Back to schooldays (Rick Nelson) (LP 2066 - 2073)

Gary Brooker  Echoes In The Night (Vinyl, Mercury Records, 1985) ***  

Rick Nelson  Playing To Win (Vinyl, Capitol Records, 1981) ***  

Donovan  Barabajagal (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1969) *** 

Donovan  Open Road (Vinyl, Epic Records, 1970) *****  

Arlo Guthrie  Running Down The Road (Vinyl, Reprise Records, 1969) *** 

Harpers Bizarre  Feelin' Groovy (Vinyl, Warner Bros. Records, 1967) *** 

Various  Individual (Vinyl, CBS Records, 1979) *** 

XTC  English Settlement (Vinyl, Virgin Records, 1982) ***** 

Genre: Prog/ pop rock/ folk rock/ baroque pop/ jazz fusion/ pop rock to finish.

Places I remember: Brooker - Passionate About Vinyl (Waipawa)/Harper's Bizarre - Southbound Records/ rest are all  Real Groovy (Auckland). Didn't buy anything at the new Flying Nun shop on K Rd but it was great to visit. It's opposite St Kevin's Arcade - lots of memories centre on that place!

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Barabajagal (Donovan)

Gear costume: Senses Working Overtime (XTC)

Active compensatory factors: While on our way to see Tim Finn play in Auckland last weekend, I was able to stop off at a few record shops. These nine albums* have come from that journey up north and, in a nod to schooldays with GK, a trek down Symonds St., K. Road, and Queen St. with Kevy.

Gary Brooker's third solo album has been on my want list for a while. While Gary's voice is in fine form, it's a typical eighties production with these pesky synths all over most of the tracks. Grrrr. 

Eric Clapton and Rory Gallagher appear (on different tracks) but I'm blowed if I can hear them. Rory apparently plays slide guitar. I'll need to put headphones on and really listen for him.

Highlights: Missing Person; Echoes In The Night.

Despite the terrible cover, Rick Nelson had a mini-revival in 1981 with this Jack Nitzsche produced rock album. Sounds like he means it too. Tragically he would die four years later in a plane crash. A phenomenal talent, gone far too soon. 

Highlights: Almost Saturday Night (yes, the John Fogerty song); Do The Best You Can (yes, the Ry Cooder song) - this one in particular suits his laid back vocal style.

Donovan in 1969 was trying to have another commercial breakthrough with Mickie Most again at the producer's desk. The title song - Barabajagal, with the Jeff Beck Group, is pop perfection and a real highlight. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the album is quite uneven, unlike his next album.

Briefly, like Bowie with Tin Machine, Donovan next tried to operate in a band setting - Open Road is the name of the band and the name of this record (my copy has no name on the cover as in the image next door - instead there are tiny, hard to find, names on the photos).

Unlike Tin Machine, I think Open Roads works brilliantly. It's a full band sound, very 1970 in its production - that's a good thing! Donovan sounds great (as normal) and the arrangements are thoughtful, inventive and lovely! 

Highlights: Song For John; Celtic Rock

Staying in the folk rock genre (although it could also be fairly judged as country rock at times) is the next one - Arlo Guthrie's second album (after Alice's Restaurant). Ever since that enthusiastic gush at Woodstock, I have a soft spot for Arlo and I now have more of his albums than I do Woody Guthrie ones!

This one has involvement from various Byrds, Ry Cooder and Van Dyke Parks (co-producing). As well as the instrumental Living In The Country, a Pete Seeger song, it has Coming In To Los Angeles - as clear highlights. 

Harpers Bizarre (no apostrophe) hold a strange hold over my imagination. They seem utterly unique to me - out of time almost.

Just look at that cover for a second. See what I mean. This was 1967. The summer of love. Sgt Pepper. LSD. Satanic Majesties Request. And these guys look and sound like they have stepped off a Disney soundstage, or out of a lecture at a fifties ivy league preppy college to pose for a yearbook photo.

That Van Dyke Parks is involved is no surprise, he plays piano on his California soft pop composition - Come To The Sunshine (along with Paul Simon's Feelin' Groovy, a true highlight), but I'm sure he was also listening closely to these arrangements by Leon Russell, Randy Newman, Perry Botkin.

The various artists Individual double set is basically a jazz fusion sampler from CBS. I figured $10, it was worth a punt.

It's damn fine! There is this Nu Yerk type salesman huckster type doing the introductions to the rikids and he's unintentionally hilarious.

It features big hitters like John McLaughlin, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Richard Tee, Hubert laws and more. Love it!

Highlights: Tony Williams' Hip Skip.

My recollecting of XTC albums continues with a new copy of English Settlement being the latest addition.

This one was lost in my house move and it's taken me a while to realise it. 

I love this album - along with White Music it is my favourite XTC album. They had come a long way in only a few years and this more pastoral pop version of XTC was music to my ears. 

