You fool no one (Deep Purple) (LP 2336 - 2340)

Deep Purple  Burn (Vinyl and CD, Purple Records, 1974) *** 

Deep Purple  Stormbringer (CD, Purple Records, 1974) ****  

Deep Purple  Made In Europe (Vinyl and CD, EMI Records, 1976) **** 

Deep Purple  California Jamming Live 1974 (CD, EMI Records, 1996) **** 

Deep Purple  Live In London 1974 (CD, EMI Records, 2007) ***  

Genre: Pop rock 

Places I remember: Fives (Leigh-on-sea); Fopp; Virgin Megastore (Dubai)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Burn (Live version)

Gear costume: Stormbringer

Active compensatory factors: The two studio albums by the Mark 3 version of Deep Purple produced a great set list and these albums hold up. Especially Stormbringer!

Burn was all the rage when I was doing my second year trying to pass School Cert at Mt Albert Grammar. It's not the greatest Deep Purple album by a long stretch, it's weirdly mixed and won't go super loud without creaking but...I think it's a fine album (apart, obviously from "A" 200 which is clearly filler and real crap).

The rest though shows the band bouncing back from the departure of Gillan/ Glover with the hiring of Glen Hughes and David Coverdale and some exciting new sounds.

A funkier Purple and more confident Coverdale/Hughes have their peak on Stormbringer (the album). It still sounds fresh - which is amazing! All this in 1974!

Sadly, I think Stormbringer has been undervalued and almost forgotten in their vast catalogue. It's an excellent album and ripe for rediscovery.

The three live albums by the Mark 3 Purple are also worth investigating. I love the chaotic mess that is Made In Europe. Only 5 tracks so it's definitely a case of less is more, with definitive versions of Burn and Stormbringer songs. 

Ritchie is at his frenzied best on You Fool No One and then segues into a tender slow blues. What a guy! Or couple of guys!!

The California Jamming 1974 live album includes some Mark 2 numbers (Mule, Smoke On The Water and Space Truckin' which is interesting).

This was the show where Ritchie was pissed off at the promoter and took it out on a television camera filming the show. The performances are stirring (Mistreated, Might Just Take Your Life are especially good). The negative is the extended (boring) version of Space Truckin'.

The most thorough live document is Live In London which is a show at Gaumont State Theatre Kilburn, also in 1974, recorded 'for the old radio'. A busy year for the Mark 3 lads!

This is a double CD because they stretch out outrageously on some songs: 15 plus minutes for Mistreated; 20 plus for You Fool No One and a crazy 30 plus for Space Truckin'.

This is insane. No one can hold attention for that long.

Where do they all belong? The very short lived Mark 4 and 5 DPs coming soon.

Rock and roll records (J,J, Cale) (LP 2332 - 2335)

J.J. Cale  Okie (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1974) ****  

Pete Carr  Multiple Flash (Vinyl, Big Tree Records, 1978) *** 

Eric Clapton  Money And Cigarettes (Vinyl, Duck Records, 1983) ***   

Christopher Cross  Another Page (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1983) ***  

Genre: Pop rock

Places I remember: World Record club (Okie), catch up of the Cs.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Baby Says No (Christopher Cross)

Gear costume: The Shape You're In (Eric Clapton);

Active compensatory factors: First up we have three guitarists featured in this final catch up of albums I missed in the A, B, C and Ds. Interesting that all three have stylised guitars featured on their covers.

I bought my original copy of Okie way way back in 1974 from a mail order record club. I loved that cover!

The word was strong on J. J. Cale at the time and this was one laid back confident dude. I loved the record but he didn't hook me and reel me in with it. I didn't collect anything else by him. Which is weird. But some artists I go apeshit over and have to buy everything they've done, and others...

Like Cale, Pete Carr is another relatively unsung guitarist. Multiple Flash is a largely instrumental rock album that floats by because he's so damn good! He does sing (really well as it happens) on his excellent version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door.

Seemingly he can play it all, but without flash, so, hence the unsung bit (in both ways).

Eric Clapton is not unsung, but this album has probably flown under the radar in his vast catalogue. For me, it's a bit like Reptile - a slow grower, and well worth re-discovering.

Ry Cooder, Duck Dunn and Albert Lee are along for the ride. 

