Whiskey rock-a-roller (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (LP 803 - 804)

Lynyrd Skynyrd  One More For From The Road (CD, MCA Records, 1977) *****  

Lynyrd Skynyrd  Live Cardiff 1975 (CD, Plastic Soho, 2013) ***** 

Genre: Southern rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records; The Warehouse

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Call Me The Breeze (Live Cardiff 1975)

Gear costume: Gimmie Three Steps (One More From The Road)

Active compensatory factors: Tough to pick out a couple of songs to represent One More From the Road as it's a live concert (three concerts combined) with peak after peak and no weak bits.

All my favourites are here: Tuesday's Gone; Gimmie Three Steps; Call Me The Breeze and an 11.30 minute version of Free Bird to end things. 

My CD version is the single original disc from 1986 which left off a few tracks so I will need to update at some point - T For Texas and Travelin' Man are great songs.

The Live from Cardiff 1975 CD is sourced from a live radio broadcast. Sound quality is superb and the band are all raw power throughout the eight song set. Almost a stand and deliver experience. Top notch and a great addition to any collection.

Where do they all belong? Tuesday's Gone and Free Bird are, of course, now forever tinged with real sadness. 

RIP boys - these albums are a fine legacy. A fine legacy.

Pecan pie (Golden Smog) (LP 800 - 802)

Golden Smog  down by the old mainstream (CD, Ryko, 1995) **** 

Golden Smog  Weird Tales (CD, Ryko, 1998) ****  

Golden Smog   another fine day   (CD, Lost Highway, 2006) ****

Genre: Country rock

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Reflections On Me (Weird Tales)

Gear costume: Pecan Pie (down...); Corvette (AFD)

Active compensatory factors: The supergroup aspect drew me to Golden Smog. That and the downhome vibe going on in new-alt country rock - or whatever it's called.

Golden Smog members come from a large variety of places - The Jayhawks, Wilco, The Replacements, Big Star and Soul Asylum among others - it's a fluid operation.

These first two albums in this trio are the band's debut and follow up. The first one is good for its rougher style - it feels more spontaneous, but Weird Tales has a more polished vibe so I tend to go between them in terms of preference, given my mood.

Just now Weird Tales has the edge among this more relaxed version of the band.

Another Fine Day is their third outing - again with Jeff Tweedy and Gary Louris at the core with a large supporting cast.

This time, eleven years in, the sound has evolved and has a rockier edge, which is great. Who wants a band to stand still and do the same old same old?

Where do they all belong? A fourth album - Blood On The Slacks (ho ho), recorded shortly after Another Fine Day, remains out there somewhere for me to find (no Jeff Tweedy on that one though).

With the notes in my ears (Peter Broderick) (LP 798 - 799)

Peter Broderick   Home (CD, Bella Union, 2008) ****  

Peter Broderick   How They Are (CD, Bella Union, 2010) ****  

Genre: Folk rock 

Places I remember: Fopp (Covent Garden)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: And It's Alright (Home)

Gear costume: With The Notes In My Ears (Home)

Active compensatory factors: Home is a real solo effort - Peter plays everything and is the voice in these warm, encompassing songs.

Same deal for How They Are but this one - recorded just after Home, contains more piano driven songs, where Home was most definitely guitar centric throughout.

He is blessed with a great voice - warm, honey toned and seemingly effortless. 

As a vast generalisation, but as evidenced by the covers and featured instruments - Home is a sunny, happy, cosy record as he searches, hopefully, for an idyllic home, while How They Are is colder, wintery, sadder, haunting even and transitory as he keeps on searching for a sense of belonging. 

Yin and Yang.

Where do they all belong? Great albums for Sunday mornings, depending on your mood.

Peaces of mind (Jack Bruce) (LP 796 - 797)

Jack Bruce  Out Of The Storm (CD, Polydor Records, 1974) **** 

Jack Bruce  Somethin Els (CD, Silva Screen Records, 1993) ***

Genre: Blues rock

Places I remember: Fopp (Covent Garden)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Peaces Of Mind (Out Of The Storm)

Gear costume: Waiting On A Word; Ships In The Night (Somethin Els)

Active compensatory factors: Amazingly, this album came out after the hard rocking West Bruce and Laing power trio finished up (I love their three albums). Even more amazingly given the drug use that continued into this album (JB was a heroin addict during this time), it's a brilliant album.

This is another album of Pete Brown/Jack Bruce songs and like the early solo albums it's the songs that are the stars here. Plus, his singing is a real highlight - that slight falsetto style he has just makes these songs float in space. Oh, and the bass sounds are out of this world as well.

Jump forward to his 10th solo album - Somethin Els and Jack gets Eric Clapton on board (as well as a slew of other guitarists it should be said). It's a mellower set of songs and sounds, but no less inventive and enticing. I could do without the synths though (Criminality is the worst, haha, offender).

Where do they all belong? A few more albums to come from Jack Bruce - the greatest rock bass player of all time!

I'm a King Bee (Muddy Waters) (LP 795)

Muddy Waters  King Bee (CD, Blue Sky Records, 1981) ****

Genre: Blues 

Places I remember: Electric City Music and Video (Napier)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: I'm A King Bee

Gear costume: Mean Old Frisco Blues 

Active compensatory factors: The last Muddy Waters' studio album is excellent - the man's powers are undiminished on this final set.

This one is the third in the trilogy of albums Muddy recorded with Johnny Winter for Blue Sky. It's got a slightly checkered history but it still sounds like the other two albums to me.

There is a lovely variety of material here (Johnny's slide work on I Feel Like Going Home is terrific) and the same sense of spontaneity that the other albums have.

Where do they all belong? What a career! Starting in the 1940s - Muddy Waters has always been the real deal. Choose any recording of his and it's drenched in real life. The great thing is that as a punter you can dip into any decade and be rewarded with heartfelt blues, Muddy style.

Nice work if you can get it (George and Ira Gershwin) (LP 793 - 794)

Frank Sinatra and Count Basie and His Orchestra  Sinatra-Basie (CD, Reprise Records, 1962) **

Frank Sinatra Sinatra at The Sands with Count Basie and The Orchestra (CD, Reprise Records, 1966) **

Genre: Jazz vocals 

Places I remember: Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Fly Me To The Moon (in other words) (Sinatra At The Sands)

Gear costume: I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter (Sinatra-Basie)

Active compensatory factors: I picked these CDs up in the Middle East and I'm not exactly sure why now. I'm not a fan of Basie's Big Band approach - my dad was. And he didn't like Sinatra, my mother did when she was young.

I think there was a degree of obligation - Sinatra live At The Sands sounded like a good idea but its comedy routines haven't aged well. As a product of its time, the booze culture has time capsule interest I guess, but it makes for uneasy listening.

Sinatra-Basie is also firmly rooted in the swing era. All up - not really my cup of tea.

Where do they all belong? As they say - one for the fans.