Song for winners (Nick Waterhouse) (LP 4823)

Nick Waterhouse  Nick Waterhouse (Vinyl, IL Records, 2019) ***  

Genre: Jazz, R&B

Places I remember: HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I Feel an Urge Coming On

Gear costume: By Heart

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: While living in England, I saw Nick Waterhouse performing on Later...with Jools Holland and I loved his sound, so when I was next in HMV I bought this album.

Nick is a talented American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, but, unfortunately, I was initially disappointed with this purchase, as it didn't feature the jazzy sound that I'd loved on Later doing I Had Some Money (but I spent it).

Having listened to it since, it has grown on me, without hitting the heights of the Later spot.

Where do they all belong? I'd be tempted if I found a copy of Never Twice (it has I Had Some Money on it)

Are you okay? (Was (Not Was)) (LP 4821 - 4822)

Was (Not Was)  What Up, Dog? (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 1988) ****  

Was (Not Was)  Are You Okay? (Vinyl, Fontana Records, 1990) ***  

Genre: Pop, funk, soul

Places I remember: Record stores in Nelson

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Somewhere In America There's a Street Named After My dad (What Up, Dog?)

Gear costume: Walk the Dinosaur (What Up, Dog?)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Was (Not Was) was a loose band built around David Was and Don Was (not their real names, and not related), with Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowens on lead vocals. 

What Up, Dog? was their third album and a breakthrough thanks to two excellent catchy pop songs - Walk The Dinosaur, Spy in the House of Love. The rest of the album is funky and pop smart with some edgy tracks as well. It hasn't aged that well in parts, thanks to production ticks of the late eighties but once you ease into it, What Up, Dog? holds up!

Are You Okay? was their next album after What Up, Dog?. It embraces more hip hop styles with effect, but the zaniness of the subject matter continued (I Blew Up the United States, Elvis' Rolls Royce) and guests (Leonard Cohen). It's all good fun for the most part, but not as consistently as brilliant as What Up, Dog.

Where do they all belong? I lost track of the band in the 18 year hiatus until their reunion but I'll stick with these two to remind me of a great time in Nelson (1990 to 1994).

All day music (War) (LP 4816 - 4820)

War  War (Vinyl, United Artists Records, 1971) ***  

War  All Day Music (Vinyl, United Artists Records, 1971) **** 

War  The World Is A Ghetto (CD, United Artists Records, 1972) *****   

War  Deliver the Word (Vinyl, United Artists Records, 1973) ****

War  War Live (Vinyl, United Artists Records, 1974) ***  

Eric Burdon and War  Love is All Around (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1976) *** 

Genre: Funk, Soul, Jazz rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, JB Hi Fi, Marbecks Records, Chaldon Books and Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The Cisco Kid (The World is a Ghetto)

Gear costume: Slipping Into Darkness (All Day Music), The World is a Ghetto

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: War have appeared back in the countdown, in the Bs, when I was featuring my Eric Burdon collection (you can revisit those posts here and here), and I've covered War Live before as well - so not counted again here). For some reason I missed writing about Love is All Around - an odds and sods compilation credited to Eric Burdon and War. So I'll get to that one on this post.

It's kind of fitting that I'll need to include Eric Burdon again because he was instrumental in launching the band as his backing band back in 1970. After Eric Burdon Declares 'War' and The Black-Man's Burdon, War went it alone with two albums in 1971.

The first, War, gets them off to a good start with a sampling of their various guises - some funk, some soul, some jazz (featuring Charles Miller's tenor sax), some blues (featuring Lee Oskar's harmonica), even some gospel.  The one blemish on the album for me is the eleven minute long Fidel's Fantasy. Musically it's great but I only need to listen to the story once. It doesn't hold up for repeat listens.

Their second album of 1971 was All Day Music. The hit from the album was Slipping Into Darkness. The sound on this album is a lot more funk focussed with some strong arrangements. The live cuts are similarly tight and in the pocket.

The World Is A Ghetto is where I was first aware of the band back in 1971. At that stage the Eric Burdon and War albums seemed impossibly exotic and beyond my reach, but The Cisco Kid was a terrific single and it got some good airplay on NZ's IZM.

When I finally got a copy from Marbecks, I realised how good the whole album was, and how much they'd perfected the soul, funk, blues and jazz elements into their music. The ten minute track is a perfect example of War firing on all cylinders.