Christopher Cross also has some heavyweight help on his second album. Most notably, and successfully, on Baby, Says No with Carl Wilson providing vocal support.

That one song elevates the record onto the next level on its own. Carl Wilson. A genius, sadly taken from us far too young.

The rest of the album is good but not great. That debut casts a huge shadow. 

Where do they all belong? Back up to date now and heading back to Mark 3 Deep Purple.

Cheeseburger in paradise (Jimmy Buffett) (LP 2329 - 2331)

Jimmy Buffett  Havana Daydreamin' (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1976) ***  

Jimmy Buffett  Son Of A Son Of A Sailor (Vinyl, ABC Records, 1978) *** 

Jimmy Buffett  Riddles In The Sand (Vinyl, MCA Records, 1984) ****   

Genre: Pop rock 

Places I remember: Catch up continues through the Bs.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Woman Going Crazy On Caroline Street (Havana Daydreamin')

Gear costume: Cowboy In The Jungle (Son Of A Son Of A Sailor)

Active compensatory factors: Jimmy Buffett died last September having made a great long career as, well, as Jimmy Buffett. He was a real one-off.

He kept his illness (cancer) a secret and was still active touring aged 76, until he could tour no longer.

He's left a great legacy - his discography lists over 30 albums. Not too shabby for a guy with a slacker image.

There's something lovable about his whole laid back beachcomber persona that I and a lot of others admire. His singing style is very cozy and easy.

The album covers often have him jolly, smiling, and carefree. Havana Daydreamin', from the mid-seventies, certainly presents that image.

First song on that album, Woman Going Crazy on Caroline Street, sums up his whole man-in-a-Hawaiian-shirt approach. This is a guy who calls his band The Coral Reefer Band, after all!

Son Of A Son Of A Sailor and Riddles in the Sand aren't quite as good as Havana and he mixes it up a bit on these ones. Still, Son has Cowboy In The Jungle - the sort of easy-going song that he seemed able to write in his sleep!

Where do they all belong? Always on the look-out for more Jimmy Buffett albums.

Learning to like ourselves again (Blam Blam Blam) (LP 2322 - 2328)

ABC The Lexicon Of Love (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 1982) ***  

Pat Benatar Precious Time (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1981) ****  

Pat Benatar Live From Earth (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1983) ****  

Blam Blam Blam Luxury Length (Vinyl, Propeller Records, 1982) ***** 

Blondie Blondie (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1976) ***   

Graham Brazier Inside Out (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1981) ***   

Lindsey Buckingham Law And Order (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 1981) ***   

Genre: Pop rock 

Places I remember: Catch up on albums I missed in the A to Cs.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Billy Bold (Graham Brazier)

Gear costume: Don't Fight It Marsha, It's Bigger Than Both Of Us (Blam Blam Blam)

Active compensatory factors: Nothing much screams 1982 more than ABC's Lexicon of Love - their debut album. Martin Fry and troops hit one out of the park right off the bat!

Normally I have issues with the eighties synth, Linn drums and attendant production mores (yes - talking 'bout you Trevor Horn), but I'll make an exception for a few, and ABC are one.

The big hits were of course The Look Of Love and Poison Arrow but the rest of the album holds up to scrutiny in 2024. I love Tears For Fears, and a lot of this album reminds me of them.

Pat Benatar is a fav of mine. All those guitar anthems!! Precious Time was her third album and had the big hits Fire And Ice and Promises In The Dark but it has a number of great tracks like the tuff reggae of It's A Tuff Life, Hard To Believe, and a very creditable version of the Fabs' Helter Skelter.

The Live From Earth set (great title!) is Pat at her performance peak - full of energy and great moves. My only quibble is those damned synths - wrecking the party a tad. Just a slight quibble - each song is done superbly.

The album ends with two studio tracks - the mega seller Love Is A Battlefield and Lipstick Lies. Two great tracks.

Highlights aplenty on this one but if push came to shove I'd go for the live version of Hit Me With Your Best Shot - taken at pace!

Blam Blam Blam are a NZ institution.  Tim Mahon (bass) and Mark Bell (guitar, vocals) joined up with Don McGlashan on drums and lead vocals. Don, of course went on to solo success after Front Lawn and The Mutton Birds.

