Why (Yoko Ono) (LP 3412 - 3416)

Yoko Ono/ Plastic Ono Band  Yoko Ono/ Plastic Ono Band (CD/ vinyl, Apple Records/ Secretly Canadian Records, 1970) *****  

Yoko Ono  Fly (CD/ vinyl, Apple Records/ Secretly Canadian Records, 1971) ****  

Yoko Ono  Approximately Infinite Universe (CD/ vinyl, Apple Records/ Secretly Canadian Records, 1973) **** 

Yoko Ono  Feeling The Space (CD/ vinyl, Apple Records/ Secretly Canadian Records, 1973) **  

Yoko Ono  A Story (CD, Ryko, recorded 1974. released 1997) **   

Genre: Apple Records, Avant garde, experimental rock, rock 

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records, Real Groovy Records, Marbecks Records.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Why (Yoko Ono/ Plastic Ono Band)

Gear costume: Looking Over From My Hotel Window (Approximately Infinite Universe); Mindtrain (Fly) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I've divided the Yoko collection into two parts. First part (this one) - the albums when John was alive, and second - the post John years.

I love each of these albums from the seventies. Yoko and John's albums were recorded with similar personnel and released at the same time, so they are often yin yang of a creative whole.

I lost all of these albums (on Apple Records) during a traumatic house move, so I bought new re-released copies with a lovely Grapefruit replacing the iconic Apple. All of the lavish packaging remains the same.

Yoko Ono/ Plastic Ono Band is the sister album to John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band (the covers are similar with their positions reversed under that tree). Both were done as a response to their primal scream experiment. Both, for me, are their best albums because of the raw, naked delivery. Both have Ringo on drums and Klaus Voormann on bass (both take a suitably minimal approach).

Whereas John's album uses lyrics and has aspects of primal scream in his delivery, Yoko is all in, and John is all in on primal guitar. It's an extraordinary album with each track distinctive and effective. 

Why, the lead off song, is breathtaking. John's guitar is a howl of emotion and a mimic to Yoko's screaming WHY over and over. Her finest moment on record for me. I've played this song to countless people over the years, and no one gets it as I do. It's beautiful and frightening at the same time.

Fly is a double, recorded around the same time as Imagine. It's a transitional album - featuring some rock singing (Midsummer New York is brilliant), some traditional ballad styles (Mrs. Lennon is terrific) and Yoko's primal vocal gymnastics (Fly, the 'song', can be hard going, even for me). Mindtrain is an extraordinary 16+ minute track featuring John's mind-bending guitar again, and vocals by Yoko.

Approximately Infinite Universe, another double album, moves much more to a traditional pop/rock sound. It was recorded post Sometime In New York with Elephants Memory. They play with a lot more subtlety on Yoko's album.

It's sprawling and the quality varies over the four sides, but she gets credit for the high points. 

Her final album for Apple Records was Feeling The Space (concurrent with Mind Games). It's a stridently feminist album and worth your time, but it's not one of my favourites. John contributes but only on a few tracks.

A Story was recorded in 1974 without John (during the so-called 'lost weekend'), who was also at work - on Walls And Bridges. The style is again traditional pop/rock with Yoko trying a variety of styles similar to Feeling The Space. It went unreleased until after John's murder and is an interesting footnote.

Where do they all belong? The post John albums are next. Deep breath, because there are a lot of them!

Intel and dreams (Nada Surf) (LP 3408 - 3411)

John Lennon  Telecasts (Vinyl, Bootleg, no date) *** 

Nada Surf  Moon Mirror (Vinyl, New West Records, 2024) ****  

Mike Nesmith  Mike Nesmith Presents The Wichita Train Whistle Sings (Vinyl, Dot Records, 1968) * 

Mike Nesmith and his Second National Band  Tantamount To Treason Volume One (Vinyl, RCA Records, 1972) ****

Genre: Pop/ rock 

Places I remember: Amoeba Music, Music store in San Luis Obispo, Wax Trax Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: In Front Of Me Now (Nada Surf)

Gear costume: Wax Minute (Mike Nesmith) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: The last installment of my American haul (the P to Z albums will come up in the countdown in due course).

I owned a copy of the Lennon bootleg Telecasts but lost it in a house move. It's a compilation of material from John's TV appearances. Given its bootleg status, the sound quality is variable, but mostly very good. 

The Mike Douglas Show material with Chuck Berry is not well performed but the rest is interesting (even if the Dick Cavett Show stuff is sped up a bit). Regardless of all that, it's good to have a copy back in the Lennon collection.

