Ready for love (Mario Winans) (LP 4747)

Mario Winans  Hurt No More (CD, Universal Records, 2004) ***  

Genre: Smoooth RnB, soul, Hip Hop 

Places I remember: Al Ain mall music shop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I Don't Wanna Know

Gear costume: This Is the Thanks I Get

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: Mario made two studio albums - this one is his second and last. I came upon it completely by accident.

I was visiting a music store in the Al Ain mall and this CD was playing while I was browsing. It was a perfect fit for the relaxed Al Ain vibe - so I grabbed a copy!

I have played it a few times over the last dozen years (we returned to NZ in 2012). It takes me back to that middle eastern experience with a bunch of great characters as work colleagues - Deano, Colin, John and Barbie. Driving to Al Foah with this music was a treat.

Where do they all belong? A cool reminder of some great times in Al Ain.

Smile (The Peddlers) (LP 4941 - 4946)

The Peddlers  Freewheelers (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1967) * 

The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett  Woman Woman (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1968) *** 

Tomita  Snowflakes Are Dancing (Vinyl, RCA Red Seal Records, 1974) ***

Triumvirat  Illusions On A Double Dimple (Vinyl, Harvest Records, 1974) ****

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Performs the Best Known Works of Rick Wakeman (Vinyl, A&M Records, 1978) ***

Joe Walsh  The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1973) ***

Genre: Jazz, pop, electronica, prog rock, rock.

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Midnight Moodies (Joe Walsh)

Gear costume: Days Gone By (Joe Walsh) 

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: The Peddlers! If there was a band and a sound I hated more when I was growing up, I can't think of it.

Roy Phillips' organ style and his vocals just gave me conniptions as a ten-year-old, but dad (and plenty of other Kiwis) loved this band. I have to say, time has mellowed my impressions a bit, but this is still music that I struggle to connect with. There is still an internal shudder or two as Roy and his trio do their thing.

When he passed away, I threw The Peddlers' albums out, but I have hung onto The Peddlers second album (Freewheelers) from my father-in-law's collection because it is a reminder of my dad's tastes. Someone else can throw it away when my collection outdates me.  

The Union Gap featuring Gary Puckett had a hit with Woman Woman in 1968 and the resulting debut album with the same name. I also remember hearing their version of Kentucky Woman and To Love Somebody on the radio in the late sixties. Both are on this album, which generally hangs together well. Gary is the lead vocalist, and he's good on these songs, but I'm not sure why he got a mention in the band's name. He's not that special!

Tomita's second album of electronica is called Snowflakes Are Dancing. Tomita's thing is to record modern versions of classical composers' work. For this one it's his arrangements of Claude Debussy's 'tone paintings', performed on a Moog synthesizer and a Mellotron.

Although I do love Debussy's work, a mooged up interpretation's not really my thing, but I heard an excerpt on a sampler in the seventies and the sound seemed exotic. It stuck with me over the years, so I decided to keep my father-in-law's copy from his collection. 

His tastes are similar to my dad's - The Peddlers, moog hits, Dave Brubeck and other jazz artists. He's younger than my dad so the big band era wasn't for him, as it was for my parents. He went to The Beatles' concert in Dunedin, which my parents never would have done. I'll look after albums like this for him.

German prog rockers, Triumvirat and their third album Spartacus received a four star review from me a while back (here). Illusions on a Double Dimple was their album before Spartacus, released in 1974. The Emerson Lake & Palmer comparisons are valid again, but Triumvirat are definitely plowing their own field.  

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra take on the early Rick Wakeman albums, which happen to be my favourites, and they make a reasonable fist of it. The Little Red Bookshop was late opening up so I wandered into a secondhand furniture store to kill some time. This album was amongst all the Roger Whitaker and Nana Mouskouri albums. A good find for $5.

Actually, I don't tend to like this sort of thing - a classical orchestra doing rock songs is often just wrong, but Rick's work is absolutely suited to this approach (indeed he uses an orchestra when he can afford one). Great to hear these songs given the heft of a big orchestra!