The Blams sound a lot like Nu Zild's answer to Talking Heads on this album. It's full of great ideas/ rhythms and songs.

The first Blondie album is a ripper of a start for the band. I don't hear much of a punk influence on it, instead it sounds more like a sixties girl group beach blanket bingo festival to my ears. Which I love!

I can hear the influence of Shadow Morton and the Shangri-Las on Debbie and Chris Stein etc.

Graham Brazier was the lead singer and rebel without a cause in Hello Sailor and then The Legionnaires. Famously, his mum owned a secondhand bookshop in Dominion Rd where I bought a lot of books!

Inside Out is his debut solo album. Sadly, he'd only make a couple more before he passed away in 2015 from a heart attack.

Inside Out is notable for some tough NZ sounds - Graham sounds like the real rock star deal throughout. And, of course, it houses his big moment - Billy Bold, which is included in the top 100 NZ songs list. Obviously Brazier thought a lot of the song - it's the only one whose lyrics are printed on the inside cover.

Most of DD Smash and Hello Sailor play on the album and they do a great job. Dave McArtney and Brazier as producers also do a creditable job. The whole album holds together well and hasn't dated much.

Law And Order is also Buckingham's debut solo album, also from 1981. He can always be relied upon to find some nifty quirky hooks and that's certainly the case on Law And Order. 

The big moment was Trouble, helped by Mick Fleetwood's drumming (elsewhere Lindsey plays all the instruments pretty much), but the rest of the album also sparkles.

Where do they all belong? A further catch up impending.

Summit soul (Jean-Luc Ponty) (LP 2319 - 2321)

Jean-Luc Ponty  Electric Connection (CD, Gott Records, 1969) ***  

Jean-Luc Ponty  King Kong: Jean-Luc Ponty Plays The Music Of Frank Zappa (CD, Gott Records, 1970) ****  

Jean-Luc Ponty  Mystical Adventures (CD, Atlantic Records, 1982) ****  

Genre: Pop rock; jazz fusion; jazz 

Places I remember: Fopp; Marbecks Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: King Kong

Gear costume: Mystical Adventures Part 1

Active compensatory factors: Jean-Luc Ponty's music is hard to categorise as he has a foot in both the pop world and the jazz world via his work with George Duke, Frank Zappa and John McLaughlin.

Hence my claiming him in the pop rock, jazz and jazz-fusion genres.

Clearly, my interest in his solo career was sparked via his association with Zappa and the second album listed above: King Kong.

First of his American albums though, was 1969's Electric Connection. George Duke and a big crew of sessioners sit in with Jean-Luc on what is pretty much a straight jazz album.

King Kong is a brilliant set of Frank Zappa compositions - FZ even sits in on the sole Ponty written track. Assorted Mothers and soon to be Mothers (George Duke) also appear.

It helps that the music is brilliant, but the playing is outstanding as well. Although I find Music For Electric Violin and Low Budget Orchestra tough to listen to, I appreciate the experimental philosophy.

Still, it's the more tuneful songs that I appreciate the most on this album.

Mystical Adventures features a side long suite which is downright beautiful! Ponty embraced synths in the eighties and they merge wonderfully with his violin.

Where do they all belong? Want more Ponty? You have a ways to go before I get to Zappa in the Zeds. Unless I find a copy of his Individual Choice from 1983, in the meantime that is.

Finding our feet (Polar Bear) (LP 2316 - 2318)

Polar Bear  Peepers (CD, The Leaf Label, 2010) ***

Polar Bear  In Each And Every One (CD, The Leaf Label, 2014) ****

Polar Bear  Same as You (CD, The Leaf Label, 2015) ****

Genre: Jazz; jazz fusion

Places I remember: Fopp (Covent Garden). These are the kinds of albums I'd only be able to find in places like Fopp - certainly no chance in NZ.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: A New Morning Will Come (Peepers)

Gear costume: Open See (In Each And Every Way); Unrelenting Unconditional (Same As You)

Active compensatory factors: I read an article about Polar Bear in Mojo Magazine which intrigued me, so I bought a CD and then after enjoying it, sought out a few more.

Polar Bear are a British experimental jazz group led by drummer Seb Rochford   with Pete Wareham and Mark Lockheart on tenor saxophone, Tom Herbert on double bass and Leafcutter John on electronics and occasionally guitar or mandolin.