I listened to Nada Surf's Moon Mirror (their latest album) when I re-listened to their albums for my entry on them a while back (here if you want to catch up). I was immediately impressed and put it on my list. 

I was thrilled to find a cheap new copy in a store in San Luis Obispo (I forget its name - most of the stores I went into there had a huge number of CDs and only a few bins of secondhand albums - which is weirdly where I found this brand new copy).

It's an excellent example of their melodic power pop approach.

I managed to find both of the Nez albums going cheap in Wax Trax Records in Denver. Cheap is $US14.00 for the two. Unbelievable!

Wichita Train Whistle Sings is his first solo album, made while he was still a Monkee. It has interesting, instrumental versions of Monkee's songs, but is still strictly for completists/ obsessives.

Tantamount To Treason Volume 1 (there was never a volume 2) was his fifth solo album. It sets out a different sound - more psychedelic crooner than country hick (of the previous 3 before this one), and points toward his future releases. As a transitional record, it has feet in both the past and future.

Where do they all belong? Back to the regular countdown for the next post - a couple of Yoko Ono posts upcoming.

Soft soundin' music (Harpers Bizarre) (LP 3404 - 3407)

Fanny  Live on Beat-club '71-'72 (Vinyl, Real Gone Music, 2024) ****  

Focus  Ship of Memories (Vinyl, Sire Records, 1977) **** 

Harpers Bizarre 4 (Vinyl, Warner Bros Records, 1969) ****  

Jade Warrior  Kites (Vinyl, Island Records, 1976) ***  

Genre: Rock, prog rock, pop.

Places I remember: The next installment of albums I bought recently in California/Colorado - Amoeba Music (Hollywood Blvd), Wax Trax Records (Denver)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Hey Bulldog (Fanny)

Gear costume: Soft Soundin' Music (Harpers Bizarre)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: I stupidly sold my collection of Fanny's albums years ago and have been slowly buying it back ever since. I still have a few to go, and although I found one in Amoeba Music it was really expensive so I opted for Live on Beat-club '71-'72 instead.

It's a great set. The liner notes by the band indicate that they had been road tested before these live in the studio tracks were recorded (no audience so the sound is perfect). With gusto is probably the best adjective I'd use, as the band tears into these songs with full confidence.

The Focus album is a kind of lost album. The tracks were compiled by their producer Mike Vernon. He selected previously unreleased material and compiled without any active involvement by any band member. The recordings date from January 1970 to mid-1975, and largely during unproductive recording sessions in 1973 for a follow-up studio album to Focus 3 (1972).

It sounds pretty damn fine to me. Classic Focus - adventurous, playful, and succinct (as far as prog wig-outs go). I was delighted to find it and it hasn't disappointed in the slightest.

Harpers Bizarre 4 is the final album of theirs that I have been searching for, for some time. It's actually pretty great. It kicks off with the terrific Soft Soundin' Music and keeps the quality level high throughout. Their version of The Beatles' Blackbird is well worth hearing. Ry Cooder appears on slide guitar and he's always worth listening to.

Finally in this set is another Jade Warrior album - Kites. It is described as 'intense ambient music' by the AllMusic reviewer and I do get that. I'll need to listen to it a few more times to get into it. I've found that with Jade Warrior in general. Their music rewards repeat listens.

Where do they all belong? A final post of the American A to O purchases coming up next.

I've been driftin' (Burdon/ Witherspoon) (LP 3400 - 3403)

Ginger Baker's Airforce  Ginger Baker's Airforce 2 (Vinyl, Atco Records, 1970) ****  

Jimmy Buffett  A1A (Vinyl, ABC Dunhill Records, 1974) **** 

Eric Burdon & Jimmy Witherspoon  Black & White Blues (Vinyl, LA International Records, 1976 - originally released as Guilty! 1971) *** 

Dragon  Dragon (Vinyl, Portrait, 1978) *** 

Genre: Jazz rock, country, blues, pop rock

Places I remember: Wax Trax Records (Denver), Amoeba Music (LA)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: 12 Gates of the City (Ginger Baker's Airforce 2)

Gear costume: This Time (Dragon)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: This post continues with the albums I picked up from a trip to California and Colorado. First up in this group of 4 is an album I hesitated to buy. It was the most expensive album I bought from Wax Trax ($US16) but I couldn't leave without it. I'm talking about Ginger Baker's Airforce 2.

My hesitation was because I had read some reviews of it over the years that were quite negative.

Just goes to show you often can't rely on critical reviews. It's a great continuation of the big group jazz rock approach of the first album. Denny Laine and Graham Bond are on hand to provide some sympathetic musicianship to the Airforce.