The Joe Walsh album is a difficult one - great cover, great titles but an uneven selection of styles. I used to own a copy back in the seventies but sold it because only Meadows and Rocky Mountain Way fulfilled my idea of what Joe Walsh was about - hard rock riffing. These days I can enjoy the whole album and marvel at the sound created by Barnstorm.

Where do they all belong? Back to the regular countdown for the next post, starting it off with Mario Winans.

Nature's way (Stray) (LP 4936 - 4940)

Stray  Suicide (Vinyl, Transatlantic Records, 1971) ****  

Suzanne  Suzanne (Vinyl, Philips Records, 1971) ***  

The Dillards  Copperfields (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1970) **** 

The Doobie Brothers  The Doobie Brothers (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1971) ****

The Hollies  Would You Believe? (Vinyl, Parlophone Records, 1966) ***

Genre: Rock, prog rock, pop, NZ music

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Nobody (The Doobie Brothers)

Gear costume: Feelin' Down Further (The Doobie Brothers) 

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: Stray were a band of four blokes from London, active in the seventies with a solid emphasis on guitars, with some mellotron on the side. That said, they had quite an original and multi-faceted sound. 

Suicide (dumb title) was their second and it's a great combination of quieter proggy songs and harder edged riff-a-rama hard rock.

Suzanne was the title of Suzanne Lynch's first solo album. The aim was clearly 'all around entertainer' so there are a lot of bases covered on the album - not all to my taste. She is so great as a pop/ rock singer but instead she's given quite a lot of middle-of-the-road material. Whatever the case, Suzanne's distinctive vocals still elevate everything thrown at her. I just wish they'd given her a proper pop/rock band as back up, as they did with Dinah Lee.

The highlights are the pop moments like Yesterday When I was Young and the big belting showband treatment for Goodbye - think Cilla Black (Mary Hopkins still owns the best version of this Paul McCartney song). 

The Dillards' Copperfields album was their fifth. It combines elements of bluegrass, rock, folk and country music to create an Americana album before it was called Americana. They even have a pop at Yesterday (an acapella version). It's very clear that various members of The Eagles were listening closely to those Dillard vocal harmonies. The legacy of many other bands, and people like John Denver, can be traced back to The Dillards as well. Not to mention The Hamilton County Bluegrass Band - one of my favourite bands of all time.

The Doobie Brothers first album came out in 1971 and the sound is right there from the first song on side one - Nobody, onwards. Nobody was released as a single but didn't do much, nor did the album, which is a bit of a mystery. I guess it took folk a while to wake up to the relaxed country rock vibe the band was putting down. 

Tom Johnson and Patrick Simmons have those great harmony vocals locked in already! Crazy that no one was listening in 1971, but then the world eventually caught up.

The Hollies' Would You Believe? was their fourth album, released in 1966. It was released in the US in a variety of other formats, which can drive a collector crazy. These tend to be bastardised versions where B sides and singles are added willy nilly to some tracks from Would You Believe?

Thus: in the US it became either Beat Group! or Bus Stop or I Can't Let Go/Look Through Any Window in Canada. Each with a different track listing. All up, I'll stick with the original UK one - Would You Believe? 

This is a New Zealand pressing and I was happy to pay Vinyl Vault Plus $50 for it, as I've been after a clean copy of it for ages. Musically, it's not a particularly strong set, which is one reason that studio execs decided it needed supplementary hits to sell it. AllMusic selects three highlights -  'the surprisingly tough folk-rockers' Hard, Hard Year and I've Got a Way of My Own, plus 'the ultra-catchy' Don't You Even Care. 

Where do they all belong? One final batch of catch-up albums to go before I get back on track with a return to the W's.