Deliver the Word is another intriguing War album - with a smooth jazz rock/jazz fusion approach for some songs and their funk approach to others. It's playfully experimental still which was a rarity back in 1973, and even more so in 2026 where strict formulas rule the airwaves.

The final album on the list, Love Is All Around, is an odds and sods collection that compiles songs from the Eric Burdon & War days back in 1969 to '71. The most interesting songs are A Day in the Life - a previously unreleased cover version of the song by The Beatles; and a live version of Paint It Black - from the Whiskey, Los Angeles, September 8, 1969.

Where do they all belong? Although I think I have their best work, I'm missing a couple of albums from the seventies  that are still worth pursuing: Why Can't We Be Friends? (1975); and Platinum Jazz (1977).

Meadows (Joe Walsh) (LP 4815)

Joe Walsh  You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1976) ****  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Meadows

Gear costume: Rocky Mountain Way

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: My Joe Walsh collection contained a few of his other albums Barnstorm and The Player You Get... but I found them uneven so I flicked them off and retained this live album instead.

He's great in a live setting and the album contains all his big moments: Meadows; Rocky Mountain Way; Walk Away; Turn to Stone. It also has a couple of Eagles joining in on backing vocals on the soft rock ballad Help Me Make It Through the Night. 

It was his last solo album for ABC and he'd soon join The Eagles - which I found baffling at the time and kinda still do. They neutered his hard rock tendencies. This was the guy from The James Gang and guitar epics like Rocky Mountain Way, now doing Peaceful Easy Feeling. Bit weird.

Where do they all belong? I have an el cheapo compilation as well but this live album is pretty much all I need.

Sir Galahad (Rick Wakeman) (LP 4806 - 4814)

Rick Wakeman  The Six Wives of Henry VIII (Vinyl and CD, A&M Records, 1973) *****  

Rick Wakeman  The Six Wives of Henry VIII Live at Hampton Palace (CD and DVD, Eagle Records, 2009) ***  

Rick Wakeman  Journey to the Centre of the Earth (Vinyl and CD, A&M Records, 1974) ***  

Rick Wakeman  The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Vinyl and CD, A&M Records, 1975) **** 

Rick Wakeman and the English Rock Ensemble  No Earthly Connection (Vinyl, A&M Records, 1976) **  

Rick Wakeman  Rock n' Roll Prophet (Vinyl, Dureco Benelux Records, 1982) ** 

Rick Wakeman  Silent Nights (Vinyl, President Records, 1985) **  

Rick Wakeman  Country Airs (CD, Coda Records, 1986) ****  

Rick Wakeman and the Martian Rock Ensemble  Red Planet (Vinyl, Madfish Music, 2020) ***** 

Genre: Prog rock 

Places I remember: DJ Records, HMV, Real Groovy Records, JB Hi Fi, Spellbound Wax Company.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight

Gear costume: Glory Boys (Silent Nights)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Thanks to Yes' Fragile album I was a fan of everything in Yes World, which led me to The Six Wives of Henry VIII back in 1973. Consequently, I fell in love with the brilliant, but barking mad, world of Rick Wakeman - hence all these albums!

Six Wives is a majestic series of songs that thematically conjure up the spirit of each wives' personality, according to Rick. This was his second solo album, but kinda his first real one. He'd made an album called Piano Vibrations in 1971. It was a series of cover versions of popular songs, whereas Six Wives features his original content.

The album was recorded live in its entirety for the first time at Hampton Court Palace in 2009. The palace is a fitting venue - as it was home for Henry VIII. The show was released on DVD and as an album. 

It fools around with the order of tracks and includes one for Henry that was left off the original album. It's a fine performance, but I prefer the original sound and order. The live version is a bit too slick.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth was another epic concept album. I bought it and sold it off at some point, then many years later had a hankering to listen to it again. I bought a CD copy with terrible packaging so found a record with the original (also terrible, but not as terrible) packaging. 

It's easy to see where Alan Parsons got his concept ideas from - I bet he wished he'd found this idea first. Rick chose a live setting for this recording, and it pays off with the London Symphony Orchestra and English Chamber Choir. The whole album is entertaining and unpretentious for the most part.

The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Spiders from Mars, oops - I mean Knights of the Round Table, is one of my favourites. It helps that I love the source material.

Again, the packaging for the vinyl edition is missing from the el cheapo CD version. A shame, because the booklet that comes with the vinyl album is superb and it deserves wider distribution.