Their fourth album was Peepers. The twin tenor sax sound doesn't dominate - instead all members of the band jell extremely well on songs that are all composed by Rochford. 

Peppers was the first album I heard and liked. It's pretty mellow in paces, frenetic in others and constantly interesting. This isn't wallpaper music to be ignored - it's post millennium jazz rock fusion.

In Each And Every Way seems wholly organic as an album. Tracks merge and form a whole in a really satisfying way. It's a great early evening album, post dinner. My only issue - it's too long as an album (CD era disease).

Same As You is slightly different again. There are vocals, spoken words, a more minimalist sound, more space around the instruments and it's got a lucky face! This one is great for a sunny afternoon. Having been inspired by a desert experience this makes complete sense.

Where do they all belong? Next up is Jean-Luc Ponty.

A gypsy's kiss (Deep Purple) (LP 2303 - 2315)

Deep Purple  Concerto For Group And Orchestra (Vinyl, Harvest Records, 1970) ** 

Deep Purple  In Rock (CD, Harvest Records, 1970) **** 

Deep Purple  Fireball (CD, Harvest Records, 1971) **

Deep Purple  Machine Head (Vinyl and CD, Purple Records, 1972) *****  

Deep Purple  Made In Japan (Vinyl and CD, Harvest Records, 1972) *****  

Deep Purple  Live In Japan (3CD, Purple Records, 1972) ***  

Deep Purple  In Concert (Vinyl, Harvest Records, 1980) ***  

Deep Purple  In Concert '72 (CD, Warner Brothers Records, 2012) ***  

Deep Purple  Who Do You Think We Are (CD, Purple Records, 1973) ** 

Deep Purple  Perfect Strangers (CD, Polydor Records, 1984) ***  

Deep Purple  House Of Blue Light (CD, Polydor Records, 1987) ** 

Deep Purple  In The Absence of Pink - Knebworth 85 (CD, Connoisseur Collection, 1991) ***   

Deep Purple  The Battle Rages On (CD, RCA Records, 1993) **  

Genre: Rock 

Places I remember: Little Red Bookstore (Concerto); CD re-releases of In Rock/ Fireball/ Machine Head/ Made In Japan/ Who Do You Think We Are from Virgin Megastores; vinyl Machine Head from Taste Records; Made in Japan from David Jones department store (Sydney); rest from JB Hi Fi or The Warehouse.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Highway Star (either studio or live - Machine Head or Made In Japan)

Gear costume: Demon's Eye (Fireball); Speed King (In Rock)

Active compensatory factors: I will need to break up the Deep Purple catalogue into the various line-ups (i.e. Deep Purple Mark 2 etc), because I own a lot of their albums.

Ha ha! Having said that I don't have any of the albums created by the original Mark 1 version.

Instead, we jump straight into Mark II - Roger Glover/Ian Gillan have joined Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice.

Things got off to a weird start with the Concerto For Group And Orchestra created and driven by Jon Lord.

It sounds...different. I had started my Deep Purple love affair with Deep Purple In Rock, so, in the early seventies, I had no inclination to return to a record with an orchestra on it!

Fast forward to 2023 and I found a mint copy. My boyhood decisions, I've found over the years, were usually pretty spot on. Because I had very limited means of buying records I was very discerning. 

It's a curious work in many ways. I'm sure Ritchie did this music through gritted teeth. Suffice to say, I still struggle to listen to the album with any enthusiasm.

Deep Purple In Rock had me from the opening seconds of the first track - Speed King, and didn't let me go. 

My memories of the album are firmly tied up with a visit to a classmate's house in 1973. Brian Wood and I were both in Senior 5 at Mt Albert Grammar. He lived in Kerr Taylor Ave - which was on my walking route to get the bus back to Royal Oak. 

One day I stopped off at his and we played the In Rock album. While we were listening to it my mum rang the Woods' place and told me she'd pick me up to have a look at a new section she and dad had bought in Ramelton Road, Mt Roskill. All of that is very vivid in my brain still. It was a happy time!

The music is so radically different to the Concerto, it's a real shock that both albums came out in 1970. Ian Gillan is now a powerful presence where he was very much on the periphery for Concerto.

The highlights are plenty - Child In Time is a very confident statement in itself but the rest of the album is chock full of great songs and performances.

