For the love of it (Salmonella Dub) (LP 3683 - 3685)

Salmonella Dub  Killervision (CD, EMI Records, 1999) ****  

Salmonella Dub  One Drop East (CD, EMI Records, 2003) *****  

Salmonella Dub  Heal Me (CD, EMI Records, 2007) ***  

Genre: NZ Music, reggae

Places I remember: Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Drifting (Killervision)

Gear costume: Nu Steppa (One Drop East), For the Love of It (Killervision)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Salmonella Dub are a dub/drum n bass/reggae/roots band from Christchurch. More specifically - Kaikoura - where they are based.

The band were pioneers for NZ bands that I admire a lot, like Fat Freddy's Drop and LAB. Killervision is their third album, released in 1999. The single For the Love of It and the almost ambient Drifting show what's at the heart of early Salmonella Dub.

Killervision develops some great grooves in a trancey style. By this stage the band was made up of MC Tiki Taane on vocals/guitar (he'd eventually leave in 2007 to go solo), Dave Deakins (drums), Andrew Penman (guitar), Mark Tyler (bass), and Conan Wilcox (sax) - he'd also leave in 2007.

One Drop East is their fifth album. The sound is now smoother and the ambient aspects of Killervision are replaced with a funky groove. The vocals have also improved (Slide is exhibit A), so that One Drop East is a much more commercial proposition.

Heal me is cool too - more reggae infused than the previous two. Most of the core band are still on that one, and Salmonella Dub is still a going concern in 2025, as I understand it. Huh-ZAH!

Where do they all belong? NZ musicians are just great at this kind of music!

Soul on fire (Saint Jude) (LP 3682)

Saint Jude  Diary of a Soul Fiend (CD, Saint Jude Records, 2010) ***  

Genre: Rock

Places I remember: Classic Rock magazine

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Soul on Fire (YouTube); Soul on Fire

Gear costume: Pleased to Meet You

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Although the cover features lead singer Lynne Jackaman, Saint Jude was a band and this is their only album. It was a covermount CD for a Classic Rock magazine edition in 2010.

As well as Jackaman, the band comprises Adam Green (he died 2012 - hence only the one album) – guitar; Lee Cook – drums; Elliot Mortimer – keyboards; Colin Palmer Kellogg – bass.

They play a spirited kind of rock and soul music with guitars and Lynn Jackaman's impressive vocals to the fore. We live in a crazy old world when music this good is given away free with a magazine. Nevermind - they had their 15 minutes, and this album is a fine legacy to their talents.

Where do they all belong? Lynne Jackaman has continued to make music. Her One Shot album sounds worthy of my time.

A song for you (Leon Russell) (LP 3674 - 3681)

Leon Russell  Leon Russell (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1970) ****  

Leon Russell  Leon Russell and the Shelter People (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1971) ***** 

Leon Russell  Carney (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1972) ***

Leon Russell  Leon Live (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1973) *** 

Leon Russell  Stop All That Jazz (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1974) *** 

Leon Russell  Will O' The Wisp (Vinyl, Shelter Records, 1975) ****

Leon Russell  Americana (Vinyl, Paradise Records, 1978) ***

Leon Russell  Life and Love (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1979) **

Genre: Pop, rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, RCA Music Club

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Tight Rope (Carney)

Gear costume: A Song For You (Leon Russell), Crystal Closet Queen, Alcatraz (L R & The Shelter People)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Leon Russell's debut solo album came out in between his work in Asylum Choir (found here). It opens with A Song For You - a quiet introspective slow piano lead ballad. It's a plea for forgiveness and understanding from an estranged lover. A ballsy move for track one on a solo debut album, but that's Leon for you.

The rest of the album is superb too. Full of great songs, and interesting arrangements. Yes, it's an acquired taste, but I love his voice and he's on fine form throughout his first album.

I discovered its joys much later in life, truth be told. My first taste of Leon was 1971's Leon Russell and the Shelter People, an album I bought from the RCA Music Club. It arrived in the mail in 1971 and I was thrilled. So, it's one of the first albums I ever bought - therefore it has a special place in my heart.

Originally, I think I was swayed by seeing Beware of Darkness in the track listings. Anyone covering George Harrison was worth my time, I reasoned. But then I fell in love with every track - Crystal Closet Queen, Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall...All delivered in Leon's unmistakable voice. There is a joy and confidence about the album and it has a unique place in my collection.

Carney was next in 1972. It contains some superb songs like Tight Rope (I fell for this one big time in 1972) and This Masquerade. However, much of it (including much of side 2) is flat out weird.

Leon Live is an album I bought and sold and then needed to buy again. As soon as I played it, I realised why I'd sold it before. 

