Tell the truth (Winwood and Clapton) (LP 1041)

Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood  Live From Madison Square Garden (CD and video, Reprise Records, 2009) ****  

Genre: Blues rock 

Places I remember: Tron Records in Hamilton (CD); Electric City Music (Napier) for the VHS.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Had To Cry Today

Gear costume: Voodoo Chile

Active compensatory factors: For some reason this is something of a rarity. I had been after a copy for a few years until I stumbled upon one last year in Hamilton's Tron Records (great shop - well worth your time when visiting Hamilton).

Then I managed to find a copy of the video of the concert last month in Napier. 

This was a great reunion concert featuring these old friends and the video adds a lot to the experience as you can sense the friendship from the pair.

Songs come from each of their solo careers, Derek and The Dominos, Traffic and Blind Faith, plus some Hendrix covers that are standouts.

Where do they all belong? A one off it seems as they haven't recorded anything together since then.

Well all right (Buddy Holly) (LP 536)

Blind Faith Blind Faith (Vinyl, RSO, 1969) **** 

Genre: British pop/rock 

Places I remember: JB Hi-Fi Palmerston North. It's taken me a long time to buy a copy of this classic album. 50 years in fact! I'm not too sure why. Anyhow, this is a reissue on prime vinyl and it's pretty amazing in its quality. So - worth the wait!

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Presence Of The Lord

Gear costume: Well All Right

Active compensatory factors: Their only album with the front cover that has had a lot of press in itself, because even in 1969, and more obviously in 2021, it's wildly inappropriate. However the back cover is also very much of its time - all four superstar members are holding cigarettes!! Shock horror!

The music? Well that's actually pretty damn good still! Of course it is - this is Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton we're talking about! Even messed up on various drugs, including heroin, they can out play nearly everyone else on the planet.

That's shocking to realise!

Where do they all belong? One album is all they produced before flaming out, but it's a corker. Still.

Do what you like (Ginger Baker's Airforce) (LP 298)

Ginger Baker's Airforce   Ginger Baker's Airforce (Vinyl - Polydor, 1970) ****

Genre: Jazz/rock fusion  

Places I remember: Chaldon Books and Records (Caterham on the hill)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Early In The Morning




Gear costume: Do What You Like 

Active compensatory factors: Okay. Been thinking about this album for seven long months - ever since I discovered Chaldon's Books and Records which has turned into a treasure trove of great vinyl, albeit at sometimes top end prices.

To whit, this album. 

The lovely old guy who owns the shop (a big band fan who won't listen to anything released after 1956) had it priced at £42!!

I normally hate to haggle but I made an exception in this case after seven months and a lot of other purchases, and a lot of due diligence. A lot of due diligence! Here's one example.

In the end we settled on £25 (I offered 20, he said 30, I shook my head and the rest is history) and I wasn't disappointed at all when I got it home and finally figured out how to get into the record (released unconventionally -  the gatefold cover was designed left-handed; i.e. the front cover artwork was on what traditionally would be considered the back and vice versa).

The personnel is interesting:

Ginger Baker – drums, percussion, timpani, vocals Denny Laine – guitars, vocals Rick Grech – bass guitar, violin Steve Winwood – Hammond organ, bass guitar, vocals Chris Wood – tenor saxophone, flute Graham Bond – Hammond organ, alto saxophone, vocals Harold McNair – tenor and alto saxophones, alto flute Jeanette Jacobs – vocals Remi Kabaka – drums, percussion Phil Seamen – drums, percussion

Luckily no one gets in the way and the jazz/rock fusion is unique (at least to my ears).

It's actually a radical soundscape - not Blind Faith, not Traffic, and certainly not Cream (although there is a version of Toad on side 2 but it's not too long thankfully).

The Afro-beat influence (Aiko Biaye) is present but it's not too Womad infused (I'm not a huge Womad fan) and instead blends well with the heavy duty amplification on offer. 

All up I'm well chuffed!

Where do they all belong? Apparently the second iteration of GBA is a pale imitation of this first album so this's rather a stand alone LP.