The Pan Piper (Miles Davis) (LP 568 - 572)

Miles Davis Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (CD, Not Now Music, 1958) ***

Miles Davis with Cannonball Adderley   Somethin' Else (CD, Not Now Music, 1958) ***** 

Miles Davis Sketches Of Spain (CD, Not Now Music, 1960) ***

Miles Davis Miles Davis and The Modern Jazz Giants  (CD, Not Now Music, 1959) *****  

The Miles Davis Sextet  Jazz At the Plaza Vol 1 (CD, Columbia, 1958 but released 1973) ***** 

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: HMV; the Warehouse (Hastings); Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume: Sur L'Autoroute (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud), Autumn Leaves (Somethin' Else); Oleo (Jazz At The Plaza Vol 1)

Active compensatory factors: I confess to being a pleb when it comes to Miles Davis. 

I love Kind Of Blue (like everybody else does) and I love the hard bop sets of the late sixties that include John Coltrane (Jazz At The Plaza), Red Garland and Thelonious Monk (Modern Jazz Giants) or Cannonball Adderley (Somethin' Else).

Ascenseur is basically a movie soundtrack. It does a good job of it too, with soundscapes to (I presume) match the visuals. Sur L'Autoroute is a good example.

Somethin' Else is really a Cannonball Adderley album with Miles as a sideman but Miles has become the much bigger name so my re-released CD version has his name front and centre. In reality Miles and Adderley are part of a great ensemble with Art Blakey on drums and Hank Jones (piano). Sam Jones (bass) rounds out the group.

Sketches Of Spain is another key album in Miles' influential body of work, but it's one I can't appreciate much, somehow. Maybe all I can say is that it's not to my taste.

The Modern Jazz Giants album is brilliant though. The vibraphone sounds of Milt Jackson add some great textures and counter foils for the trumpet throughout the album and Coltrane appears on Round Midnight.

Finally, Jazz At The Plaza Vol 1 (Vol 2 was Duke Ellington recorded at the same event). This is the group that would shortly go on to record Kind Of Blue so we're talking genius level players.

There's a party vibe going on and the sound is a little spotty on the trumpet at times but Coltrane is on fire! He must have had off nights but I've never heard them. Bill Evans is also in sublime form. Wow - what it would have been like to experience this live.  

.

Where do they all belong? I haven't explored Davis beyond that late 50's/ early 60's period. At one time I bought Bitches Brew and Live Evil but quickly sold them off. Yikes - too tough for me. Free jazz, I've come to learn, is not my thing maan!

Hindsight (Anathema) (LP 566 - 567)

Anathema We're Here Because We're Here (CD, K Scope, 2010) *** 

Anathema Weather Systems (CD, K Scope, 2012) ****

Genre: Prog rock 

Places I remember: JB Hi-Fi (Palmerston North)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Everything (WHBWH)

Gear costume: A Simple Mistake (WHBWH) 

Active compensatory factors: These two are linked in my imagination by the spoken word sections - used much more affectingly on Weather System.

I like some songs on We're Here Because We're Here (the two above are standouts) but Weather System seems much more cohesive as an album and Lee Douglas is more successfully integrated into the band. Plus Vincent Cavanagh's vocals are really strong throughout the album.

Weather System is an appropriate title too. I get a really strong autumnal feeling from the record - great for those pre-winter lead in months.

Where do they all belong? A couple more Anathema albums to go before we're up to date.

Sabbath bloody sabbath (Black Sabbath) (LP 564 - 565)

Black Sabbath Reunion (CD, Sony Music, 1998) ***

Black Sabbath 13 (CD, Vertigo, 2013) ****

Genre: Metal 

Places I remember: Both came from JB Hi-Fi Palmerston North. 13 came out while I was living back in Hawke's Bay after our China adventure.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: War Pigs (Reunion); Loner (13)

Gear costume: End Of The Beginning, God Is Dead? (both on 13)

Active compensatory factors: The mainly live Reunion double album doesn't disappoint (the two studio tracks tacked on to the end are actually really good too).

That's as long as you forgive Ozzy the repetitious and tedious between song patter (variations on 'louder', clap your ****** hands and the f-bomb attack in particular all gets rather silly). I've deducted a star for that because it grates after a while.

The real stars on both CDs are Tony, Bill and Geezer; they make an almighty racket for three blokes. Especially Tony Iommi. What a great riff man he is. 13 is mostly awesome because of him.