It's a triple album, so a lot to get through and these days I seldom have enough time to play six sides of vinyl. Then there's all the medleys and the stage announcements. It's all a bit too much. Instead, I'll stick with Russell and Cocker's Mad Dogs and Englishmen double, and his performance on the Concert for Bangladesh triple, I think.

Stop All That Jazz reins in the weirdness from Carney but is still inventive. His version of Dylan's Ballad of Hollis Brown is certainly unique!

The album came after his country excursions and has Willie Nelson playing on it, as well as John Cale. It's a tidy little album with Leon playing some great piano on Mona Lisa Please. I like his approach on Will O' The Wisp. The excellent cover clues you into a playful album. Contrast that with the terrible cover to Americana (that didn't bode well and so it came to pass).

Although Will O'The Wisp has synths (not a good move IMHO), it is widely regarded as a return to form (i.e. Carney). Leon sounds in good voice and energetic throughout. Make You Feel Good and the single from the album - Lady Blue are two highlights.

Americana was a change of approach thanks to Kim Fowley's contribution. Elvis and Marilyn is a good example of a poppier style. That's the good news. The bad news is Kim Fowley and a mainstream pop approach to most of the album, plus strings  don't really suit his approach. That means the interesting stuff of the past is in the past.

Still - it's listenable, unlike the next two albums in my list. Before his next studio album (Life and Love), Leon and Willie Nelson teamed up for a tour. It's pretty dire and I've reviewed it previously here.

Then comes Life and Love complete with terrible Linn drums, boring arrangements and a lack lustre Leon going through the motions. Again, the cover should have clued me in. A morose Leon hiding behind sun glasses - distant and off-putting. 

I'm not sure why I bothered with these last few. I was hoping against hope that he had a resurgence in him. That would eventually come with The Union and Elton's help.

Even better was Signature Songs on Dark Horse Records.

 

Where do they all belong? And that's it for Leon. I'm not looking for any lost gems. 

That's it for the R section as well. The huge S catalogue is next with some heavy hitters just around the corner.

Rye whiskey (Tom Rush) (LP 3673)

Tom Rush  Got a Mind to Ramble (Vinyl, Prestige Records, 1964) ****  

Genre: Folk, blues

Places I remember: Little Red Bookshop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: San Francisco Bay Blues 

Gear costume: Big Fat Woman

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: This was a real find - it's in excellent condition and was reasonably priced at Little Red Bookshop in Hastings.

Tom Rush is an American folk and blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He plays guitar superbly and he has a great folky voice.

This was his second album and its simple guitar, washtub bass and voice delivery is pretty much perfect. Its mixture of covers and original songs presents a real talent.

Where do they all belong? He's still around - age 84.

Who's that man? (Todd Rundgren) (LP 3664 - 3671)

Todd Rundgren  Runt (CD, Bearsville Records, 1970) ****  

Todd Rundgren  Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (CD, Bearsville Records, 1971) ***** 

Todd Rundgren  Something/ Anything? (Vinyl, Bearsville Records, 1972) ***** 

Todd Rundgren's Utopia  Another Live (Vinyl, Bearsville Records, 1975) **** 

Todd Rundgren  Faithful (Vinyl, Bearsville Records, 1976) *** 

Todd Rundgren  Back to the Bars (CD, Bearsville Records, 1978) **** 

Todd Rundgren  Hermit of Mink Hollow  (Vinyl, Bearsville Records, 1978) ****  

Utopia  Deface the Music  (CD, Bearsville Records, 1980) ****

Genre: Rock, pop, prog rock 

Places I remember: Fives, Real Groovy Records, Taupo record shop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: We Gotta Get You A Woman (Runt)

Gear costume: The Verb "To Love" (Back to the Bars)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: The genius tag has been applied to Todd and I'm not going to argue.

Runt was his first solo album (he was previously in The Nazz), and it contains an embarrassment of riches. The AllMusic review makes the claim that Todd is a 'gifted synthesist, blending all manners of musical styles and quirks into a distinctive signature sound'. Spot on as he tries out a variety of looks on Runt: guitar wig outs, ballads, pop songs - each with impressive mastery.

He followed up that album with the confusingly titled Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren a year later. Todd wrote, arranged, produced, sang lead and played all the guitars and keyboards. Yes, there are a lot of ballads on the album, but Todd rocks out on songs like Parole, as well. AllMusic sums it up well, calling the album 'the slyly sardonic masterwork of a loner who may be sensitive, but is certainly not shy'.

Something/ Anything? is a double album. Of course, it is, and it's only his third album. His third in three years. And a double!

Amazingly, it's also a terrific work of art. Each side has a different theme: side one is "a bouquet of ear-catching melodies"; side two is "the cerebral side"; on side three "the kid gets heavy"; side four is his mock pop operetta, recorded live in the studio with a full band (sides 1 to 3 are recorded in the studio with Todd playing all instruments and singing all vocals). We're talking genius level, right there.