The music and story line are mostly in synch, except for the bits that sound like you've entered a western saloon. I can never figure out why prog rock gods like Wakeman and Emerson insert those bits. Aside from that quibble, it's another entertaining album.

No Earthly Connection was another album that had Rick playing with his English Rock Ensemble - a loose Plastic Ono Band style group. This time he focuses his talents on one song that covers all of side one and half of side two of the vinyl - called Music Reincarnate. It drifts by pleasantly but doesn't linger long in the memory.

From its tacky cover and title, to the fact Rick sings on three tracks, Rock n'Roll Prophet is a really weird one! It's a hard album to like, which is why critics derided it at the time. Apparently, the album was intended as a spoof but it seems sincere, so who knows. Easy to say that in hindsight, I guess. Oh, and his vocals aren't terrible.

The whole album is not that bad, but the chintzy synths do give the album a goofy veneer. When he plays piano he's on much more solid ground; clearly he wasn't in a serious mood though.

Onto the dreaded mid-eighties and Silent Nights had a much better cover and title for a start. It also had the mix of novelty songs (terrible) instrumentals (both excellent) and sub-par songs that strived to be current (meh). The mid-eighties were bleuch for a lot of artists who had a post punk curse to contend with. Rick was unfortunately no exception. Do love that cover though.

Maybe Rick realised all this and decided to record a beautiful instrumental solo piano album instead. Although Country Airs does encroach on new age pianist George Winston's territory, it's distinctly Rick Wakeman.

Side note - beware Rick's re-recorded version in 1992 because of Coda (the record company) going bankrupt. That version uses a digital piano, so the original is the superior one.

That Rick is at his best in an instrumental setting is borne out by his 2020 album - Red Planet. He's joined on the album by the latest iteration of his band, now renamed The Martian Rock Ensemble (I see what he did there).

It's similar in approach to Six Wives - lengthy prog rock songs married to a central concept. In this case life on Mars (b.t.w - Rick's piano is a feature of that Bowie song). Rick is back with a band who supplement his talents with drums and guitars. I especially like the guitar layers on the album.

Each of the song features plenty of twists and turns (I swear he suffers from ADHD) so there are always new things to listen out for. Each track is brilliant and the whole album coheres around the theme. It's a triumph!

Where do they all belong? He's extremely prolific and I'm not a completist. I'm happy with what I've got and there's a lot more of Rick to come when we reach Yes.

Carnaval (Santana) (LP 4802 - 4805)

Argent  Circus (CD, CBS Records, 1975) ***  

John Lennon  Johnny Moondog (Vinyl, Bootleg recording) *

Van Morrison  Remembering Now (Vinyl, Virgin Records, 2025) ****  

Santana  Festival (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1977) *** 

Genre: Prog rock, pop, celtic soul, rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Down to Joy (Van)

Gear costume: Let the Children Play (Santana)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: These four albums are from a recent purchase from Real Groovy. I saw they had a copy of Johnny Moondog so I got that and padded that out to get free shipping with three other albums on my list. I lost the Lennon bootleg in that infamous house move, so it's good to find a replacement. The quality is pretty dire at times and the songs have all appeared elsewhere but it repairs a hole in my psyche, so it's invaluable.

I think the only two missing bootlegs I'm still looking for are a Lennon 10 inch called A Guitar's All Right, John, and The Beatles Hahst az Son - made up of Let It Be sessions on a double album.

The Argent album is their sixth album, their last for CBS and their first without Russ Ballad. John Verity is the new vocalist/ replacement for Ballad. 

My reviews of other Argent albums can be found here, here and here. Why so many, and why Circus? I like Argent's unpretentious brand of prog rock. Yes, this is a concept album but it's built around a circus experience as a metaphor for life. As Obi Wan might say - nothing pretentious going on here, move along, move along. It's a solid mid seventies light prog album which does no harm.

I've written about my Van Morrison collection three times so far (here, here and here). He's an artist that refuses to be ignored as the years go by and his releases stack up.

The reviews for Van's 47th studio album, 2025's Remembering Now, were uniform in their opinion that this one of his best ever albums. It's staggering that his first album was released almost 60 years ago. Obviously, given the amount of music he releases (22 albums in the last 26 years), the quality will vary. Plus, being in his eighties - he's no spring chicken. When the inspiration hits, though, as it does on this album, he's in a class of his own.