In comparison Fireball has a few great tracks but some meh ones as well. It's a pretty messy affair with some shockers (i.e. Anyone's Daughter) and loose jams masquerading as songs (everything else except for No No No and Demon's Eye - the one true classic Purple song on this runt of an album).

Machine Head is the classic Mark 2 album, forged out of adversity (Smoke On The Water, famously tells the tale of the album's inception).

Every song is an inspired piece of brilliance in sharp contrast to Fireball. I can remember buying the album from a record shop off Queen St in Auckland's CBD and thinking I was the cat's pajamas.

It sounded impossibly good to my teenage ears and I spent hours listening to it and poring over the lyric sheet and the cover. A seminal experience.

When my family went on a holiday to Sydney, Deep Purple's Made In Japan was central to my list. Here was another album I dissected groove by groove. Air guitaring to Ritchie on Smoke On The Water never gets old. I did it today when I relistened to the album.

The 3 CD Live In Japan set documents all of the live shows that contributed to Made In Japan: Osaka's two nights, and Tokyo. One for completists that one. In my opinion - less is more and the double vinyl original LP had enough to deal with. I'm not a fan of the extended CD version with a second CD of encores and the triple CD collection is nice to have (I HAD to have it) but hardly essential.

The In Concert double album collects the BBC in concert recordings made by the band. Compared to Made In Japan the recording doesn't pop in the same way and the performances (aside from Lazy) don't equal up either. Still good, but not great!

It was re-released in 2012 as a more palatable single CD with a bonus of Maybe I'm A Leo at soundcheck. It makes better sense with Mike's idiosyncratic introductions as well.

On to 1973 and tensions were starting to reveal themselves in the music with Who Do You Think We Are (no question mark). 

Sadly, it's a case of Fireball Part 2 with some icky moments (Mary Long), some greatness (My Woman From Tokyo) and a few interesting jam/doodles - best of which is Rat Bat Blue.

And then, that was it for Mark 2 Purple until Mark 3 and 4 had done their thing and time had gone by until Mark 2 reunited in 1984!

The result of the reformation was Perfect Strangers. It's a strong album in many ways but in others it doesn't quite work. As Roger Glover has said, "A great moment in time but, as an album, it doesn't quite hang together."

Although recognisably DP, the sound is not really like In Rock or Machine Head; it's not even like Who Do we Think We Are, instead it's a progression for the eighties into some symphonic rock along the lines of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir. It's taken me a while to embrace it. So far, it's been 40 years!

I tend to agree with Glover plus Jon Lord's belief that it was a mistake to try to be current in the eighties. He was referring to the Mark 2's last studio album together, 1987's The House Of Blue Light, but he might as well have added Perfect Strangers into the mix as well.

Those synths and eighties production techniques were not kind to a hard rocking guitar and organ band.

Plus, House Of Blue Light has the similar dysfunctional feel to it that Who Do We Think We Are had, in terms of some weak songs based on some loose jamming.

It's not all bad news though. Some highlights are Hard Lovin' Woman and Don't Turn Off The Light which has a whiff of Rainbow about it.

The double live CD from the band's appearance at Knebworth 1985 is named In The Absence Of Pink after a remark on stage by Ian Gillan as he introduces Gypsy's Kiss.

The concert was recorded by the BBC at the time and is a warts and all document. Some of the stage blather and ad hoc hijinks could have been edited out (worst offender Space Truckin') but still - it's now a historic document of the band in the mid-eighties.

Highlights include the opening version of Highway Star (Jon and Ritchie tear into their solos), Strange Kind Of Woman (an updated Blackmore/Gillan duel), and a spirited (if slightly shambolic until Ian Paice's tidy drum solo) Lazy. 

Luckily the encores no longer include their version of Lucille. Instead, it's a one-two-three punch of Speed King, Black Night and Smoke On The Water (of course).

Mark 2 got back together for a final time in 1993 to record The Battle Rages On. Ian Gillan replaced his replacement (Joe Lynn Turner) for this one off. Ritchie eventually tossed his toys again and that was it for Mark 2.

The album itself is noisy without having any great tunes or riffs that are memorable. Gillan sounds strident, Blackmore sounds like he's rather be playing music in Rainbow. All up - not a successful reunion.

