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
Rory GallagherNotes From San Francisco(CD - Sony/Capo, 2011) *** (** for the studio side, **** for the live side) Rory GallagherMeeting With The G-Man+(CD - Sony/Capo, 2003) ** Genre: Irish pop/rock Places I remember:Fopp (London) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:If You Keep On Walkin (aka Wheels Within Wheels) is amazing and yet didn't even get on the revamped Photo Finish!!*; Shadow Play (every version is special!)
Gear costume: Off The Handle (live version on Notes...); The Loop (G-Man)
Active compensatory factors: Don't be fooled by the release dates. The posthumously released San Francisco set comes from 1978/79 and, similarly, the G-Man+ was recorded live in 1993 - just two years before his death but not released at the time. Notes from San Francisco was recorded in SF 1978, and shelved, as Rory was unhappy with the song quality. *Being Rory, he broke up the band ('cept for Gerry of course), started again, and ended up with Photo Finish, also in 1978. He didn't muck about did our Rory. So - how does it stack up? Well not as good as Photo Finish - that's for sure. It's a brave attempt to fill out the sound in an American context but I think he was wise to scrap it and return to a trio format. Besides, Photo Finish contains Shadow Play! Need I say more? Live? Another story entirely - the power trio arrived back in SF 1979 and kicked arse!! The live tapes show Rory in peak shredding form, with the rhythm section containing much needed muscle and grace. Gerry McAvoy and Ted McKenna - take a bow. And then there's G-Man+. The sound quality is not the greatest so it's hard to judge how good the nineties band really was. It's like those audience recorded YouTube clips: superior bootleg quality. Having said that, Rory is rarely off and his guitar is still sharp on this set. Where do they all belong? Still loads of RG vinyl to come, as well as back to the future moments when comes Taste, the band.
Big CountryAt the BBC, The best of the BBC recordings(CD - BBC, 1996) **** Big CountryRestless Natives and Rarities(CD - Mercury, 1998) *** Genre: Scottish pop/rock Places I remember: HMV (Stratford Mall, London)and Real Groovy (Auckland) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:On The Shore (RN), Lost Patrol (BBC) - at the Hammersmith Palais 1983
Gear costume: Winter Sky (RN), Porrohman (BBC) - and anything else on the BBC album.
Active compensatory factors: Strictly speaking, these aren't the kinds of compilations I have chosen not to include in my album run down. Did that make sense? Rather than being greatest hits albums, instead, each of these CD collections looks at the band's back pages. Restless Natives is all about blind alleys, B sides and choice cuts. The great (honest) liner notes by Stuart Adamson are worth your hard earned cash on their own! Like all these types of alternative history anthologies, there are plenty of interesting tracks amongst the ones that didn't make the cut. As for the BBC one - there is ample proof throughout this collection to prove that LIVE is where Big Country thrived. The big songs, the big sound, the big hurdy gurdy presence, the Big Country extravaganza! Where do they all belong? That's it for my Big Country collection. Love this band! Best band of the eighties? Maybe. Long may they reign - they have a permanent place in Scottish rock history and in my heart.
StereophonicsLanguage. Sex. Violence. Other?(CD - V2 Music, 2005) *** StereophonicsPull The Pin(CD - V2 Music, 2007) ** StereophonicsKeep Calm and Carry On(CD - V2 Music, 2009) *** StereophonicsGraffiti On The Train(CD - V2 Music, 2013) *** Genre: Welsh pop/rock Places I remember:Language...Fives (Leigh-on-sea); Pull.../Keep Calm...The Warehouse (New Plymouth); Graffiti...the Warehouse (Hastings) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Dakota
Gear costume:Graffiti On The Train
Active compensatory factors: Most definitely, I own way too many Stereophonics albums. This lot comprises a late period 'Phonics wrap up. The things is - when they stow the bombast and put in some effort they create some great songs. Like Dakota. So, I persist. Plus they usually end up in the sale racks at The Warehouse eventually. So, there's that. Which means: I hang in there.
Language. Sex. Violence. Other? has a good song (Superman) and one great one (Dakota). Pull The Pin has a few good songs (It Means Nothing, Stone) but no great ones. Keep Calm and Carry On has a few good songs (Could You Be The One?) but no great ones. Still, it's a cut above the previous album - less bombast and some variety of approach see to that. Graffiti On The Train wins its three stars for trying something different at times (the title track frinstance).
Stuck in a rut? The verdict? Well, yes. Based on the evidence of these albums. Thing of it is - Kelly Jones and his band are capable of a four star album but mostly there's only the likelihood of a 2 star or at best a 3 star album emerging from the ruck in the future.
Where do they all belong? That's it. I'm going to do my best not to buy any more (I haven't bought the last two and the latest got a 2 star rating in Mojo), but, you know, if they are on sale, and there's always that thought: maybe, just maybe, it could contain a Dakota...
Bad CompanyBad Company(CD - Swan Song, 1974) *** Genre: English pop/rock Places I remember:JB HiFi (Hamilton) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Bad Company
Gear costume:Can't Get Enough Active compensatory factors: True fact: I am a latecomer to Bad Company. In theory I should have gobbled up the debut in 1974 but I was a teenager and so my priorities and my hard earned pocket money went in other directions. Then when I had some spare cash and the opportunity in the late seventies I'd moved on via punk/ new wave and Paul Rogers and Co. seemed a little passe. Listening to the whole album now suggests I didn't really miss that much. I love the singles from this album and from Straight Shooter - great guitar crunch and vocals, however, the album tracks are good but not great rock. Paul Rogers, of course, stands out with his rock cool vocal style. Clearly with Bad Company he found a real home.
Where do they all belong? The Firm (Paul Rogers and Jimmy Page) is the closest next step I have. I'll get to it eventually when I'm back cruising through the vinyl.
AC/DCHighway To Hell(CD - Point Classics, 1994) *** Genre: Australian pop/rock Places I remember: The Warehouse (Taupo) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Shot Down In Flames
Gear costume:Get It Hot Active compensatory factors: RIP Bon Scott. This was his last album with the boys, the Aussie tearaways, of AC/DC. Within a year he was dead. Another rock casualty - too young. That was nearly forty years ago! The Youngs continued, of course. Whether it's the death of a lead singer or a brother (RIP Malcolm Young), or Phil Rudd's drug problems - nothing derails the AC/DC machine. Malcolm or Bon wouldn't have it any other way! As a final album, it's a good one. Riffage aplenty and a tough production from Mutt Lange complement some typically robust AC/DC songs. Would we have it any other way? Where do they all belong? After Bon came the mega selling Back In Blackbut AC/DC would never be this innocent and fun again.
Lawrence ArabiaChant Darling(CD - Honorary Bedouin Records, 2009) *** Genre: NZ music Places I remember: Fopp (London) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Apple Pie Bed. With its Beatle echoes, Apple Pie Bed is superior and classic pop.
Gear costume: The Crew of the Commodore, The Beautiful Young Crew Active compensatory factors: Ironic: As a kiwi, I was living in Doha, visiting London when I found this CD by my countryman, James Milne, who records as Lawrence Arabia. A very favourable review in Mojo magazine had lead me on a search of Qatar's music outlets. It was a long shot. But Fopp in London was on the money, as usual. I confess, it's taken time for me to unlock the joys of Chant Darling. At times, its Nu Zild pop style musical wackiness takes some aural adjustment, frinstance Auckland CBD Part Two, but the effort pays off.
Where do they all belong? Lawrence Arabia has a distinctive place in the NZ music landscape. Absolute Truth is next.