Utopia is a band that Todd formed in 1973 as an outlet for his prog rock visions. I had quite a few of their albums, but in the end kept only Another Live (1975), and Deface the Music (1980). Utopia albums are threaded through his solo catalogue, so I've unified them for this post.

I kept Another Live because it rocks! Especially side 1 which features all new compositions. The songs tend to be on side 2. On the whole I prefer Todd's solo albums (admittedly, they include a variety of Utopia members at times). Utopia is synth heavy and includes impenetrable lyrics/ideas some of the time.

The intensity and consistency of approach on the album stems from the fact that most of the tracks are from one location - a gig at Wollman Rink 25 August, 1975, rather than cherry picking from loads of concerts.

Faithful features some members of Utopia joining Todd in covering some songs released in 1966 by rock'n'roll's heavy hitters - The Beach Boys, The Yardbirds, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan. Those covers are all faithful to the original and make up side one. 

The only one that doesn't work is the attempt at Dylan's Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine. He tries a Dylan impression and it's a little off. He sings the rest in his own voice, so the Dylan decision is a strange one. He'd eventually play in a band with Ringo, I wonder if discussion turned to his Fabs attempts (Rain, Strawberry Fields Forever) on Faithful?

Side two collects some of Todd's latest, and best songs. The Verb "To Love" is one of my favourites, but there is also Love of the Common Man, Black and White and Cliche.

Those songs would appear along with some of Todd's biggest hits on the double live album - Back to the Bars. Again the Utopia musicians make up the band.

It's one of those albums that immediately takes me back to a place and time. In this case it's our Taupo house on a family holiday. I'd bought the album in Taupo and played it over and over during that holiday.

Hermit of Mink Hollow has Todd back in true solo mode - he plays and sings everything, arranges and produces. Like Something/Anything? he labels each side. Side 1 is the easy side, side 2 is the difficult side.

Todd had just separated from Playboy model Beverle Lorence 'Bebe' Buell, so there's a certain melancholy vibe to the songs, although Todd denies that there is an autobiographical aspect going on. Can We Still Be Friends and Hurting For You provide the truth to that misdirection.  

Deface the Music sets out its stall right from the cover image! Todd goes down The Rutles route with Utopia. It's a lot of fun too (just like The Rutles).

Where do they all belong? I'll bought and sold a lot more Todd Rundgren albums over the years but I'm happy with my selling and buying decisions. He is a gifted guy, but quality control can sometimes be an issue.

Take me as I am (Rumer) (LP 3662 - 3663)

Rumer  Seasons of My Soul (CD, Atlantic Records, 2010) ****  

Rumer  Boys Don't Cry (CD, Atlantic Records, 2012) ****  

Genre: Adult pop

Places I remember: Fives, HMV

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Aretha (Seasons of My Soul)

Gear costume: Goodbye Girl (Seasons of My Soul - sounds uncannily like Karen Carpenter)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Rumer is Sarah Joyce - a Pakistani-British singer-songwriter. Seasons of My Soul is her debut album. It has a retro sixties sound (think Dusty Springfield) about it which somehow was perfect for 2010!

Her smooth, warm vocals are a thing of beauty and it's no wonder someone like Burt Bacharach's ears pricked up when he heard her. The backings are perfect - sympathetic and memorable.

Her second album - Boys Don't Cry features cover versions of songs by soft rock artists and writers from the 1970s (among them Jimmy Webb, Todd Rundgren, Terry Reid, Tim Hardin, Richie Havens, Gilbert O'Sullivan). 

Where do they all belong? For some reason I stopped collecting her albums. Maybe I'd figured this was enough?

Slow burn (Rose City Band) (LP 3660 - 3661)

Rose City Band   Summerlong  (Vinyl, Thrill Jockey Records, 2020) ****  

Rose City Band  Garden Party  (Vinyl, Thrill Jockey Records, 2023) *****  

Genre: Country rock

Places I remember: JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Mariposa (Garden Party)

Gear costume: Garden Song, Chasing Rainbows (Garden Party)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I came across a review of Summerlong in Mojo Magazine and it sounded like it would be an album for me. Pretty sure the review would have said something about how they provide Grateful Dead style cosmic country tunes via loping beats featuring mandolins, pedal steel and rippling guitar lines. Yeah baby!

In reality, Rose City Band revolves around main character, Ripley Johnson. These are his songs and he plays a lot of the music. The songs all seem to be about hazy sunny afternoons in natural surroundings. Yes, that sounds pretty perfect, right?

Where do they all belong? There are a couple of other Rose City Bands' records out there to collect. Their debut sounds like a tentative start, but Earth Trip and Sol y Sombra sound worthy of pursuit.