon  Dragon (Vinyl, Portrait, 1978) *** 

Genre: Jazz rock, country, blues, pop rock

Places I remember: Wax Trax Records (Denver), Amoeba Music (LA)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: 12 Gates of the City (Ginger Baker's Airforce 2)

Gear costume: This Time (Dragon)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: This post continues with the albums I picked up from a trip to California and Colorado. First up in this group of 4 is an album I hesitated to buy. It was the most expensive album I bought from Wax Trax ($US16) but I couldn't leave without it. I'm talking about Ginger Baker's Airforce 2.

My hesitation was because I had read some reviews of it over the years that were quite negative.

Just goes to show you often can't rely on critical reviews. It's a great continuation of the big group jazz rock approach of the first album. Denny Laine and Graham Bond are on hand to provide some sympathetic musicianship to the Airforce.

As the AllMusic says: something should be said for the honesty and purity of Ginger Baker's Airforce 2, and if it is too musical and avant garde for an audience that embraced Clapton, it should be commended for its sense of adventure and elegance. "12 Gates of the City" is a delight, swimming with sounds from the Arabian nights and the swamps of New Orleans, a sublime and uncharted mix that sounds better years after it was recorded. A timeless, yet pretty much forgotten record.

I managed to complete my Jimmy Buffett list while in Wax Trax Records, as I'm not too interested in his slicker post seventies output.

A1A is an excellent album - pure laid-back easy-going Jimmy Buffett. In many ways it is one of his best, and that's without a big hit song. The Third Coral Reefer Band are locked in, and the songs are spot on. It's a great place to start for those who are wondering what all the fuss is about regarding Jimmy's cool dude persona.

Black & White Blues (originally called Guilty!) was the first album Eric Burdon did after leaving War. That said, the album mainly features members of War!

It's a solid set of covers for the most part, that includes songs by John Mayall, James Taylor and Chuck Berry, alongside some original Burdon songs.

The Dragon album, called Dragon, is the international version of Sunshine (their third album, released in 1977), designed to introduce Americans to the band.

It's the one with Get That Jive, This Time (renamed In The Right Direction for this album) and Sunshine on it. Some reasonable hits in 1977.

Where do they all belong? Another bunch of American purchases coming right up.

Lovely cruise (Jimmy Buffett) (LP 2925 - 2929)

Donovan  HMS Donovan (Vinyl, Dawn Records, 1971) *** 

Charlie Ainley  Bang Your Door (Vinyl, Nemperor Records, 1978) *** 

Harpers Bizarre  Anything Goes (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1967) *** 

Jimmy Buffett  A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1973) ***

Jimmy Buffett  Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1977) **** 

Genre: Folk, rock, baroque pop, country rock, Nemperor Records

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)

Gear costume: The Great Filing Station Holdup (Jimmy Buffett)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4

Active compensatory factors: These are all from a recent batch of purchases from Real Groovy (and the last vestiges of my voucher from my previous employer). I also bought a Wings double that will have to wait until I get up to Macca.

The Donovan is a double album, and the second attempt at writing songs for children (as opposed to children's songs). The second disc in A Gift From a Flower to a Garden is far superior to HMS Donovan but that doesn't mean there aren't some lovely moments on HMS Donovan - most notably on the second disc. The first one has a lot of Lewis Carroll poems set to music and Donovan's processed vocals have dated a lot.

Donovan had been working on the songs since 1968 and had even played some of them to the aforesaid Macca. I wish he'd included that instead of these versions. You can hear them here though, thanks to modern technology.

HMS Donovan wasn't successful when it was released (Epic refused to release it in America and it only came out in the UK on Dawn, making it the rarest and most sought after item in his catalogue).

There is a lot to digest on the double and it will take me a few listens to sort the wheat from the chaff.

The Charlie Ainley record is on Nemperor Records and I wouldn't have bothered to track it down otherwise. It's pretty standard 1978 pub rock. One thing to note is Neil Aspinall's appearance on the liner notes as Charlie's manager/ music publisher. Weird.

Speaking of weird, Harpers Bizarre hold a strange hold on me. Critically the band get slaughtered but I don't care. I love their nerdy Californian soft baroque rock. 

Anything Goes was their second album and sort of sums them up - they'll have a go at anything! Chattanooga Choo Choo? Why not!

Van Dyke Parks is a quirky presence on the album. Enough said as far as I'm concerned. Sign me up.

I also signed up to the charms of Jimmy Buffett a while ago. I've added another two to his corner of the collection. A White Sports Coat is country rock, or even straight country at times, and his easy-going personality is present and correct.

Changes In Latitude etc has the huge hit on it, of course, but Margaritaville's success is fully justified. It's an inspired song and I love the lyric - Some people claim that there's a woman to blame/But I know it's nobody's fault.

Where do they all belong? Still looking for a few Donovan records, plus I need one more Charlie Ainley album on Nemperor, Harpers Bizarre's 4 is the last of theirs on my list, as is Jimmy Buffett's A1A.