We will rock you (Queen) (LP 4931 - 4935)

Queen  Live Killers (Vinyl, Elektra Records, 1979) ****  

Dusty Springfield  Where Am I Going? (Vinyl, Philips Records, 1967) **** 

Steeleye Span  Ten Man Mop or Mr. Reservoir Butler Rides Again (Vinyl, Philips Records, 1971) ***** 

Steeleye Span  Storm Force Ten (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1977) **** 

Strawbs  Grave New World (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1972) **** 

Genre: Rock, folk rock, prog rock

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Keep Yourself Alive (Live Killers), Marrowbones (Ten Man Mop)

Gear costume: Sunny, Close To You (Dusty)

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: The double live Queen album captures the band in full pomp and glory. All of their seventies big moments are in the set and their massive arena sound is preserved on these four sides. Highlights are aplenty as the audience participation becomes the 12th man. Keep Yourself Alive is my pick to represent the album. It helps that I love the song - my first ever taste of Queenon the radio. The drum solo is intact in the middle, but it never overstays its welcome.

Dusty's third album is a varied affair - various genres mix it up and all sound successful to my ears. The big sound on Close To You is great, so too are the jazzy Sunny and the quietly brilliant songs like Welcome Home. It all sounds effortlessly amazing.

Steeleye Span have a brace of new albums in the collection. Ten Man Mop etc is their third album from 1971; I love 1971! Right from the first track - Gower Wassail, there is something magical about the harmony singing of Tim Hart, Maddy Prior, Martin Cathy and Peter Knight (Ashley Hutchings just pays superb bass).

Maddy Prior is, of course, a unique singer and her delivery on When I Was on Horseback is wondrous. All this, plus Marrowbones and no skippers on the rest, makes this a classic 1971 record in my books. The bonus is that I got this excellent copy for just $4 from The Little Red Bookshop!

Storm Force Ten, their tenth studio album, came out six years later. Ten albums in 7 years is pretty amazing going and even more amazing is the quality control. This is another album picked up in The Little Red Bookshop sale. The records all cleaned up well, too.

Grave New World (Strawbs' 4th album) was the first album after Rick Wakeman left to join Yes. 

The album continues the folk rock/prog rock leanings of the previous album with Dave Cousins' vocals and the exotic instrumentation clear points of strength. 

It's definitely a 50 50 split between the acoustic folk of old and some experimentation with sitar, backwards tapes et al. I think on balance I'm more in the folk-rock camp. There's something about Cousins' voice that is so naturally suited to that genre.

Where do they all belong? Next up is the hard rock of Stray.

Another road (Loggins & Messina) (LP 4926 - 4930)

Loggins & Messina  On Stage (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1974) ****  

Dave Mason  It's Like You Never Left (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1973) ***  

Dave Mason  Split Coconut (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1975) **** 

Paris  Big Towne, 2061 (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1976) ***

Mel Parsons  Castle Hill (Vinyl, Cape Road Recordings, 2026) ***

Genre: Country rock, pop rock, glam, NZ music

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Angry Eyes (On Stage)

Gear costume: Blue Robin (Big Towne, 2061)

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: I am a late convert to the joys and delights of Loggins & Messina. Their double live album starts off with some solo Kenny Loggins tunes which are okay but the concert sparks to life when Jim Messina joins him on stage for some down-home country rock picking.

The songs from their first two duo albums make up the set (it was released before their third studio album). I particularly like it when they stretch out. Angry Eyes is a good example of that - ten minutes of prime country rock. The side long version of Vahevala is also a standout. That said, side 4 climaxes the show really well.

Dave Mason, who passed away in April this year, was a key member of Traffic, but he also had a successful solo career. He was also a damn fine songwriter (Feelin' Alright, Hole in My Shoe, We Just Disagree are three). 

It's Like You Never Left was his third solo album with some notable friends joining in on the fun, such as Graham Nash, George Harrison (his very distinctive slide guitar is on one song), Stevie Wonder (on one song) and Jim Keltner.

