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
The MonkeesThe Monkees(Vinyl - Colgems/RCA, 1966) **** Genre: American pop Places I remember: Greg Knowles gave his copy! Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume: Last Train To Clarksville/ This Just Doesn't Seem To Be My Day
Active compensatory factors: Wow! What a year for music 1966 turned out to be: Pet Sounds, Revolver, Roger The Engineer, Takes Off, Freak Out! and then in October - The Monkees!!! Yes, I'm still on a Monkees high after their recent Auckland concert (great 2019 version of The Last Train To Clarksville was a clear highlight btw). Their debut holds up amongst that great company! There are some great tracks on here, confidence was high and the production is spot on pop-wise. And as to the sneery idea that 99% of the music came from session musicians? Too words: Pet Sounds. Two more words: True genius. Where do they all belong? I'm gonna buy me a dog. Yes, sir!
The NationalI Am Easy To Find(YouTube - 2019) *** Genre: American pop/rock Places I remember: MNAC selection Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Oblivions
Gear costume:You Had Your Soul With You Active compensatory factors: This was an album recommended by a member of Monday Night Album Club recently. Turns out some of the MNACers know and love The National for personal reasons that are of long standing. This is a tad daunting because I know they are deeply invested in the band and I am brand new to them (which is kind of the point of MNAC). My only previous experience of the band was watching them perform on Later...with Jools Holland in the company of MNAC sister act - Fran Kirkham. She also loved them and, in retrospect, I believe my somewhat underwhelmed response was ill considered. Luckily, listening to their new album is a happier experience - they are a band I could easily love too - especially the faster paced songs (some of the mid paced and slower stuff will take me longer to love). In the positive column: the poppier songs appeal (lead off song: You Had Your Soul With You and Where Is Her Head are favourites), songs often build in a lovely way (Hey Rosie), and the mix of female and male lead voices on songs like Oblivions is hugely appealing (I understand this isn't typical of their approach). Bottom line - a good introduction. These songs are growing on me. Where do they all belong? I must have missed Lew's link so I pieced the album together from studio and live footage on YouTube. It was easy to find. Not ideal but the visual aspect actually helped.
Jethro TullLiving In The Past(Vinyl - Reprise, 1972) **** Genre: Prog rock Places I remember: Real Groovy Records (Auckland) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:Living In The Past
Gear costume: All the rest Active compensatory factors: This is another case of me re-buying an album bought in the seventies and shedded along the way in the eighties or nineties. I had a hankering for it again a few years ago and found a copy before heading to the UK to live. The title track is the real deal and one of those songs that I love every time I hear it. The timelessness and other worldly aspect of the song makes it a special one in the Jethro Tull canon.
Where do they all belong? The rest of the double album is a compilation of singles, live tracks and unreleased songs from their early career. It doesn't quite hang together as a whole and is a bit of an anomaly in the greater scheme of things. But it's still fun and the package is a lavish one.