2/3 of a mile in 10 seconds (Jefferson Airplane) (LP 2750 - 2756)

BLɅϽKPIИK  Born Pink (Vinyl, YG Entertainment, 2023) ****  

Jefferson Airplane  Live at the Fillmore Auditorium 10/15/66 (CD, Sony Music, 2010) **** 

Jefferson Starship  Vinoy Park (CD, Elleu Multimedia, 2003) ***  

Jefferson Starship  Performing Jefferson Airplane @ Woodstock June 12 2009 (CD, Bear Records, 2009) **

Tony Williams Lifetime  (turn it over) (CD, Verve Records, 1970/ reissue 1997) ****  

Jimmy Buffett  Living and Dying in 3/4 Time (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1974) ****

Jimmy Buffett  You Had To Be There (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1978) *** 

Genre: K-Pop, rock, jazz fusion. easy going Americana (a.k.a. country rock)

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi, Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Pink Venom (Black Pink)

Gear costume: Big Nick (Tony Williams Lifetime), Come Monday (Jimmy Buffett), Margaritaville (Jimmy Buffett)

Active compensatory factors: A round up of new purchases for this post, thanks to recent visits to Slow Boat Records in Wellington and JB Hi Fi in Palmy.

Again, the eclectic nature of my interests is the main take away! From K-pop to country rock to sixties psychedelia and on to jazz fusion. I love 'em all.

Blackpink is a South Korean all girl pop group that have become huge outside of South Korea thanks to the hit song Pink Venom. It even was number one in Australia!

Recently, I was researching songs with pink in the title when I stumbled upon this song on Spotify. It's instantly infectious, so when I saw the album in the sale bins at JB Hi Fi it was a no brainer.

Pink Venom dominates the album but only just. There are plenty of other perfect pop songs on there. The Madonna, Lady Gaga influence is noticeable, but this is 2020's pop music with a shiny new sheen.

Next - it's back into the dim past for Jefferson Airplane's late show in October 1966 - the last show with Signe Anderson as part of the band.

It's pretty damn stunning! The sound is pristine and the performance is bang on. Marty and Paul are in great voice and although the band is in transition, they are tight! Incredible that they'd only been together for a year. Jack is forever cool - his bass lines drive the plane, even then.

Sound wise, these sound board recordings of the post 2000 versions of Jefferson Starship (Kantner and Balin plus others on Vinoy Park; Kantner and Frieberg on the 2009 version) are mostly* good as gold (a little bass heavy) and the performances are fine, but Kantner and Balin/ Kantner and Frieberg are far from their peak but still recognisably them.

The stand ins for Grace Slick - Diana Mangano and Cathy Richardson, are okay but there ain't nobody like Grace!

*Deal on the 2009 one cuts out vocals which is unfortunate as Know You Rider displays some fine harmonies.

Tony Williams Lifetime's Turn It Over, their second album, is from 1970 and features Larry Young on organ, Jack Bruce on bass and John McLaughlin on guitar. Phew! What a line-up. 

Those guys couldn't make a dud record if they tried! Intense sheets of sound rule the day as Tony Williams pounds the drums throughout with purpose and the John McLaughlin/Jack Bruce combo pin their ears back and go for it. Vital!

The opposite extreme is Jimmy Buffett and his easy-going laid-back dude routine that I also love! I picked up two of his seventies albums from Slow Boat (how appropriate is that?!).

Living and Dying in 3/4 Time was his fourth studio album, and You Had To Be There was his first live album (a double at that).

There is something extremely appealing about his country rock style. It's taken me a while to appreciate him, though. 

I was of course aware of Margaritaville back in the seventies, and Roger Marbeck was a big fan. For some reason I ignored the appeal until Jimmy's passing last September. Should have listened to Roger a long time ago. He's always right!

Nevermind, I'm making up for lost time now. These are both great for different reasons. And I'll even accept the yodeling at the end of Brand New Country Star.

Where do they all belong? Still keen to track down a copy of Emergency! by Tony Williams' Lifetime.

Cheeseburger in paradise (Jimmy Buffett) (LP 2329 - 2331)

Jimmy Buffett  Havana Daydreamin' (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1976) ***  

Jimmy Buffett  Son Of A Son Of A Sailor (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1978) *** 

Jimmy Buffett  Riddles In The Sand (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1984) ****   

Genre: Pop rock 

Places I remember: Catch up continues through the Bs.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Woman Going Crazy On Caroline Street (Havana Daydreamin')

Gear costume: Cowboy In The Jungle (Son Of A Son Of A Sailor)

Active compensatory factors: Jimmy Buffett died last September having made a great long career as, well, as Jimmy Buffett. He was a real one-off.

He kept his illness (cancer) a secret and was still active touring aged 76, until he could tour no longer.

He's left a great legacy - his discography lists over 30 albums. Not too shabby for a guy with a slacker image.

There's something lovable about his whole laid back beachcomber persona that I and a lot of others admire. His singing style is very cozy and easy.

The album covers often have him jolly, smiling, and carefree. Havana Daydreamin', from the mid-seventies, certainly presents that image.

First song on that album, Woman Going Crazy on Caroline Street, sums up his whole man-in-a-Hawaiian-shirt approach. This is a guy who calls his band The Coral Reefer Band, after all!

Son Of A Son Of A Sailor and Riddles in the Sand aren't quite as good as Havana and he mixes it up a bit on these ones. Still, Son has Cowboy In The Jungle - the sort of easy-going song that he seemed able to write in his sleep!

Where do they all belong? Always on the look-out for more Jimmy Buffett albums.