It's a very buoyant, positive record, even though he always seems to look quite miserable and dour on his album covers. Same thing goes for Split Coconut. If anything, this album is even better, with some great harmonies from Crosby and Nash on most tracks. 

Paris was a band Bob Welch put together when he left Fleetwood Mac. They existed for two albums (Big Towne, 2061 was the second) and then Bob went solo (his albums here). It's a good pop rock sound generated by Bob, Hunt Sales on drums and Glenn Cornick, yes - the former Jethro Tull bassist. Sadly, the songs weren't very memorable, and Bob would move on to better things.

Mel Parsons is a New Zealand singer songwriter who I've mentioned before (here). Castle Hill is her latest album, released this year. It's fresh, so I'm still digesting it but so far so good.

Where do they all belong? Queen to the S's are next.

One moment worth years (The Dave Brubeck Quartet) (LP 4918 - 4925)

The Dave Brubeck  

Quartet  Brubeck on Campus (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1972) ****  

The Dave Brubeck Quartet The Last Time We Saw Paris (Vinyl, Columbia Records, 1968) ****

Dave Brubeck Trio & Gerry Mulligan Live at the Berlin Philharmonic (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1973) ****

The Dave Brubeck Quartet  Paper Moon (Vinyl, Concord Jazz Records, 1982) ****

The Dave Brubeck Quartet  A Place In Time (Vinyl, Avon-Guard Records, 1954) ****

Dave Brubeck  Two Generations of Brubeck (Vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1973) ****

The Rodger Fox Big Band  The New York Tapes (Vinyl, Ode Records, 1981) ***

Grover Washington, Jr. Feels So Good (Vinyl, Kudu Records, 1975) ****

Genre: Jazz

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Three To Get Ready (The Last Time...)

Gear costume: I Hear a Symphony (Paper Moon)

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: Doing research for this post led to a personal epiphany. Dave Brubeck was a huge favourite of my dad's and Dave's full name, I've just realised, was David Warren Brubeck. I've always wondered about my name's origin, and now the coincidence seems too great. I'm going to take it as a fact from here on.

Brubeck on Campus is a double album compilation of two albums - 1954's Jazz Goes to College and 1957's Jazz Goes to Junior College (which I've reviewed here previously).

Jazz Goes to College was his first album for Columbia, and given it's live, and it's live in 1954 - the sound is amazing! At this point the quartet comprised alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, double bassist Bob Bates, and drummer Joe Dodge. While I prefer the Joe Morello/Eugene Wright classic line-up. these earlier combos are pretty great too.

The Last Time We Saw Paris does feature the classic line-up of Brubeck, Desmond, Morello and Wright. It's from their final tour in 1968 (they'd eventually reunite) and they were on top form during these six extended versions of songs from their past.

The album with Gerry Mulligan is another swingin' affair. Gerry has a very different approach to Paul Desmond (the epitome of cool jazz sax). As in he has a firmer, more robust tone to Paul's. That presents fresh challenges to Dave Brubeck - which is the point I guess.

The band certainly rises to the challenge on this recording. Jack Six (bass) and drummer Alan Dawson, are terrific - pushing Gerry and Dave to new heights. This is an excellent addition to my Brubeck collection - showing him in a slightly different light.

Paper Moon is another exceptional album in his catalogue. His son Chris is by this time part of the Quartet on bass, but the real star of this album is Jerry Bergonzi on tenor sax. He is brilliant throughout!

A Place In Time (originally called Brubeck Time) is a re-release of a studio album from 1954 with an early incarnation of the quartet. Bob Bates is on bass and Joe Dodge is on drums - the same personnel as Jazz Goes To College from that time. It's excellent! Does he ever do less?

Two Generations of Brubeck has Dave joined by his three sons on various instruments: electric piano; trombone; drums; organ; electric bass; clavinet. 

It's a much more jazz fusion approach on this album thanks to this new Brubeck generation, while still retaining aspects of Dave's more acoustic inclination. The new versions of old Quartet 'hits' are interesting and show how the songs stand up to the test of time. Side two has the more challenging songs/sounds, but side one is terrific.