There are highlights aplenty on the live set and I do have a soft spot for material from Masters Of Reality and Paranoid - easily their best albums.

War Pigs kicks things off the set spectacularly - Ozzy sings a line and allows the audience to sing the next line of each couplet. It works well!

13 is a great reunion album (albeit without Bill Ward). Their powers are not diminished with age and the more the years go by, the more stars I'll be adding to this. The first three songs in particular are all classics!

Where do they all belong? I can't see them doing another studio album. If I'm right, then remember them this way.

You have to believe it (CatarocK 5) (LP 563)

CatarocK 5 Disorder (CD, Madcatz, 2003)   **** 

Genre: Alternative rock 

Places I remember: A music shop in the CentralWorld mall in Bangkok. Jacky and I were visiting Bangkok for the first time in 2003, I wanted some local music so the shop owner played me this CD by aThai band and I was gobsmacked!

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: #5

Gear costume: Don't believe it, you have to believe 

Active compensatory factors: Why is this in the alternative rock section? Well, it's all in Thai and the style of music is either hard core metal (as in the selections above) or catchy pop. I know. But it all works brilliantly.

And even better, it transports me back to that visit to Bangkok 18 years ago (because we were flying on Thai airways to London and on to Edinburgh we had a few days stopover in Bangkok).

[P.S. I also love the Parental Advisory 'sticker' on the front cover - proclaiming 'Not For Fight']

Where do they all belong? At the time I did get a couple of other CDs but they've been culled along the long and winding road.

Because I should (Dan Auerbach) (LP 562)

Dan Auerbach Keep It Hid (CD, Nonesuch Records, 2009) ***

Genre: American pop/ rock 

Places I remember: Donated copy from the Hope family 

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The Prowl

Gear costume: My Last Mistake

Active compensatory factors: I enjoy The Black Keys like I enjoy The White Stripes, in that I think I enjoy the idea of them (drums and guitar minimalism) a little more than I do their music. It's good but I kind of don't quite see what the fuss is all about.

This was Dan's first solo album and although he rounds it out with plenty of supporting musicians, it still sounds a lot like The Black Keys to me.

My other slight problem with it is its length: 14 songs but it feels like more for some reason.

Given that, there are some good songs here: the Led Zepp-esque Heartbroken, In Despair and Because I Should are other favourites.

Where do they all belong? A stand alone album (along with El Camino, my only Black Keys one), as in I haven't any great need to buy more of his solo albums.

Boppin' the blues (Ricky Nelson) (LP 555 - 561)

Ricky Nelson Ricky (CD, MCPS, 1957) *****

Ricky Nelson Ricky Nelson (CD, MCPS, 1958) **** 

Ricky Nelson Ricky Sings Again (CD, MCPS, 1959) ****

Ricky Nelson Songs By Ricky (CD, MCPS, 1959) ****

Ricky Nelson More Songs By Ricky (CD, MCPS, 1960) *** 

Rick Nelson Rick is 21 (CD, MCPS, 1961) *** 

Rick Nelson Album Seven by Rick (CD, MCPS, 19) ***

Genre: Rock and Roll 

Places I remember: The Warehouse (Palmerston North)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Down The Line (from Ricky Nelson); One Minute To One (Songs By Ricky)

Gear costume: Poor Little Fool (from Ricky Nelson); Travelin' Man, Hello Mary Lou (both Ricky is 21)

Active compensatory factors: Ricky was certainly prolific, and extremely talented, but definitely poorly served by album titles. Yikes! These display a severe lack of imagination!

The debut establishes the classic Ricky sound - relaxed, smooth, assured, dreamy! It's 63 years old (like me) and still sounds terrific!

The quality is really high throughout these first four albums. I've struggled with the ratings to be honest -  Ricky Sings Again has many of the hits and Lonesome Town is on there as well but there are a couple of slower songs that sound like they were made for the slow dance segment at the senior prom, so four stars for these albums is about right for the first four.

By 1960 Ricky was looking to branch out into other areas so strings and less rock'n'roll arrangements enter the picture. There are still diamonds amongst each album but the all around entertainer was starting to replace the rock and roll kid.

Where do they all belong? I've already blogged about his albums with the Stone Canyon Band (here and here) that I have on vinyl, and so I have only Garden Party to go on CD to complete the Rick Nelson collection. It's worth the wait!