I remember (Midge Marsden) (LP 3096 -3097)

Midge Marsden Connection   Midge Marsden Connection  (Vinyl, Mandrill Records, 1981) ***  

Midge Marsden and The Indicators Live (Vinyl, Peak Records, 1983) ****

Genre: NZ Music, blues rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Slow Walk Jive Talk

Gear costume: Caledonia

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

Active compensatory factors: Midge Marsden is a Kiwi blues harmonica player from Taranaki.

That's about as solid as it gets in NZ music!

I've owned his Connection album a couple of times. I was attempting to be a Mandrill Records completist at one point but ran out of puff. Problem with Connection is that I want it to be better than it is I think, although it is bookended by two classic Midge Marsden moments - as highlighted above.

BTW - I love his sleeve notes - nowhere else in the world would the thanks section include Little Feat (for everything) and the Opunake R.F.C. Ha ha!!

Live is an EP recorded at The Gluepot Easter 1983. Again - there is nothing more solid than The Gluepot as a pub venue in Auckland.

Seems that Midge and the boys are best sampled live. Ta Rutherford appears on both of these records (guitar) and he delivers, as does the horn section! Their version of Riot (in Cell Block No 9) is tops but they charge into all of these songs. Sounds like it was a great night!

Where do they all belong? A NZ legend and good guy! Plus he plays a mean gob iron.

Son of boogie (Matt Taylor Phil Manning Band) (LP 3071 - 3072)

Phil Manning Band featuring Midge Marsden  Phil Manning Band featuring Midge Marsden Recorded Live (Vinyl, Polydor Records, 1979) **** 

Matt Taylor & Phil Manning Band  Oz Blues (Vinyl, Full Moon Records, 1981) ****  

Genre: Blues

Places I remember: Margie's brothers collection

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Gear costume: Boogie 2 (Son Of Boogie)

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

Active compensatory factors: Phil and Matt are Aussie blues rockers who were both in Chain. They would reunite for the Oz Blues album - playing some excellent earthy blues. Matt is on great blues harp and Phil is the guitar ace. Together they play some boogie blues that would go down brilliantly in an outback pub!

Before that album there was a short lived project with Midge - NZ's version of Matt Taylor. The Recorded live album was only released in New Zealand. The Kiwi accent on the guy doing the introduction is hilarious and a dead giveaway about the location.

The music on both albums is blues based Aussie/Kiwi infused rock. The harmonica and guitar heroics on both albums are outstanding. 

Where do they all belong? An Aussie/Kiwi hybrid.

Front Burner (The Rodger Fox Big Band) (LP 2417 - 2418)

The Rodger Fox Big Band  Time Piece (Vinyl, Ode Records, 1978) ****  

The Rodger Fox Band and Midge Marsden  Let The Good Times Roll (Vinyl, Circular Records, 1985) ****  

Genre: Jazz, NZ music

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Front Burner (sadly, neither songs are on Spotify or YouTube)

Gear costume: One Night Affair

Active compensatory factors: I remember seeing Rodger Fox's big band at a music festival a few years after this album came out. That blast of sound is a great memory.

This is an excellent sampler of Fox's various passions - big band (Open Sesame), jazz rock (One Night Affair), and jazz fusion (Time Piece).

The second album is a collaboration with NZ blues exponent Midge Marsden. It's excellent. A bit more cohesive than Time Piece, but still featuring Rodger on trombone fronting a big band (four trumpets, three saxes among the crowd).

Where do they all belong? Check out The 1860 Band entry.