As the AllMusic says: something should be said for the honesty and purity of Ginger Baker's Airforce 2, and if it is too musical and avant garde for an audience that embraced Clapton, it should be commended for its sense of adventure and elegance. "12 Gates of the City" is a delight, swimming with sounds from the Arabian nights and the swamps of New Orleans, a sublime and uncharted mix that sounds better years after it was recorded. A timeless, yet pretty much forgotten record.

I managed to complete my Jimmy Buffett list while in Wax Trax Records, as I'm not too interested in his slicker post seventies output.

A1A is an excellent album - pure laid-back easy-going Jimmy Buffett. In many ways it is one of his best, and that's without a big hit song. The Third Coral Reefer Band are locked in, and the songs are spot on. It's a great place to start for those who are wondering what all the fuss is about regarding Jimmy's cool dude persona.

Black & White Blues (originally called Guilty!) was the first album Eric Burdon did after leaving War. That said, the album mainly features members of War!

It's a solid set of covers for the most part, that includes songs by John Mayall, James Taylor and Chuck Berry, alongside some original Burdon songs.

The Dragon album, called Dragon, is the international version of Sunshine (their third album, released in 1977), designed to introduce Americans to the band.

It's the one with Get That Jive, This Time (renamed In The Right Direction for this album) and Sunshine on it. Some reasonable hits in 1977.

Where do they all belong? Another bunch of American purchases coming right up.

Tony (Tony Williams) (LP 3397 - 3399)

Jan Hammer  The Early Years (Vinyl, Nemperor Records, 1986) ***

Tony Williams  The Joy Of Flying (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1979) ****

Jean-Luc Ponty  Imaginary Voyage (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1976) *****

Genre: Jazz fusion, prog rock

Places I remember: Wax Trax Records (Denver, Colorado); Secondhand tool shop (also Denver)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The Gardens Of Babylon (Imaginary Voyage)

Gear costume: Open Fire (The Joy Of Flying)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: While on our Californian saga and the wedding trip to Denver, I inevitably managed to visit a number of record stores. The next few posts will feature my purchases. There were some real bargains, and some albums I've been after for a while. 

I'll start with these three jazz fusion albums. 

My eyes lit up when I spied the Jan Hammer compilation on Nemperor Records in Wax Trax Records. The First Seven Days is featured mostly (4 tracks), then Little Children (2 tracks). I already have both of those albums. The remainder is a track apiece from two albums I don't have (yet) - Oh Yeah! and Melodies.

Tony Williams has also featured in my catalogue so far and The Joy Of Flying features Jan Hammer on a number of tracks.

Apart from the free jazz skronk of final track Morgan's Motion (with Cecil Taylor), the bulk of the album is brilliant jazz fusion. Tony doesn't ever showboat, instead he is a great team player. Apart from Jan and Tony, other stellar musicians appearing are Brian Auger, George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Stanley Clarke and Ronnie Montrose on guitar.

I was thrilled to find the Ponty album for $3 from a secondhand tool shop in Denver. It was a bit dusty but after a clean it looks and sounds excellent.

The music is terrific, with a side-long title track just skipping past with Ponty and his sidekicks (including Tom Fowler on bass) in complete command.

Where do they all belong? Next up are the A to O albums.

Life's little package of puzzles (Spooner Oldham) (LP 3396)

Spooner Oldham  Pot Luck (CD, Family Productions, 1972) ***  

Genre: RnB, soul

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: The Lord Loves A Rolling Stone

Gear costume: Life's Little Package of Puzzles

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: Spooner is much more famous for his collaborations, and session work with stars like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt (and more) than he is for this solo album - his one and only.

His voice is pretty cool - not polished at all, and it suits the material on the album. That said, he was clearly much happier in a support role, rather than singing and carrying an album. There are a number of instrumentals here, which balances the vocal ones well. 

Where do they all belong? A lovely side road in his career.

My damsel heart (Sally Oldfield) (LP 3395)

Sally Oldfield  Celebration (Vinyl, Bronze Records, 1980) ***  

Genre: Prog rock, pop

Places I remember: Secondhand shop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles/ Gear costume: My Damsel Heart 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: The musical gene is strong in the Oldfield family. Not only Mike, but also his brother Terry, and sister - Sally.

I bought this album thinking that her style was going to be similar to that of Maggie Reilly (Moonlight Shadow). Sadly, it's not. It's a bit plumier, not so light and Celtic sounding (even though she was born in Ireland), and so, it doesn't move me in the way Maggie's vocals do.

Where do they all belong? She appeared on a number of Mike Oldfield's earlier albums, the first four, so I'll leave it at that.