Where do they all belong? Mark 3 Purple up next after a breather via a few jazz albums.

Fractions (Gary Peacock) (LP 2302)

Gary Peacock  Shift In The Wind (CD, ECM Records, 1981) ****  

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Last First

Gear costume: So Green

Active compensatory factors: American bass player, Gary Peacock, appears here in a trio with Art Lande on piano and Eliot Zigmund on drums.

The AllMusic review says, 'the interplay between these masterful musicians is more significant than the actual compositions and rewards repeated listenings'.

Art Lande in particular is outstanding on this album. He holds the playing together for my money.

Where do they all belong? A lovely album that fits into the ECM corner of the jazz collection.

Welcome to the club (Marc Moulin) (LP 2300 - 2301)

Marc Moulin  Top Secret (CD, Blue Note Records, 2001) ****  

Marc Moulin  I Am You (CD, Blue Note Records, 2007) ****  

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: Virgin Megastore (Dubai and Abu Dhabi)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Tenor

Gear costume: Into the dark

Active compensatory factors: I can't remember how I first came upon Marc Moulin. I suspect I heard it in the Middle East at a dinner party of ex-pats. That or a cafe in a mall. Dim memories!

Top Secret is a bright and breezy trip hoppy acid jazz type of experience (perfect for trendy cafes). It's the sort of album you can just put on and leave in the background and everyone will find something to like. Perfect for cafes and/or dinner parties.

Marc Moulin is a Belgian jazz musician and he knows what he's doing - both of these albums are on Blue Note! The second of these albums presents a darker, moodier, picture. This is the night album to Top Secret's day album!

I'm a day person, so I prefer Top Secret.

Where do they all belong? Two albums by Marc are ample.

Epistrophy (Thelonious Monk) (LP 2285- 2299)

Thelonious Monk  Monk (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1954) *** 

Thelonious Monk  Monk's Music (CD, Riverside Records, 1957) ***** 

Thelonious Monk  Thelonious Monk Plays The Music Of Duke Ellington (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1955) ***** 

Thelonious Monk  The Unique Thelonious Monk (CD, Riverside Records, 1956) **** 

Thelonious Monk  Mulligan Meets Monk (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1957) ****

Thelonious Monk  Thelonious Monk and Sonny Rollins (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1956) ****

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk  Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers with Thelonious Monk (Record and CD, Atlantic Records, 1958) ****

Thelonious Monk  Thelonious Monk Trio (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1957) ****

Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane  At Carnegie Hall (CD, Blue Note Records, recorded 1957, released 2006) *****

Thelonious Monk Alone In San Francisco (CD, Riverside Records, 1959) ***

Thelonious Monk  At The Blackhawk (CD, Riverside Records, 1960) *****

Thelonious Monk  Misterioso (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1958) *****

Thelonious Monk  5 By Monk By 5 (CD, Real Gone Jazz Records, 1959) ****

Thelonious Monk  Solo Monk (CD, CBS Records, 1965) ***

Thelonious Monk  Straight, No Chaser (CD, CBS Records, 1967) *****

Genre: Jazz 

Places I remember: The Warehouse; Kings Recording (Abu Dhabi); music store in Al Ain.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Epistrophy (Monk's Music)

Gear costume: Caravan (Plays Duke)

Active compensatory factors: Thelonious Monk. A singular genius on the piano. No one like him, ever.

The first album of his that I have is Monk - a compilation of two 10 inch albums on the Prestige label -Thelonious Monk Quintet Blows for LP and Thelonious Monk Quintet (with Frank Foster, Art Blakey).

I may be way off, but I hear quite a lot of the swing tradition in some of Monk's early albums. It's a big sound with multiple horn players and big drums.

This one has Art Blakey on drums and a trumpeter augmenting the tenor sax of Frank Foster.

Art Blakey is also on Monk's Music from 1957 (Riverside Records), along with Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane on tenor sax (plus an alto sax player). Still that multiple horn arrangement for a big sound.

So, until Coltrane leans in (Monk yells out his name!) this again sounds like a product of the swing, big band era. But Coltrane definitely changes that landscape.

It was a much smaller combo used on 1955's Thelonious Monk Plays The Music of Duke Ellington - just piano, bass, drums.