There's something extremely gratifying when each song starts and then Van the man begins his vocals - that familiar reassurance that comes with his familiar delivery. May he make many more albums like Remembering Now. 

I was alerted to the fact that I failed to own Santana's Festival album when I did the late seventies section of my Santana posts. I haven't been missing much it seems. Only Carnaval/Let the Children Play and Let the Music Set You Free stand out. The rest is slow paced and sludgy. Not Santana's best moment.

Where do they all belong? Back to the countdown next - we're up to Rick Wakeman.

Ice cream man (Tom Waits) (LP 4797 - 4801)

Tom Waits  Closing Time (Vinyl, Asylum Records, 1973) ***  

Tom Waits  The Heart of Saturday Night (Vinyl, Asylum Records, 1974) ***  

Tom Waits  Nighthawks at the Diner (Vinyl, Asylum Records, 1975) *****  

Tom Waits  Blue Valentine (Vinyl, Asylum Records, 1978) ***

Tom Waits  Heartattack and Vine (Vinyl, Asylum Records, 1980) **** 

Genre: Folk, jazz, blues, alt rock

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Heartattack and Vine

Gear costume: (Looking for) the Heart of Saturday Night

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Typical of Tom Wait's sharp sense of humour that he'd call his debut album, Closing Time. The songs on it are often gentle folk songs - his voice was yet to develop his ravaged drawl. I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You is a good example. It sounds slightly cynical until the last line and the listener has a wry smile.

The highlights are that song, Ol' 55 which the Eagles covered in their smooth Southern Californian style, Grapefruit Moon, and Martha. All point to his way with a melody, his skewed world view and his potential. The rest though don't particularly do it for me and so the key feeling I have from the album is that it's a decent start, but much greater was to come.

Tom's early albums are on Asylum Records, home to The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt and Joni Mitchell amid others. Tom is the outlier in this bunch with Closing Time pointing towards a jazzier, late night sardonic vibe.

That's certainly the vibe The Heart of Saturday Night, his second album. It's an improvement on the debut with some more fully realised songs like New Coat of Paint, Shiver Me Timbers and the title track. Overall, it's a bit patchy.

His next album was not patchy at all. Instead, Nighthawks at the Diner is a 'live' in the studio effort. I don't know why more artists don't do this - it's a brilliant way to record with a small audience. On Nighthawks, you get a juiced up but easy going ambience going conducive to a relaxed but controlled performance with a sympathetic jazz combo. Michael Melvoin is on piano, with Jim Hughart on bass, Bill Goodwin on drums and Pete Christlieb on sax. Tom also plays piano and guitar during the set.

In this instance Nighthawks sounds like an intimate jazz club where Tom does his best barfly beatnik poet's impression over four sides. He is hilarious too! The jazz setting and musical accompaniment suits him superbly, as he smoothly does his hipster jive routines and songs. 

There are plenty of highlights but I need to single out two of my absolute favs - Eggs and Sausage (In a Cadillac with Susan Michelson), and Big Joe and Phantom 309.

I missed a few of his mid seventies albums for some reason. In 1978 I was in my second undergraduate year, being paid in records while working at Marbecks Records during my holidays - which is where I listened to Blue Valentine. We played it a lot in the store and Roger loved Tom's version of Somewhere. RM has superb taste, so I needed a copy. 

It has its moments but it's inconsistant. The aforementioned Somewhere, Romeo is Bleeding, and A Sweet Little Bullet from a Pretty Blue Gun are all top efforts but some of the other tracks don't feel too inspired or committed. I notice this when those three songs come around.

I was again working my holidays at Marbecks when Heartattack and Vine was released. I didn't have to think too much about this purchase. Tom's last album in his Asylum years was also the last one in his beatnik persona. 

Although it's a transitional record, Heartattack and Vine should be enjoyed for what it is - a jagged rocky guitar based sound that matches his visceral vocals.

By this stage, thanks to a diet of cigarettes and alcohol, his voice was a deep rasp with overtones of Captain Beefheart/ Howlin' Wolf's more gutteral delivery. It makes Blue Valentine a tougher listen at times but it really suits the grittier approach on Heartattack and Vine. I love the album - along with Nighthawks at the Diner, it is my go-to Tom Waits album.

Where do they all belong? The Used Songs 1973 - 1980 compilation is a good in-point for his Asylum years. I did buy a few of his Island albums but I never listened to them much so I sold them off.