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
Charlie Hunter QuartetNatty Dread(CD - Blue Note, 1997) *** Genre: Modern Jazz Places I remember:Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Revolution
Gear costume:Talkin' Blues/ Lively Up Yourself Active compensatory factors: After recalibrating my jazz collection I have a number of sub genres and modern jazz seemed to fit this guy. Traditional Jazz guitarists are not especially my thing aside from early George Benson. Instead the last few decades have through up a great collection of talented jazz guitarists like Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny and Charlie Hunter. There were a number of reasons I took a punt on this while browsing the jazz racks in Kings Recording: Blue Note (noted for its quality); Bob Marley (I'm a fan); the quartet line-up of guitar/drums/two saxophonists; and the cover which gives prominence to Natty Dread and the flax type foliage was intriguing. Inside the cover? There was no disappointment once I'd pootled back to Al Ain in the Tiida. Charlie's guitar sounds almost like an organ at times - very rich sound and the twin sax attack brings fresh colours to familiar songs. In fact, the hip jazz Charlie Hunter approach to some great sunshine songs was perfect for the Yellow Jimi apartment and pootling to school in Al Foah each day (along with my other new discoveries from Kings Recording and the Virgin Megastores in Abu Dhabi and Dubai). Where do they all belong? Next up in this section is Marc Johnson playing along with those aforementioned stellar jazz guitarists Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny.
Michael Tilson Thomas/ San Francisco SymphonyCopland The Populist(CD - RCA Victor, 2000) *** Genre: Classical Places I remember: Part of Lindsay Hope's collection donated to the Wozza estate Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hoe Down
Gear costume: Appalachian Spring Active compensatory factors: Everything I know about Aaron Copland's music comes from following the ups and downs of Emerson Lake and Palmer. There's the great video of them doing Fanfare For The Common Man in the snow, and of course, Hoe Down from Trilogy. So, it's not my usual cup of tea, obviously, but the western themes of Billy The Kid are familiar enough from watching Westerns since I was Wozza The Kid in the sixties. As it goes on through it's 21 minute programme, Billy The Kid becomes more and more epic AND nuanced. Bombast and lyrical in turns, its a great piece of Americana. Appalachian Spring is lovely - very pastoral throughout its 35 minutes, with American vistas of wheat fields, wide open spaces, big skies, starry nights, all with a lightness of heart. It's a beautiful piece of music. For me, though, the short pieces that make up Rodeo (accent on the second vowel) are the most accessible and Hoe Down is the most recognisable thanks to ELP. I wouldn't have found this music without Lindsay's generosity so kudos again to him! Where do they all belong? Peter and the Wolf is coming this way soonish.
The George Martin OrchestraOff The Beatle Track(Vinyl- Charly Records, originally released 1963) ** Genre: Easy Listening Places I remember: Second hand shop in Keswick (UK). Jacky and I were on a brief holiday touring the Lake District at the time. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Can't Buy Me Love has a great 1960s jazzy cool feel.
Gear costume:All My Loving Active compensatory factors: This copy is a re-release via Charly Records. The original album appeared on Parlophone (of course) and is now a rarity as it didn't sell much in 1964 even though every Beatle related product sold like hot cakes. One of the reasons for the lack of popularity is that it sounded like easy listening, even in 1964. The arrangements by George are fine but the Beatle excitement is well and truly absent. It's nice to have though, if only for John Lennon's snappy liner notes: George Martin has a great habit of matching unlikely instruments together (like a jews harp and a twelve stringed finger). Where do they all belong? George would repeat the trick of compiling instrumental versions of Beatle songs but this, his first attempt, is the only one I own.
John ColtraneAfro Blue Impressions(Vinyl - Pablo Records, 1977) **** Genre: Jazz Places I remember: Marbecks Records. Roger imported a lot of stuff on Pablo Records at that time. I wish I'd got more then, but you can't always get what you want. Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Cousin Mary
Gear costume: My Favourite Things, Naima Active compensatory factors: Recorded in 1963, this set has the classic Coltrane quartet blasting through their current repertoire and they are each in blistering form. Cousin Mary is especially amazing as it focuses for a lengthy period on McCoy Tyner's breathtaking piano with Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass - all three are locked into a great groove. And then Coltrane drops in. And the energy levels head into the red zone. Sheer brilliance!!
Sidebar: Far away and long ago (Ramelton Road days so the early seventies), I used to have a double album on the Impulse! label called John Coltrane - His Greatest Years Volume 2. Unfortunately, one day I left it on the turntable and the sun got to it. A harsh lesson. One that I learned well - since then, I always put the record safely away!
I tried everything to try and straighten out the vinyl but the roller coaster look remained. With a killer version of Greensleeves on it (from the Africa/Brass album), I have missed it!
Luckily I found a replacement in Real Groovy last week - for $10!! And Greensleeves is as great as I remember it.
Where do they all belong? Coltrane is a major figure and I have most of the landmarks so stay tuned.
Michael JacksonThriller(Vinyl - Epic Records, 1982) **** Genre: Soul Places I remember:Marbecks Records (Auckland) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Beat It - remember him this way!
Gear costume:Billy Jean Active compensatory factors: While Billie Jean has lost a little of its freshness via over-exposure over the years (and some of the songs on the album have definitely not aged well), Beat It remains a stunning thing of beauty. A song (and video) for the ages! MJ's finest moment of joyous energy! As a whole, the album rode a tidal wave of success via MTV's exposure of Thriller, Beat It and Billy Jean, but it lacked the cohesion of Off The Wall. Just sayin'. The playful Paul McCartney duet, The Girl Is Mine, is worthwhile but overall, Thriller has too much filler material. Maybe that's harsh and the high water mark of Beat It shades a lot of the songs, but for a megaseller, you'd expect more consistency right? Where do they all belong? Bad was next and it could not compete sales wise, but it did its best creatively speaking.
Joy DivisionCloser(Vinyl - Factory, 1980 ) ***** Genre: Alternative rock Places I remember: Marbecks Records Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Atrocity Exhibition
Gear costume:Isolation Active compensatory factors: Mervyn Peake's prose is often grotesquely bleak and full of meandering cobwebby corridors of sentences. I'm sure Ian Curtis was a fan. Listening again to this album on a rainy day while reading Gormenghast was the perfect circumstance. The mood was right. Although that's not the only time to listen to Joy Division, a melancholy atmosphere does help. As does a working knowledge of Manchester in the late seventies. It was grim up north! Where do they all belong? Sadly, that was it for the troubled Ian Curtis. He committed suicide before Closer was released and the band retired the Joy Division name - re-emerging as New Order.