I love this album! It reeks class - Thelonious' ability is stamped all over it.

Also on the Riverside label was 1956's The Unique Thelonious Monk. It's also the simple trio format and again, like his first album on Riverside, it's a collection of cover versions. Not as consistently as brilliant as the Duke homage, but still wonderful.

Mulligan Meets Monk is from that great year for music (and other things) - 1957. Again, it's a simple trio plus sax combo. Gerry Mulligan plays baritone sax for this session. Straight, No Chaser is a particular favourite of mine.

It's a true classic as the men's contrasting styles (Mulligan's cool west coast approach and Monk's more radical approach) makes for a fizzing series of work outs on Monk's tunes (4) and Mulligan's Decidedly.

The album with Sonny Rollins is a compilation of dates during 1953 and 54 and a bit of a misnomer as Rollins only appears on three of the five tracks.

This is the jazz setting I enjoy most - the tenor sax, piano, bass, drums combo.

Drummer Art Blakey crops up a lot on these records. His Jazz Messengers were also active in 1957 and were joined by Monk on this set. 

Bill Hardman on trumpet mixes it up with Johnny Griffin on tenor sax for this album. Art also contributes a muscular drum solo.

The tape of the 1957 quartet with John Coltrane was only discovered by accident in the early 2000's. It's a stunner - a must have. 

It sounds like nothing else in either artist's canon. The CD version includes two shows - the early and evening ones, plus there is an extensive booklet that accompanies it. A great package which does the historic meeting of these two justice.

The only song that they do at both shows is Epistrophy, which is remarkable.

I'm not too much of a fan of Monk Solo. Alone in San Francisco was recorded at a hall without an audience.

There's only so much I can take of his angular approach. I am not a musician so I can't appreciate the difficulty of his playing, all my ears are reacting to are the dissonance.

Much better to my way of thinking is his live album At The Blackhawk. 

He's joined by a quartet plus two (!). In this case it's two tenor saxes (one of whom is Charlie Rouse), trumpet, bass and drums.

In this context Monk's approach is made a lot more palatable because the other players take off in their own way and Monk has to adapt his style accordingly and fit in, rather than carry everything himself as his solo piano albums do.

Misterioso is a live album from 1958 and it's brilliant!

It's a great band - Johnny Griffith on tenor sax, Roy Haynes on drums, Ahmed Abdul-Malik on bass. These guys gel incredibly well and Monk is his usual brilliant self.

5 By Monk By 5 is another fantastic studio record. My only slight niggle with it is the cornet from Thad Jones. It offsets the fluid tenor sax of Charlie Rouse but I find the tone of the cornet quite strident. Just my personal taste.

Solo Monk has a great cover. In fact most of these albums have exceptional covers. The jazz genre really lends itself to innovation and experimentation when it comes to cover art.

I noticed this cover in one of my album cover books when I was a teenager and fell in love with the idea of this album, way before I found a copy in Kings Recording. I got so many great jazz CDs from that store in Abu Dhabi.

My CD copy includes a plethora of bonus tracks. Which is nice, but not essential to my ears.

This time the solo setting is more appealing and less experimental than Alone in San Francisco. 

Monk is in playful mood at times, but it's still a challenging CD to listen to for the most part. Never-the-less, if you want a solo piano album by Thelonious Monk, I would recommend this one.

The AllMusic review of Solo Monk sums up the solo piano album well: 

The mystery and haunting angular beauty of Thelonious Monk's unadorned keyboard sides are the focus of Solo Monk. As if holding the history of jazz in his hands, Monk's solo recordings and performances from every phase of his career remain pure. 

The components of what made Monk such an uncompromising composer, arranger, and especially bandmember are evident in every note he plays.

That brings us to the final Monk album in this run down. Straight, No Chaser is also blessed with a wonderful cover.

I love this record. It's my go to Monk album if I need a shot of innovative Monk led jazz.

It's the classic line-up for the most part (there are two solo Monk pieces) - piano, tenor sax (Charlie Rouse again playing out of his skin), bass and drums.

The CD version is also the perfect length - the official album has two bonus tracks (a different take of I Didn't Know About You and a previously unissued Green Chimneys). 

Where do they all belong? A lot to digest! Monk provides a number of challenges and I find his music constantly rewarding. He will never date!