Too many highlights to list - each track is wonderfully fresh and inventive so it gets the five star rating from me.

Where do they all belong? *Only one double up from my trip - the John Lodge solo album (Natural Avenue). It cost $10 from Real Groovy - so not the end of the world. The one I have already has a better cover and is a UK pressing (as opposed to American so I'll keep that one and store the other). 

The Rick Nelson is a tricky one to locate - he could go in the rock'n'roll section but most of the albums I have are in the country rock genre (the Stone Canyon Band) so I've slotted this one in there.

Boppin' the blues (Ricky Nelson) (LP 555 - 561)

Ricky Nelson Ricky (CD, MCPS, 1957) *****

Ricky Nelson Ricky Nelson (CD, MCPS, 1958) **** 

Ricky Nelson Ricky Sings Again (CD, MCPS, 1959) ****

Ricky Nelson Songs By Ricky (CD, MCPS, 1959) ****

Ricky Nelson More Songs By Ricky (CD, MCPS, 1960) *** 

Rick Nelson Rick is 21 (CD, MCPS, 1961) *** 

Rick Nelson Album Seven by Rick (CD, MCPS, 19) ***

Genre: Rock and Roll 

Places I remember: The Warehouse (Palmerston North)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Down The Line (from Ricky Nelson); One Minute To One (Songs By Ricky)

Gear costume: Poor Little Fool (from Ricky Nelson); Travelin' Man, Hello Mary Lou (both Ricky is 21)

Active compensatory factors: Ricky was certainly prolific, and extremely talented, but definitely poorly served by album titles. Yikes! These display a severe lack of imagination!

The debut establishes the classic Ricky sound - relaxed, smooth, assured, dreamy! It's 63 years old (like me) and still sounds terrific!

The quality is really high throughout these first four albums. I've struggled with the ratings to be honest -  Ricky Sings Again has many of the hits and Lonesome Town is on there as well but there are a couple of slower songs that sound like they were made for the slow dance segment at the senior prom, so four stars for these albums is about right for the first four.

By 1960 Ricky was looking to branch out into other areas so strings and less rock'n'roll arrangements enter the picture. There are still diamonds amongst each album but the all around entertainer was starting to replace the rock and roll kid.

Where do they all belong? I've already blogged about his albums with the Stone Canyon Band (here and here) that I have on vinyl, and so I have only Garden Party to go on CD to complete the Rick Nelson collection. It's worth the wait! 

Bright lights and country music (Rick Nelson) (LP 340 - 341)

Rick Nelson Country (Vinyl, MCA, 1973) **
Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band Windfall (Vinyl, MCA, 1974) ***

Genre:  American pop/rock 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records (Windfall); Vinyl Countdown in New Plymouth (Country)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Legacy; One Night Stand






Gear costume:  Mystery Train (on Country); Don't Leave Me Here (on Windfall)

Active compensatory factors:  The double Country album is a compilation of two albums - Country Fever and Bright Lights And Country Music. Those two came out in 1966 and 1967 and are a long way from his early seventies country rock style with The Stone Canyon Band.

Not to say there aren't some worthwhile moments on the double album but it feels rather tentative. Without a regular band behind him, there's a tendency to slick and soulless session versions compared to the Stone Canyon albums.

Windfall followed the breakout Garden Party album and was the last of the four albums that combined the two parties.

That laid back Nelson sound when aligned with some tasteful steel guitar is hard to beat. He's less successful, in my view, on the more rock styled songs. The exception is the boogie shuffle of Wild Nights In Tulsa.

Where do they all belong? The CD collection has more Rick and more of him with the The Stone Canyon Band.

Feel so good (Rick Nelson) (LP 235 - 236)

Rick Nelson Rick Nelson In Concert (Vinyl - Decca, 1970) **
Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band Rudy The Fifth (Vinyl - Decca, 1971) ***

Genre: Rock'n'Roll  

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records (Auckland)  

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Sing Me A Song (a peaceful easy feeling).




Gear costume: Red Balloon and Louisianna Man and a hint of the country vibe that would become more prevalent as Rick went on. 

Active compensatory factors: In Concert is also with the same guys who became The Stone Canyon Band but it lacks atmosphere! Big time.

Curious because Rick Nelson is my go-to for laid back atmosphere. His voice is so damn easy! As in effortless and wonderful. 

Although the album was a success back in 1970 (the concert at the Troubadour was actually in 1969) it seems tentative with only three Nelson originals in the set. Playing it safe seldom works in the music world.

Rudy The Fifth is still Rick in transition - rock'n'roll moves like his own Gypsy Pilot, Feels So Good, a Honky Tonk Women cover and Dylan covers are mixed with some gospel (Thank You Lord) and, my favourite, country rock (Sing Me A Song).

Where do they all belong? Windfall and more Rick Nelson coming on CD.