Watch the time (Joe Beck) (LP 449)

 

Joe Beck Watch the Time (Vinyl, Polydor, 1977) ** 

Genre: Jazz fusion 

Places I remember: Music bins in a local second hand shop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dr Lee

Gear costume:  Not a lot of gear costume here sadly  

Active compensatory factors: Sometimes a punt works out: I enjoyed his Beck album which appeared on Goo Goo a while back. And sometimes it doesn't.

As a consequence of Beck being a nice surprise and Michael Brecker being listed on sax, and this being from the seventies, I thought - take a punt!

Sadly the vocals by Tom Flynn aren't up to much, the lyrics to the songs Tom sings aren't up to much, and the pre eighties commercial jazz funk sheen isn't to my taste.

The progtastic guitar Joe Beck employed on Beck is nowhere to be found here, so, sadly, it's one of those times when a punt doesn't work out.

Where do they all belong? Record collectors are weird beasts. I bet there's someone out there hunting for a good quality NZ pressing of this album to complete their Joe Beck collection. Give me a bell - there's a deal to be done!

So What (Miles Davis) (LP 448)

Miles Davis Kind Of Blue (Vinyl, CBS, 1960) ***** 

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: Marbeck Records (I've got an Australian pressing - hence the different cover from the normal one)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: So What

Gear costume:  Freddie Freeloader

Active compensatory factors: It's widely acknowledged as a classic of the genre and it's easy to see why.

It's fresh, different, searching, comfortable, accessible, mysterious, dense, full of space. 

The musicians are all at a peak. By 1960 they knew each other well - often appearing together and on each other's recording dates. Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Cannonball Adderly and Bill Evans are all leaders with a wide range of albums under their own name.

Apparently, this group of musicians were only presented with sketches of the songs by Miles shortly before they were recorded, so there is a large degree of spontaneity in these performances.

Where do they all belong? This album is atop the jazz tree - nothing above it.

Why you wanna trip on me (Michael Jackson) (LP 447)

Michael Jackson Dangerous  (Vinyl, Epic, 1991) ***

Genre: Soul 

Places I remember: Music shop in Nelson

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Black Or White (BLM makes the message a current one)

Gear costume:  Jam, Who Is It  

Active compensatory factors: My vinyl version of this album was a double and with a double album there are always potential issues - songs that get lost, songs that shouldn't be there, songs that don't fit and so on. 

Dangerous showcases over its four sides some good songs, but also some of Michael Jackson's more forgettable material. There are also other songs that could have been trimmed from the set.

At his best there are few who compare; I'm thinking of the catchy pop songs like Jam, Black and White, Who Is It. Unfortunately his other sickly sentimental side - the icky Will You Be There is also here.

I'm not sure about his piously sincere save the world songs like Heal The World. His heart was in the right place and, in a world locked in Covid-19 hell, the message is still relevant. But, yikes, it's like drowning in saccharine music sometimes.

Where do they all belong? That's it for Michael in my collection - from the terrific Off The Wall through to mega seller Thriller, on to Bad and Dangerous. He sure could deliver!

After dark (Blue Öyster Cult) (LP 445 - 446 )

Blue Öyster Cult Fire Of Unknown Origin (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1981) ****

Blue Öyster Cult The Revölution by Night (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1983) ***

Genre: Heavy Metal 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Plenty to choose from on these albums but as a highlight I'll go with Burnin' For You.

Gear costume:  Take Me Away, Shooting Shark, Shadow Of California (TRBN) 

Active compensatory factors: These two are bracketed because they form the twin peaks of the BÖC in their eighties pomp and power.

Title track, Fire Of Unknown Origin, has lyrics by one Patti Smith and that's a good omen. Although Burnin' For You instantly became a stand out, each song on the album is a winner for various different reasons. It's also produced by Martin Birch who always creates an amazing soundscape.

The Revölution by Night continued the high quality control with another great set of catchy pop/rock songs. Note: Patti's lyrics appear again on Shooting Shark.

Where do they all belong? That's it for the BÖC albums. Quite a ride!

Are you hung up? (The Mothers Of Invention) (LP 443 - 444)

The Mothers Of Invention Absolutely Free (Vinyl, Verve, 1967) *****

The Mothers Of Invention We're Only In It For The Money (Vinyl, Verve, 1968) *****

Genre: Alternative rock 

Places I remember: Lewis Eady's Music (Queen St., Auckland) - now long gone.  

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Call Any Vegetable

Gear costume:  Brown Shoes Don't Make It  

Active compensatory factors: Absolutely Free (their second album) was the first Mothers/Zappa album I ever bought - even before Live At The Fillmore. I don't think Lewis Eady's Music knew what the album was as they were selling it extremely cheaply in their throw out bin.

One look at the cover was probably enough for them to think this wasn't something they wanted to have stick around.

I looked at it in the rack and thought - strange, weird, interesting, and when I saw the flipped cover had written on the bottom right hand corner: 'You must buy this album NOW top 40 radio will never ever play it', I knew I was gonna love it!

When I got it home and stuck it on I was in for a shock. This wasn't pop music like I knew it at all!! There was spoken word from what was clearly a cynical/ satirical higher being (Zappa), collage cut ups, fragments of great songs that would be cut off with discordant piss takes (it seemed) and it was all joined together so each side was like one long track.

What the...?

As I played it I absolutely fell in love with its invention (sorry) and singularity.  

I've been a Zappa fan ever since!

We're Only In It For The Money (their third album) came a bit later as I bought it on a record buying trip to Queen St., with Greg Knowles. It is almost part 2 of Absolutely Free with hippies and The Beatles, specifically Sgt Pepper's, being central targets for Zappa this time.

It is further evidence of his genius. Nuff said!

Where do they all belong? What a trip the Zappa collection is. There's nothing like it - hence it all exists in my Alternative rock section.

Backdoor Sunshine (Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee) (LP 440 - 442)

Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry (Vinyl, Storyville, 1975) ***** 

Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry You Hear Me Talkin' (Vinyl, Muse Records, 1961 - 1978 reissue) ***** 

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee Midnight Special (Vinyl, Fantasy Records, 1977) ***** 

Genre: Blues 

Places I remember: Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sonny's Squall

Gear costume:  Two Points Of View, Backdoor Sunshine, You Hear Me Talkin', Midnight Special 

Active compensatory factors: One of my cherished memories - standing about ten metres from the stage among a few hundred people at Nambassa in 1978 when these two blues giants were slowly lead on stage. After taking up their two seats, they took flight for their set. 

I was transfixed, and transformed!

Many of the tracks on these albums were recorded in the early sixties or seventies but not released until later. The recordings sound pristine however.

Sonny's Squall, recorded in 1960 is a good example and gets the Midnight Special double album off to a flyer.

Where do they all belong? The blues section and blues history would not be the same without Brownie's guitar and Terry's harmonica combination.