The Rodger Fox Big Band album lets rip nicely with massed horns in a big band. Jacky doesn't like the trumpets, but they provide a top end to the sound that helps blend in all these instruments. I've had this album a few times, but I'll hang on to this copy!

Feels So Good is a 1975 album by Grover with Bob James doing the arrangements.  Both artists are at the top of their game on this album. Grover's deep groove sax work is a thing of beauty and Bob gives him the space and canvas to work his magic. A top effort!

Where do they all belong? Back to the rock albums next.

Leader of the pack (Bette Midler) (LP 4911 - 4917)

Bette Midler  The Divine Miss M (Vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1972) ****  

Bette Midler  Bette Midler (Vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1973) ****

Bette Midler  Divine Madness  (Vinyl, Atlantic Records, 1980) ****

Office Dog  Doggerland (Vinyl, Flying Nun Records, 2024) ****

Osibisa  Woyaya (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1971) ****

Osibisa  Heads (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1972) ***

Osibisa  Osibirock (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1974) ***

Genre: Pop, Alt rock, NZ music, African pop/rock

Places I remember: Brian Smith Collection, The Little Red Bookshop, JB Hi Fi, Vinyl Room, Vinyl Vault Plus

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Optimistic voices/ Lullaby of Broadway (BM)

Gear costume: In the Mood (BM), Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy (The DMM), Survival (Woyaya)

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: Bette Midler is a force of nature. She can belt out a tune, be seductive, be coy, be hilarious, can act... she can do it all. These three albums show the range of her abilities in the studio and live (Divine Madness).

The Divine Miss M was her debut album. It kicks off with her remarkable version of Do You Want To Dance (clearly, it's not dancing that she has on her mind). I particularly like the pastiche side of Miss M - when she's doing things like Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Leader of the Pack.

In many ways this was an excellent debut album as she showed her many facets and versatility. She followed it with the self-titled Bette Midler in 1973, which is actually the one I prefer overall - especially side 2. 

It feels more confident, better produced with its eclectic mix of blues, R&B, and '40s boogie-woogie. Bette shows she can handle everything thrown at her.

Divine Madness is a live album from 1980. Basically, it's a film soundtrack with the comedy routines removed to concentrate on the music - which is great! All the hits and high spots are represented except for The Rose.

Doggerland is an EP by NZ band Office Dog. You'll no doubt remember me raving over their debut album Spiel, well Doggerland is what came next. 

The EP has seven tracks, so it's good value for money. They have embraced more shoegaze style distortion on a couple of tracks on side one. Side Two kicks off with the lovely And Everything and that vibe keeps going for side 2.

Woyaya was Osibisa's second album (I've already written about their debut album here). I'd described their sound as a unique mix of jazz, prog, pop, and Womad style otherness, and that description applies even more so on Woyaya. The funk and jazz experimentation is dialed up more of this album and it sounds great! Toni Visconti was the producer and he knows what he's doing.

Heads was their third album, released in 1972. There is something magical about the early seventies. So many great bands and albums emerged in that period post sixties. Osibisa probably sailed under the radar during those years, but revisiting them now is ultra rewarding.

Heads has Osibisa continuing their afro-jazz-funk vibe. The band play with a smile and that's infectious. Although there are more vocals on Heads than their first two albums, there are no heavy political agendas at play - just a band of African brothers enjoying playing music together. On balance I prefer the more instrumental first two albums, and especially Woyaya. 

Osibirock (terrible name for an album) indicated some changes were afoot. The record company had changed, and only three band members remained from Heads, but four had been replaced.

The vocals continue to become a feature on this album which changes the vibe of Osibisa. I much prefer it when they return to jazz-funk-fusion like on the lead off song on side 2 - African Jive. When the chants/vocals come in it feels more like the Santana approach, which I like a lot!

Where do they all belong? Back to the jazz collection for the next post.